For the December Red Eft video, our first guest
writer is Dan’s own father, poet Lucien Stryk, who became a spiritual father to
me.
I have a special feeling for “Memo to the
Builder,” the first poem in this video. When I was still a teen, my mother
snipped it out of
the Chicago Tribune for me — she knew I’d love it. And I still do. In it, Lucien metaphorically imagines an architectural space with
no enclosures to shut out the living world. In the second poem, “You Must Change Your Life,” nature becomes the protagonist in
the parable of a backyard squirrel (undistracted while fulfilling its vital needs). I find it remarkable that Lucien is able to say so much,
so powerfully — yet in so few words — about the essence of the natural world, which, if grasped, might truly change the way
we see it . . .
the Chicago Tribune for me — she knew I’d love it. And I still do. In it, Lucien metaphorically imagines an architectural space with
no enclosures to shut out the living world. In the second poem, “You Must Change Your Life,” nature becomes the protagonist in
the parable of a backyard squirrel (undistracted while fulfilling its vital needs). I find it remarkable that Lucien is able to say so much,
so powerfully — yet in so few words — about the essence of the natural world, which, if grasped, might truly change the way
we see it . . .
— Suzanne
[For more about Lucien Stryk, see the bio and links below.]
"Memo to the Builder" and "You Must Change Your Life"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Memo to the Builder
. . . and then
After
the roof goes up
Remember
to lay the eave trough
Wide
and deep. A run
For
squirrels and a river
For
my birds. You know, I’d rather
You
made the trough
So,
than have the rooftop
Tarred
and shingled. Keep
It
in mind, the trough.
Also
I’m not so sure of glass
In
every window. But let that pass.
Still—and
there are
Reasons
enough, believe me—
It
would please no end to be
In
and out together.
And
how it would thrill me should a bird,
Learning
our secret, make a whir-
ring
thoroughfare
Of
a room or two.
Forget
the weather. To
Have
the wild, the rare
Not
only happen, mind, but
Be
the normal is exactly what
I’m
after. Now
You
know. Perhaps you
Think
I’ve made your job too
Light? Good.
Throw
Caution
to the beams. Build me a home
The
living day can enter, not a tomb.
You
Must Change Your Life
Of
all things one might be:
a squirrel lopes by
a squirrel lopes by
busy
at being himself
in
a tough nutless world,
cats
at his young, rain
slanting
in his nest,
night
falling, winter
not
provided for—
no
question to ask
of
himself or anyone.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
“Memo to the Builder” and “You Must Change
Your Life” were published in And Still Birds
Sing: New and Collected Poems by Lucien Stryk (Swallow/Ohio University Press, 1998).
Lucien Stryk (1924-2013) published more than thirty
books over his career, both of original poetry and Far Eastern translations, including
Collected Poems (Swallow / Ohio University
Press), The Penguin Book of Zen
Poetry (Penguin Books, London), and Of
Love and Barley: Haiku of Basho (Penguin).
He also won numerous awards and honors, such as a Ford Foundation
Fellowship, Illinois Author of the Year, and a Rockefeller Foundation award. In 2009, the American Literary Translators
Association announced the inaugural Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, in
honor of his admired collections of Zen Buddhist literature.
For more about
the Lucien Stryk, visit Dan’s article about his father at: http://www.connotationpress.com/featured-artist/november-2010/628-emeritus-artist-lucien-stryk
