Tea lends itself to musing on life as much as the howl of a wolf, a full moon, or sitting atop a hill looking out at natural beauty; hence Tea Poetry and Parables have been in existence as long as folk have been drinking tea.
My humble Tea Poetry and Parable focus for this blog is truth, Zen, tales, teapots and transporting… I hope you are sipping tea as you read…
Tea and Truth
The progress of this famous plant has been something like the progress of truth; suspected at first, though very palatable to those who had courage to taste it; resisted as it encroached;
abused as its popularity seemed to spread; and establishing its triumph at last, in cheering the whole land from the palace to the cottage, only by the slow and resistless efforts of time and its own virtues. ~ Isaac D’israeli
A Zen parable
“Have you been here before?”
“I have been here before,” the monk replied.
“Go have some tea,” said the master, then asked again:
“Have you been here before?”
“I haven’t been here before,” the monk replied.
“Go have some tea,” said the master.
The abbot asked the master: “Why did you tell the monk to go have some tea both when he said he had been here and not?”
“Go have some tea.” ~ Zen master Zhaozhou
Find yourself a cup
Find yourself a cup; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me hundreds of things. ~ Saki
The Kindly Plant
What a part of confidante has that poor tea-pot played ever since the kindly plant was introduced among us!
What myriads of women have cried over it, to be sure!
What sick beds it has smoked by! What fevered lips have received refreshment from it!
Nature meant very kindly by women when she made the tea-plant; and with a little thought, what a series of pictures and groups the fancy may conjure up and assemble round the teapot and cup. ~ William Makepeace Thackeray
Tea Ode
The gems on the tea-twigs are treasures long-cherished; The hillsides are glowing with green, fragrant tea.
What joy it will be to dry leaf o’er the brazier; ‘Tis time, now, to pluck the young shoots from the tree.
“Wu’s salt” when admix’t with the drink is a pleasure. The crystal-clear water from woods that are bare.
Such things by their nature are clean, and are wholesome; And teacups from Keng Hsin, on trays that are rare.
A sip of tea o’er the clouds will transport us; it’s clean as the core of a rock, I declare.
Like Yoga with powers that daily are growing, The tea’s fine aroma still clings to the air. ~ Sorry to say, I cannot verify the writer.
May your day be full of good tea and magickal moments… and don’t forget to leave cake and tea out for the faeries. ~ GreenWitch Tea
(1) Isaac D’israeli (2) Zhaozhou (3) Saki (4) William Makepeace Thackeray (5) GreenWitch Tea
2 Comments. Leave new
When you get to the top and look out to sea,
then turn around 360 degrees, if you want to connect with
the spirits that be, then pour yourself a cup of green tea.
Thanks Mark, I love it when I get poetry back… 🙂 And yours is full of whimsy, magick and fun… I’m in, I totally believe… Many blessings )o(