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Between Two Souls:
Conversations with Ryōkan
By Mary Lou Kownacki
Introduction by Joan D. Chittister; calligraphy by Eri Takase
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004. Xxii plus 191 pages.
(The poems of Ryōkan in Between Two Souls are taken from Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryōkan, translated by John Stevens and published by Shambhala Publications.)
Mary Lou Kownacki is well known in progressive circles for her writings and leadership associated with Pax Christi and the Benedictine religious of which she is a longtime member. She is also a gifted poet who demonstrates, by way of the “conversations” that comprise Between Two Souls, that dialogue can cross centuries and traditions to the benefit of any who take the time to participate or at least eavesdrop.
The venerable Zen monk Ryōkan (1758-1831) might seem an unlikely partner for a Pennsylvania-based nun of the postmodern era, but the pairing works surprisingly, sometimes delightfully, well. Having become enamored of Ryōkan’s poetry while using it as part of her daily spiritual practice of lectio divina, Kownacki must have been hard-pressed not to respond. Her poems and those of Ryōkan are set on facing pages, calls and responses across centuries and geography. Kownacki’s poems tend to echo those of Ryōkan, with similar cares and sentiments, in a twenty-first-century context. To Ryōkan’s
Wild peonies
Now at their peak
In glorious full bloom:
Too precious to pick,
Too precious not to pick.
Kownacki responds
Precious godson
Asleep on the couch
One step away from manhood.
I want to protect you,
I cannot protect you.
It is not a conversation in the sense we might expect. Theirs is truly a heart-to-heart in which the concerns of one heart give way to the other and, without explicit comment, comment. Ryōkan’s wild peonies lend an unexpected measure of understanding to Kownacki’s relationship with the boy-man to whom she has pledged care. Such is one of many delights to be found in this unique volume.
These are poets with full voices and wide ranges. The poems address past and present, city and country, family and friends, social issues and personal trials. Between Two Souls is a meditative volume that will raise the reader’s eyebrows, cause gasps of recognition, elicit wry smiles and the occasional burst of laughter. It is lectio divina of a very special sort.
Go ahead. Eavesdrop.
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