by Paul Hartal
Descendant of a samurai family
Page and friend of the son
Of the Lord of Iga Province
Great haiku poet
Creator of word pictures
In seventeen syllables
Matsuo Basho
I salute you.
Lover of plum blossom fragrance
Of thin layers of mist
The rising sun
On the mountain path
And the pristine elegance
Of the rice planting song
Matsuo Basho
Are you still on the road
From the monastery
On Mount Koya
To Kyoto?
When I read your lines
I hear the sound
Of Japanese temple bells
And see the white and pink blossoms
Of cherry trees blow upon
Omi Lake in spring.
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ABOUT THE POET ~
A man of many Odysseys, Paul Hartal is a Canadian poet, author and artist born in Szeged, Hungary. His critically acclaimed books include Postmodern Light (poetry, 2006), Love Poems (2004), The Kidnapping of the Painter Miró (novel, 1997, 2001), The Brush and the Compass (1988), Painted Melodies (1983) and A History of Architecture (1972) ., In 1975 he published in Montreal A Manifesto on Lyrical Conceptualism. Lyco Art is a new element on the periodic table of aesthetics, which intertwines the logic of passion with the passion of logic. In 1980 the Lyrical Conceptualist Society hosted the First International Poetry Exhibition in Montreal., In 1978 Hartal exhibited his paintings at the Musée du Luxembourg and the Raymond Duncan Gallery in France and his canvas Flowers for Cézanne won the Prix de Paris. He also has displayed his oeuvre in museums and galleries in New York, Montreal, Budapest, as well as many other places., He approaches poetry with the credo that the heart of poetry is the poetry of the heart. A recurring theme of his recent work explores the human tragedies of wars and genocides.
Last updated March 11, 2012