Jun 23, 20221 min read

triveni spotlight : 23 june

triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY! hosts: Teji Sethi and Kala Ramesh guest editor: Geethanjali Rajan

theme: listening

this field

of rippling gold . . .

skylark song

Chen-ou Liu, Canada

(Cattails, April 2018)

Note by the editor: The theme for June 2022 is ‘listening’. I hope you enjoy the music, sounds, and silences of nature in these showcased poems of close observation.

7 Comments

Jun 23, 2022

Lovely poem. Love his work!

Geethanjali Rajan

Jun 23, 2022

This haiku by Chen-ou Liu is rich in colour, sight and song. The phrase is strong and arresting - reminds me of fields here just before harvest.

A classical structure in this haiku where the reader holds the image of the field and breathes it in, pauses, and then hears the skylark's beautiful song.

Thank you for a visual-aural-classic haiku!

Geethanjali

Billie Dee

Jun 22, 2022

this field

of rippling gold . . .

skylark song

---Chen-ou Liu, Canada (Cattails, 4/2018)

Ok:

This . . . [try not to weep] and this . . . and this amazing mid-air display!

It’s all here in Chen-ou Liu’s tight and very complete poem. Let’s ripple along with him in that golden field of wheat. Thanks for another lovely selection Geethanjali.

---Billie, Kiku Makura

. . . and, while we’re at it: THIS

Billie Dee

Jun 23, 2022

Replying to

The first time I saw the Eurasian skylark was in County Cork, Ireland. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. That little bird hovered and sang for over 10 minutes. The strength! (The audacity!) I wouldn't have appreciated Chen-ou's poem so deeply had I not witnessed this feat for myself. That's why I posted that link; you have to see it to believe it. And to think it's all about sexual dominance. . .

I couldn't think of any better way to show my strong feelings for this poem than to show how other artists have reacted to the skylark. I guess I could have quoted Chaucer or Shakespeare, but music is more emotional, at least for me.

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