Zhuangzi Dreaming of a Butterfly by Lu Zhi (1496–1576), Ming dynasty, mid-16th century Ink on silk, 29.4 x 51.4 cm
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THINGS
by
Jamie Dedes
A Man sleeping … yes!
A Butterfly flitting… yes!
Zhuangzi, dreamer of Butterfly,
ponders what joy there might be
in that tiny Butterfly brain, so small
too small to be perceived by I or eye
Is it dreaming me? he asks
Or, am I dreaming it?
Imagine the Universe engaged,
he thinks to himself, inside that flutter
– thunder, a Cosmic Belly Laugh – Ho! Ho! –
Then Zhuangzi knows: He is silent
flitting from flower to flower in eternal spring
coming and going, going and coming
This is called the Transformation of Things
·
© poem, 2012 Jamie Dedes, All rights reserved
Photograph courtesy of Gemeinfrei, in the U.S. public domain.
The BeZine 
