Kodama

It’s April of 2023 and Day 11 of the A to Z challenge. This year, I am doing the theme legendary creatures from cultures and folklore and an eight line poem along.

Day 11: Kodama

Culture: Tree spirit from Japanese culture

Description: Kodama’s inhibit in trees (usually that are older). Cutting a Kodama is a curse. The knowledge of Kodama living in a tree is passed on from one generation to another. They are neutral and can be friendly. Such trees are still identified and tied with a shimenawa rope. A movie named “Princess Mononoke”, has depictions of kodama as in above picture.   

kodama

Take a walk,
Think nothing.
Watch waters,
Think nothing.
Feel the space,
Think nothing.
You will realize,
Nothing’s everything.

I wonder and I guess, we have put money on all the wrong things. The most satisfying moments are still free.

Image References: By Toriyama Sekien – scanned from ISBN 4-0440-5101-1., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1255605  and a picture from the movie ‘Princess Mononoke’

Barking up the Wrong Tree

Its April of 2020 and Day 02 of A to Z challenge. This year, I am doing Metaphors. Be it a movie, song, painting, book, idiom, etc. I plan to give a perspective to it with an explanation and a 8 line poem. 

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Day 02 Metaphor: Barking up the Wrong Tree

Barking up the wrong tree is an idiom used as a metaphor to describe the wrong way of working towards a goal. It is used to suggest a mistaken emphasis in a specific context. It means that one has completely misunderstood something or are entirely wrong.

The context of the metaphor (known from historic sources) comes from America, nineteenth century, in reference to hunting raccoons with a hunting dog. When the nocturnal animal takes to a tree, the dog is supposed to remain at the base of the tree until the hunter arrives. However, in the dark, the dog might choose to guard a wrong tree where the raccoon could have taken refuge.

Poem:
A tree,
Out in the wild,
Bear golden fruits.
Another,
Out in the wild,
Bear eatable fruits.
He was always there,
Barking up the wrong tree.

When one does not have a vision, delays the decisions, fails a perspective, wrongs the means, etc. it’s always a wrong bark. If one clearly knows the wrong, the tree and the bark, well, one has to.

The Pictorial Layers

This post is written for Three Line Tales Challenge Number 49.  It is a challenge put forth by Sonya from Only 100 Words, where we are challenged to write a three line tale for the supplied image.

photo by Andrew Neel via Unsplash

The black font makes it visible, the pointy end positions a direction, the threads tie firm, the stick is not straight and it is put on a coarse earthy table.

The ink, flag, fiber, stick and table – all products from the same tree.

Life is a photograph, of an assortment of versions put together!