Saturday, November 4, 2017

Haiku Bells

Long ago I believe bells, church bells, played an important role in everyday life, especially in rural areas.  I wonder if that's still true today.   Growing up in Chicago, I don't remember bells as being especially important or noticeable.  I wonder if we lost something when we moved from the countryside to urban areas.



     Cloud of cherry-bloom . . .
Tolling twilight bell . . .Temple
            Ueno?   Asakura?
                  -- Basho --


I remember reading in a novel (Proust?) about a traveler listening to the sounds of church bells in the village he has just left, when he reaches the crest of a hill and now hears also the sound of bells from the village he is approaching.



       Silent the old town . . .
The scent of flowers floating . . .
          And evening bell
            -- Basho --

What must that be like?  Silence....the scent of flowers... joined by the sound of a bell



              Voices of two bells
That speak from twilight temples . . .
               Ah!  cool dialogue
                       -- Buson --


I never connected bells with temperature, but cool is very apt. 



             Butterfly asleep
Folded soft on temple bell . . .
     Then bronze gong rang!
         -- Buson --


Poor butterfly!



               In the holy dusk
Nightingales begin their psalms . . .
         Good!  the dinner gong!
                   -- Buson --

Interesting shift from "holy dusk" and the nightingales' "psalms."  Contrary to the usual portrayal, these bells lead one from the sacred to the profane.



Ah!  I intended
Never never to grow old . . .
     Listen:  New Year's bell!
                 -- Jokun --

Is New Year's a time for sorrow at the passing of the old or joy at the entrance of the new?



     We stand still to hear
Tinkle of far temple bell . . .
      Willow-leaves falling
               -- Basho --

I think the tinkle of that far off temple bell would be the perfect accompaniment for those falling leaves.  I can close my eyes and see and hear them.



The calling bell
Travels the curling mist-ways . . .
             Autumn morning
                   -- Basho --

a bell and mist--again perfect for autumn




Are bells still important in places?



Above haiku are found in A Little Treasury of Haiku
Translations by Peter Beilenson. 


16 comments:

  1. wonderful haiku... some i've never read! Churches in Mexican cities ring the bells at six every morning, like it or not... tx for this post- enchanting ideas...

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    1. Mudpuddle, enchanting is a good word. A slight breeze, scent of flowers, a far-off bell, that will take me away from today's headlines and put me in a different world.

      Does this happen in large Mexican cities also?

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    2. Fred; i can't say for sure; just true in the ones i've stayed overnight in: Chihuahua, Colima, several others whose names have slipped out of the bell file...

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    3. Mudpuddle, no problem. Just curious.

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  2. Bells in the Navy signify time, arrivals, departures, announcements, alarms, and other important events. I miss hearing them. Thank you your posting. It sent me elsewhere for a while.

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    1. R.T., I had completely forgotten the importance of bells in the Navy.

      You are welcome. I suspect bells send many people various places for a while.

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  3. Great post.

    I like the Haiku.

    I never lived or worked anywhere that bells are important. I think that it would be nice to have their sound around.



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    1. Brian, thanks.

      I never had bells around either, that I can remember. I wonder what it would be like to have a schedule of some kind governed by bells.

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    2. Hmm. Have you read The Nine Tailors by Sayers?
      Bells = schedules in Catholic cloisters and on Navy ships.

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    3. R.T. Nine Tailors is my favorite Lord Peter mystery. I've read it several times and have watched the TV adaptation at least three or four times. The bells are very important in that one.

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  4. I can remember a wonderful experience of hearing bells when out camping. You probably know the place, Fred, as it is near Tucson. It must have been a monastery or something. We couldn't really see the building from the campground, but could easily hear the bells when all was quiet. A lovely treat.

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  5. madamevauquer, how close were you to Tucson? It might have been Mission San Xavier del Bac, which is south and east of Tucson. It is also known as The White Dove of the Desert and was founded by Father Kino, when he was in this area during the 17th century.

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    1. I think that must be the one, Fred. We were quite close, a few hours maybe? and south I'm pretty sure. It's been over twenty years.

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    2. madamevauquer, yes, it's very close to Tucson, easily under a few hours travel. It's too bad you didn't get a chance to visit it. Mission San Xavier del Bac is a beautiful church. The link below leads to its web page and a photo of it.

      http://www.sanxaviermission.org/

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  6. When I lived in Florida, I could hear the church bells of my church when I sat on my back porch in the evening. It was a peaceful sound.

    In England, we heard several bell choirs tolling at certain hours. In Bradford on Avon they tolled specific melodies every evening for an hour.

    I don't know if I would enjoy that, get used to it and not hear it after a while, or find it noisy.

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    1. Sharon, I think most would eventually get used to it and not hear it after a while.

      Frequency and setting seem to be important. Most of those haiku bells appear to be heard in isolation.

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