mole rap
(see: geodesic_eye, 07-11-11)
haiku crossroads Road Markings, Church Street, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire: November, 2011 [haiku/photo — jp]
"Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. . . ."
QUERENT: What I appreciate so much about you, John, is your absolute authenticity and fidelity to the way you experience the world. There is no guile in what you share with us, and I really appreciate your "gift" to me (personally) that has opened my eyes to the extra-ordinaryness in the so-called "ordinary"! You do not seek fame and fortune, and do not "need" affirmation per se, but for what it is worth, your passion for hakai is never in doubt in my receiving of it. Now check your hat size :)
haiku crossroads I don't do vanity, if anything it does me. Thanks for your kind words. I am also quite sincere in declaring that western haiku is to be taken down, conceit by conceit, and replace with the real deal.
MOLES MYSTERY. . . .
Well, not really. Was studying a mole and its use of a grass verge zone at the side of the road near a village where I live, here in rainy England. On one side of the road there where many 'mowdie heaps' and on the other, none. For several weeks, as I passed this spot, the pondering. . . . Checked the web for scientist's comments and nothing. My query was/is:
DO MOLES REGARD ROADS AS BARRIERS?
it may be that roads go too deep for moles to venture. Or, it may be that I need a broader sample of moles and their use of territory which has a road. Certainly (unlike mushrooms and toadstools) moles would find it difficult to discharge soil in the middle of a road. Until I get better intel will go with my gut reaction and assume that moles find roads a barrier and regard them as limits to their sprawling territories
jp
INTRODUCTION.- Most people have a vague idea regarding the nature of this creature. Even scientists do not know much about the mole. That is so probably because moles spend most of their lives underground. It is very difficult to keep them in captivity because...
QUERENT: No doubt, but a broad sweep of the brush, do you not think, to include ALL of "western haiku"? You are, after all, a 'westerner", by default!
...so, how far is a mole willing to travel under a road, and at what speed, to discharge his/her "mowdie heap"? To be efficient, and effective (something that I am not particularly adapted to, to survive in Mole Babylon), is an interesting question.
Moles actually 'swim' and can cover quite a lot of ground quickfast. I think it's the depth of the road's metal [mettle].
Yes, ALL of western haiku and, technically, most of the rest. You see, it's not difficult to understand why haiku is...See More
en.wikipedia.org
The War of the Worlds (1898) is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. It describes the experiences of an unnamed narrator who travels through the suburbs of London as England is invaded by Martians. It is one of the earliest stories that details a conflict between mankind and an alien race.
QUERENT: I don't think we disagree, in principle, and i don't think there are many, many, others that do! However, you make it very difficult for those who do see "eye to eye" with you, to feel that we are recognised as travellers on the same road, or under the road (an analogy given the timbre of this thread?) For example, i speak to you directly, not to an audience. Your tendency, or choice, not to connect on a personal level, does not encourage people to engage any further with you. I know that you live in "rainy England", foe example. I lived there, too. Who are you speaking to when you depersonalise this? Is that not vanity creeping in; self promotion, rather than serving to further the cause that others share with you? No person, and no mole, is an island, John. Don't hide your humanity under a molehill; it is an inverse form of vanity.
I was going to delete your comment as redundant and off-topic. Then I thought, well, let's give a response a go. . . .
As a trained artist (amongst many other accolades of paperwork and personal achievement) I have learned the difference between business and off-duty. Here at Haiku Crossroads, I wear my business cap currently. The reason for this is that it gets things done. It also sets a standard of discourse, should discourse arise.
At the drop of a hat (sic) we see what happens in Cyberia. People, out of their sad situations, just want to arse around. Push a little and they get silly or they get nasty or they flee.
If you want FUN go and wallow in the nonsense over at Haiku Society of America, or a myriad other cathartic haiku sites which give people a steam-release in the hope of fame and fortune. No worries.
But, at Haiku Crossroads we all have a contemplative place of sincerity in the madness and also a place to reflect in peace. Many eyes observe what goes on here. When mouths engage it is usually of merit what is said. That's good enough for me.
