Feast of St. Anthony
I'm having fun reading CAS' attempts at haiku, how they lovingly embrace this beautiful Japanese tradition while altering its conventions for the flow of English words. He does a fantastic job expressing the spirit of scenes both earthly and otherworldly, in as few words as possible. But there is one haiku that confuses me. His "Feast of St. Anthony".
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Quote:Birds of fable,
Phoenix, roc and simorg-anka,
Pecked my phantom-fruited table.
I'm nowhere near as educated as the other fine members of ED, so I was wondering if any of you might understand the meaning or references of this poem. Perhaps Dale, with his vast knowledge of literature and religion?
I know CAS was an admirer of Flaubert and his Temptation of St. Anthony, but this poem doesn't represent any scene from the book. In one scene the protagonist is shown a demonic illusion of a sumptuous feast, but no fabulous birds appear. And he is eventually visited by the Simorg-Anka, but she appears in a completely different scene. I wondered if this poem was related to the actual religious Feast of St. Anthony, but I can't find any information linking any mythical birds to the festival. What do you fellows make of this poem?