Note: Please see video reading at the end of the post and click on photos to enlarge for better viewing
A Lesson Learned from Sylvia Ang
now dearly departed,
piqued my puzzlement with a picture.
They pried my ignorance
from its barely concealed hiding place
in the shadows of my delusion.
Bold, so prominent
the symbol I've hitched
to the post of atrocity
shining from a breast bereft of beat
but which once suckled a special one.
of Sanskrit meaning so far removed
from "conducive to well-being"
or a mother's journey in Buddha's footsteps
needing no eyes to see the light
or find the way to peace
I imagine Mdm. Lim Ah Liang
teaching her daughter to prepare
the tantalizing meals she oft displays.
I imagine a smile reminiscent of sun rays
like in symbol's reversal
like mother's love considered universal
piqued my puzzlement with a picture.
They pried my ignorance
from its barely concealed hiding place
in the shadows of my delusion.
Bold, so prominent
the symbol I've hitched
to the post of atrocity
shining from a breast bereft of beat
but which once suckled a special one.
Swastika-
a symbol usurped from the annals 
of Sanskrit meaning so far removed
from "conducive to well-being"
or a mother's journey in Buddha's footsteps
needing no eyes to see the light
or find the way to peace
teaching her daughter to prepare
the tantalizing meals she oft displays.
I imagine a smile reminiscent of sun rays
like in symbol's reversal
like mother's love considered universal
Did she bestow Sylvia's ocean heart
and mountain spirit?
Did she paint that arms-open smile
upon her face?
Did she place magic hands
on her swollen belly
blessing the being within it
with Middlemist reverence
and a forest of uncommon grace?
upon her face?
 |
on her swollen belly
blessing the being within it
with Middlemist reverence
and a forest of uncommon grace?
I will likely never know
 |
| Photo courtesy of Lotphey on pexels.com |
but I've learned to avoid climbing
the biblical tree
accepting the ignorance
that's more than shadow of me
And though Mdm. Lim Ah Liang
walks no longer in day or night
she and Sylvia have shrunk my shadow
with a sliver of light
CONTEXT:
Prior to yesterday, my only experiences and associations with the Swastika symbol have been what I believe is the common one in the United States and perhaps the western world in general. Swastika equaled Nazi party = genocide = symbol of people who believe they are better than other people and have no compunction about wiping out those they consider inferior.
Perhaps you can imagine my disorientation when I logged onto Facebook/Meta and saw a photo of Sylvia Ang, a dear Facebook friend with the most generous of spirits, standing next to an open casket containing her recently departed mom, with a bold, red swastika adorning her shroud. The disorientation lasted a few moments before I reached for my phone and Google.
I’m 62 years old, and despite more than 20 years of “education,” this was the first time I had any idea that the swastika was anything but a Nazi symbol. I can’t testify to the veracity of what I read on Wikipedia, and I don’t trust everything I read, but according to Wikipedia, among other things, the swastika is a “symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.”
I also read that it originated in Sanskrit and, depending on which way the symbol faces, represents “conducive to well-being,” “prosperity and good luck,” “the auspicious footprints of the Buddha,” and the sun. I have no intentions of exploring all that I read here (you can do that here if you like), but I did want to provide some context for the poetic expression I wrote shortly after being stunned by the photo and reading.
The moment was like a tiny star appearing in the vast darkness of my ignorance, and despite the sober occasion, I was grateful to Sylvia for posting that photo and sparking that tiny light. And to think that I took a class on East-West philosophy as an undergrad. There’s a good reason I am leery of what I “learn.” This was one instance of confirmation.
For any interested in a deeper understanding the piece, “Middlemist” refers to “...perhaps the rarest flowering plant in the world…” (https://www.clareflorist.co.uk/blog/2012-05-weird-and-wonderful-flowers-the-worlds-rarest-flower-middlemist-red/), another tidbit I had no clue about before yesterday.
Again according to Wikipedia, Sanskrit “is a classical language of South Asia that belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages…It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age…Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit).
To reiterate, I have not tried to verify any of the information I’ve quoted from Wikipedia, so please keep that in mind.
the biblical tree
accepting the ignorance
that's more than shadow of me
And though Mdm. Lim Ah Liang
walks no longer in day or night
she and Sylvia have shrunk my shadow
with a sliver of light
CONTEXT:
Prior to yesterday, my only experiences and associations with the Swastika symbol have been what I believe is the common one in the United States and perhaps the western world in general. Swastika equaled Nazi party = genocide = symbol of people who believe they are better than other people and have no compunction about wiping out those they consider inferior.
Perhaps you can imagine my disorientation when I logged onto Facebook/Meta and saw a photo of Sylvia Ang, a dear Facebook friend with the most generous of spirits, standing next to an open casket containing her recently departed mom, with a bold, red swastika adorning her shroud. The disorientation lasted a few moments before I reached for my phone and Google.
I’m 62 years old, and despite more than 20 years of “education,” this was the first time I had any idea that the swastika was anything but a Nazi symbol. I can’t testify to the veracity of what I read on Wikipedia, and I don’t trust everything I read, but according to Wikipedia, among other things, the swastika is a “symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism.”
I also read that it originated in Sanskrit and, depending on which way the symbol faces, represents “conducive to well-being,” “prosperity and good luck,” “the auspicious footprints of the Buddha,” and the sun. I have no intentions of exploring all that I read here (you can do that here if you like), but I did want to provide some context for the poetic expression I wrote shortly after being stunned by the photo and reading.
The moment was like a tiny star appearing in the vast darkness of my ignorance, and despite the sober occasion, I was grateful to Sylvia for posting that photo and sparking that tiny light. And to think that I took a class on East-West philosophy as an undergrad. There’s a good reason I am leery of what I “learn.” This was one instance of confirmation.
For any interested in a deeper understanding the piece, “Middlemist” refers to “...perhaps the rarest flowering plant in the world…” (https://www.clareflorist.co.uk/blog/2012-05-weird-and-wonderful-flowers-the-worlds-rarest-flower-middlemist-red/), another tidbit I had no clue about before yesterday.
Again according to Wikipedia, Sanskrit “is a classical language of South Asia that belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages…It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age…Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit).
To reiterate, I have not tried to verify any of the information I’ve quoted from Wikipedia, so please keep that in mind.
Thank you for this heartfelt yet educational post! I have been through quite a few beers related to Buddhism, Hinduism etc…. Never did I come across this symbol. Makes me wonder if the German’s knew about it’s meaning it had in this other beautiful, ancient culture, did they use it intentionally…. 🤔Anyway, I am still puzzled but so grateful for this enlightenment 🙏💖🧜♀️
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