Simple Gentility

To discerning hearts,
meek field strewn peasants ascend
to tea house nobles.

 My flower arrangement for tea ceremony. 

Process note: The art of arranging flowers for tea is called chabana, and it is customary to use simple seasonal flowers, even weeds and grass so long as they aren't fragrant, in the arrangement. 


This poem is in response to the prompt given at Imaginary Gardens for Real Toads: Weeds in the Garden.


32 comments:

  1. So eloquent in its brevity, Rommy. Beauty truly is most effective to our minds and sense when it is not over-embellished, when it is pure and simple, as here.

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    1. I felt this really needed to be brief to fully convey the point of the poem, which is the heart of chabana.

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  2. This is delicious, Rommy. The haiku, the arrangement, the note... It's perfect in simplicity and beauty. And the thought the entire poem shares is one I can certainly stand behind, too. ♥

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    1. I am very proud of the arrangement. My teacher came by and gave a quick nod of approval before going on. That's actually a huge compliment, because typically when she comes around she only offers corrections. :D

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  3. Lovely - I esp loved the different strata here: field, peasants, noble. Great poem.

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    1. It's hard to get all the notes you want to get in with a haiku, but when it was finished I was proud of the little details like that, which worked out well.

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  4. I think the simplicity sometimes is the best, though I love the fragrant part (but I guess one should not quench the tea)

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    1. Yep, that's part of the point, not to have the different elements of the teahouse compete.

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  5. That's the way I feel about those pretty plants.
    I learned a new word but I might forget it soon, "chabana". Mrs. Jim does that, even at times rustling a flower from a neighbor for the table.
    ..

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    1. I love a kitchen table with wildflowers as the centerpiece.

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  6. *looks on in fear* This looks like a...hayyy..a high....um, one of those short thingies I avoid. A hak...hik...aw I can't say it!

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    1. LOL, the Yo Yo Ma/ Allison Krauss song was a spoonful for sugar to help the haiku go down just for you. (I do love her voice)

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  7. Oh yes, I love how you give the contrasting discernment here and your process notes are interesting. Thank you, for the challenge, Rommy! :)

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  8. Beautiful...I like the beauty of a weed. It is a pain in the garden, but it is a picture of surviving.

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    1. I love the roadsides here in the semi-rural parts of my county because you can see some really gorgeous varieties of them.

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  9. Beautiful--I love the simplicity of the shorter forms--

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    1. Thanks! I felt the simplified format helped strengthen my theme.

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  10. Simplicity of short takes require more thinking. Good one Rommy!

    Hank

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    1. Oh yes! LOL, with both haiku and chabana, it takes some time to figure out just the right trick to keeping things simple.

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  11. Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm pretty proud of the arrangement

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