Yūgen

an unblemished sky
winter is a silent flood
where are the clouds?

Kim M. Russell, 2018

Yugen

My response to Carpe Diem Weekend-Meditation #18 Yugen, a new feature

For this weekend meditation, Chèvrefeuille has created a new feature: Yūgen, which he says is usually defined as ‘mystery’ and ‘unknowable depth’. He explains that haiku poets use the atmosphere defined by yūgen to force their readers to think and to delve into the everyday sacredness of common things. I personally like Kamo no Chōmei’s characterization of yūgen: “It is like an autumn evening under a colourless expanse of silent sky. Somehow, as if for some reason that we should be able to recall, tears well uncontrollably.”

There is no theme for this weekend’s meditation feature; the goal is to create a haiku using the ‘yūgen’ technique.

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