ENCHANTING NATURE WITH GUEST NORIKO BARROW

Smitten By faith Issue # 0015 November 13th 2021 Reflections on Climate Change November Series

Today, we have the second in our four-part November series - Reflections on Climate Change. Our guest is not only someone who truly loves Nature and the beauty of our Earth but is able to articulate this in her lyrical poems. NORIKO KOIKE BARROW speaks eloquently about her love and homage to nature in  “ ENCHANTING NATURE” -  as she uses the elegant format of the Japanese tanka in her book, ‘The Irreplaceable’.

I am fortunate to have known Noriko and her husband, Martin Barrow since the 70’s in Tokyo, a firm friendship which blossomed and continued through my 10 years in Japan and the 40 years which followed when the Barrows moved to Hong Kong and back to the UK where they now live.

I love this picture taken in London a few years ago of Noriko and some very good friends from Hong Kong days . Noriko is on the far left and I am on the far right. Between us are firm chums - Jenny Edwards and France Choa.

The front cover of THE IRREPLACEABLE, Noriko Barrow’s beautiful 252 page anthology- For more, See www.jfpublishing.com

‘The Irreplaceable’ is an exquisite anthology of poems by Noriko Barrow which I published recently to celebrate Noriko’s milestone birthday. As I wrote in the Foreword to the book, “Noriko’s Anthology is a lasting legacy of a life well lived - of a woman, daughter, wife and mother whose love for her family and of ‘mother nature’ is sincere, untainted, bright and unabashed.”

Growing up in her scenic Japan and now living in the UK where she has a lovely country home in the tranquil English countryside of Wiltshire, Noriko has always loved the beauty of her natural surroundings; her love for the environment is pure. Since her youth, Noriko has been writing - thoughtful mindful poems. She never stopped because in the quiet of her heart, she was holding on to memories of her much-loved family and the magic of the universe. Noriko’s poems are in the unrhymed Japanese tanka format: a 5-lines 31-syllables Japanese ‘short song’ written in what seems like a single unbroken breath. The tanka which is even older than the more popularly known Haiku (which has a 3-lines 17-syllables format) is actually the perfect form for Noriko’s poems which are very meditative and quiet. It certainly suits Noriko’s tranquil character. Noriko’s tankas ably convey her emotions and leave the reader in a state of peace and quiet. Lovely!

The title of Noriko’s Anthology, ‘The Irreplaceable’ definitely captures Noriko’s intent – the people in her life are all to be treasured; to be remembered – all irreplaceable. Noriko writes about her family first – her mother is uppermost and then her father and her family. AND, Noriko also celebrates Irreplaceable NATURE in all its glory – from the humble silk worm to sand dunes, snow-covered bamboo and baby carps in clear waters.

So, to continue the ongoing conversation of COP 26, let us join NORIKO BARROW as she joyfully pays her homage to nature in ‘ENCHANTING NATURE’.

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NORIKO BARROW, Scots Farm, Wiltshire - November 6th 2021

EXCERPTS FROM ‘THE IRREPLACEABLE’ ( reproduced with kind permission from Noriko Barrow ):

At the end of a stroll

In the garden

The reflecting sunlight

On the surface of the river caught my eyes

It was the River Thames

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The Spring sunbeams were

Shining onto

The surface of the pond

I saw the baby carp

For the first time

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When Spring arrives

The snow covered bamboo on the ground

Shaking the snow off

Bouncing back

Without breaking

What a refreshing sight !

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Dropping water

From hanging flower basket

When I looked up at them

Flowers smiled

At me!

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I came back home

By a roundabout route

Where cherry blossoms were falling

I felt like

I was touched by

Something very dear

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On the green lawn

White petals are scattered

The cherry tree became

Just a green tree without flowers

Joining in among other trees

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Editor’s Note : With Noriko’s kind permission, see below the above tankas in their beautifully designed layout from Noriko’s anthology, ‘The Irreplaceable’.

Visit : www.jfpublishing.com

And, as part of her reflections on Climate Change, Noriko has the following concluding words to add from her country home in Wiltshire, UK :

“ Mother Nature is wonderful and gives us such joy - continuously. Right now, in England, the Fall colours are changing and wherever I walk or drive, I am fascinated by nature’s colours. I just saw a lovely Japanese Acer ( the Japanese Maple ) in Westonbirt Arboretum. These trees are so beautiful ; there was one with a most appropriate name for the shades of its red orange colours - "Yuubae" (Sunset Glow).  I thought, how nice that their most beautiful colours are falling and warming the soil for the future !”

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Editor’s Note :

Dear Reader, thank you for reading this weekly edition of SMITTEN BY FAITH. 

ALL articles in every issue are FREE.

For those of you who upgraded to be a PAID Subscribers for US$ 60.00 a year, thank you so much ! All proceeds go to the Regina Apostolorum Foundation to promote Catholic higher education. 

PAID Subscribers will also receive the digital copy of the recent book by Joan Foo Mahony, ‘LATE HAVE I LOVED THEE’ ( see the bitly link available only to Paid Subscribers ) and at the end of 2021, you will receive via Bitly link, VOLUME ONE 2021 of Smitten By Faith, a DIGITAL COMPILATION of each year’s articles. Paid Subscribers will also receive additional exclusive material from time to time.