Saturday, September 01, 2018

Heaven and Hell

Saturday Stories
September 1, 2018


Once upon a time in Japan, a samurai named Nobushige wanted to learn about Heaven and Hell, so he went to Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku. He found himself being baited into anger, and he drew his katana. "That," said the monk, "is Hell." Suddenly, the samurai understood, and he lowered his sword. "And that," said Hakuin, "is Heaven."

This Zen story, said to have happened in the mid-1700s during the Edo period, inspired me to write "The Measure of A Man," my first solo poem in 2018 and the last I wrote using pen and paper. The title is inspired by the song by Clay Aiken.

My poem first appeared in The Philippines Graphic magazine on April 20, 2018, with South Korean Ambassador Han Dong-Man on the cover.

Then it was published by Spillwords Press on June 28, 2018 on their site.

I just got an e-mail from the editor of Setu Bilingual, an English-Hindi magazine based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, confirming that my poem will be part of their August edition. It is set to go live on the first week of September so I'll just post the link below.

"Do what thy manhood bids thee do from none but self expect applause," as I quoted the British diplomat and author Richard Francis Burton on my cover letter. "He noblest lives and noblest dies who makes and keeps his self-made laws."

The Measure of A Man
By Jonathan Aquino

I.

Any fool can carry a weapon
and even a coward can kill,
I told the warrior as he rose,
drawing his sword as I sat still,
unmoved as death draws near.

II.

He told who he was, and how dare I,
I did, and there is no need, said I,
to say what I already knew, and he,
as he raised the blade, saw I wasn't afraid.

III.

My eyes, steady in gaze, are crystal-clear,
and he saw it, he whose weapon is fear.
Am I not afraid to die, he asked me.
And then I spoke, and he listened closely.

IV.

Death arrives as the dawn brings out the sun,
and courage is to face it when it comes.
And yet the measure of a man is more than valor,
for it is hallow without decency and honor.

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Photo courtesy of DeviantArt



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