In the future I may wear one of my social hats and do what I'm trained to do - teach happy groups. For the time being, though, it's all about haiku as a powerful evolutionary technique for the people to access and become clarified in their souls in the doing, as understnding turns into skill and enhanced human dignity. . . .
Gary Gabor
under dim sunshine
a mole looks both ways
walks across road
QUERENT: I was not aware that HC is now solely a "contemplative place of sincerity in the madness and a place to reflect in peace". My apologies for sullying your space with my humanity. That was never my intention.
haiku crossroads @ZA: Nevertheless, this seems to be the hunting season. See what happens with ego amp-up? I would appreciate keeping personalities out of it - this is haiku, not the Human Zoo.
@Gary: No, moles rarely come out of their undergrond zone. Only for mating. Or if they get flooded. They don't nip across when the coast's clear ^_^
QUERENT: Ah, I was not aware, when I posted here, of the discussion going on at another site where you'd posted your haiga.
/
wave upon wave
deletes her footprint ...
the salt doll
- mmcg
Great theme. . . .
under taller water
their footprints are gone—
the geese of summer
jp
Check THE out. . . .
dictionary.reference.com
The definition at Dictionary.com, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Look it up now!
November 8, 2011 at 10:58am · Like ·
DELETED COMMENT
Firstly, most of your comment makes no sense at all to me, Karen. Perhaps you can speak more plainly? The bit I do get is about the working title for an idea: Pure Land Haiku. Since I discovered this is the title of a book by David L. I'm even less happier with it than I was because of its strong Buddhist connotation. We'll see. Secondly, as for recruiting members; that's of little importance at present. However, if you have a question I'll try to respond simply and succinctly (not an easy task for a revolutionary schema which drags an ancient supernatural paradigm into modernity's chemically modified global madhouse).
QUERENT: It would be good to have this discussion in the PLH group, where some of the groundwork has been done? That way would be easier to follow, for those interested, don't you think? For example, John, you say that you're even less happy about David L's book title, and your choice of Pure Land Haiku as a working title for your prototype :"because of its Buddhist connotation". This comes as a surprise. Many of the words and concepts you use are rooted in Buddhism. So my question is:
What is your aversion to associating your new paradigm for thinking about haiku with Buddhism?
QUERENT: @Karen: Patience may be a virtue - why the insistence on immediate gratification? :) I think John answered the questions in response to my post above, on this thread :)
"If I was less lazy than I am, this theoretical basis for the the future of global haiku could be in place in less than a heartbeat. But, the spirit is not on green, yet." - jp
DELETED COMMENT
QUERENT: No misunderstanding, Karen. I thought your questions were interesting, and clearly, I have some too. But I read the rest of what John said in the quote that you snipped and pasted, and he said: "the spirit is not on green yet" to articulate his theory for the future of global haiku. The PLH group, as best I understand it, is a repository of ideas to consider and reflect on. Oh, sorry - I really thought you were already a member, that's why I made the suggestion!
"What is your aversion to associating your new paradigm for thinking about haiku with Buddhism?" - QUERENT
Non-sectarian is the idea. Buddhism brings a contraction which I'd prefer not to have the PLH paradign hemmed in with. I love the words in and of themselves, but they are almost generic to a zone of Buddhism. The basis of the PLH concept is UNIVERSALISM. For example: we all have lungs, us animals, and yet the mole is different from the skylark. Haiku; the essential haiku, the pure haiku, is servicing a universal (*the particulars are secondary*) - like the lungs, transpersonal. Everything comes from what's already there or not there - from the universal to the particular. This idealism is what we work with. How else do we press on into the circumstantial twilight of the future?
Yura Neejit (NORMAN DARLINGTON IN DISGUISE) Bhuddism concepts also is universal,,no ?
QUERENT: Thanks for your answer to my question, John. I understand now :)
haiku crossroads Yes, Buddhism is a brand name. Pure Land Haiku is a good name though. let's see what the spirits advise, as we meander along the wayless way to Calvary and beyond. . . .
jp