Image by tiger dreams stalking jungles.
Eye's flame no longer.
This Haiku is pure feeling, inspired by the image and in homage to the poem The Tyger by William Blake.
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies.
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand, dare seize the fire?
Follow this link to read the rest of Blake's poem.
The Senyru reflects my feelings behind caging animals, but I tried to go a little further with this poem and reflect on how a tiger might dream. If you have ever seen a pet dog asleep, legs pin wheeling against the couch cushions you'll know that animals dream.
What dreams a tiger must have, especially such an apex predator caged. I can only imagine it is torture to be honest, a creature specifically evolved to stalk, run, hunt and maintain a large territory.
I have long held a strange affinity with the tiger, having dreamed many times that I was a tiger, and once wrote about it in the first episode of a serialized psychedelic fiction I did using the @freewritehouse prompts years ago.
Incarnation - Day 160: 5 Minute Freewrite (part 1) - Prompt: Tiger
Most assuredly Blake's awe at the majesty of the Tiger was justified and heartfelt. Although written at a time when it would be looked on as a brave and heroic act to hunt the tiger, I like to think that Blake at least recognised that eternal spirit in nature, in the endless dance of predator and prey. His final verses speak to this understanding.
Digital art created using deepdreamgenerator.
When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Tyger Tyger burning bright,
In the forests of the night:
What immortal hand or eye,
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
source
William Blake lived in London for nearly all of his life, and most certainly wasn't of the moneyed gentry’ class that would have hunted tiger. His art and poetry remained largely unrecognised during his lifetime.
Considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views, Blake is held in high regard by later critics for his expressiveness and creativity, and for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents within his work.
source
As with so many ahead of their time, Blake's ideas and in particular scorn of organised religion, are probably what caused his genius poetry from being given the recognition it deserved at that time.
He did not believe in “religion of nature or reason, but thought man’s nature was imaginative and mystical” (Lister 1968, p.27), he also had radical political ideas due to the day-to-day poverty he was forced to witness.
source
As something of a semi-agnostic I wholeheartedly agree with Blake's views. The eternal, spirit, God, whatever you want to call it, can only be experienced - the mystical defies explanation.
Sometimes it can be glimpsed through good art in its many forms, like a drop of cold rain water on the cheek waking us from the dream of the world we create in our own heads, that’s how I would describe the mystical - what Zen Buddhists would call a natural Satori.
Although similar to haiku, senryu is more open in subject matter - including the human side of existence - and subjective viewpoint, often incorporating humor and political views. To read more about the difference between Haiku and Senryu please check out my recent post Haiku Vs Senryu - The Aesthetics of Form.
All images in this post are creative commons licence or my own property. If you have enjoyed this Haiku, please check out my homepage @raj808 for similar content.
Thanks for reading.
Click banner to visit the community page
Find us on twitter by clicking the banner above.
Interested in trading, buying or selling crypto?
Sign up to Bittrex here.
Sign up to Coinbase here.
Sign up to Swissborg app to instantly buy crypto here.
Use my referral link to sign up for Crypto.com and we both get $25 USD.
If You Have Found Value From this Post and Want to tip extra, Crypto Donations Are Welcomed:
►Donate Ether and ERC20 Tokens: 0x32321615174AF3Da6074Cf79DED8269cA7a8eB24
►Donate Bitcoin: bc1q8wutj8u6ush7s8mucphfxf7gzrexeywmuqm8g3
►Donate Bitcoin Cash: qzt7c0czw0q988h93jvcz2rq5gy0s3h9pg2pk700ev
►Donate Litecoin: Lfsnz3pbT5V9N6WWGRaBsgKs9EvFeqzcPm
►Donate BNB: bnb1xeu94exteel9w3g8g44e6g595kvrqlgzm0crq4
►Donate Monero: 49PovXGcM9Y7JYeRJ35W9xZGrdivvLaMbVtGc3WDv6amCm5wqA854SvJNWxaEqjTz18K5YVPj5D6619C3bvNHsrG7oD1whb
►Donate Tezos: tz1SJUkpeznKE6bEhbX81YFdUQS5BprA4ot8
►Donate XRP: r35quYTThThN7yNvkJxyhLFAPyju3tsT35