Taj Mahal Review Target.com Amazon.com Category:  Poetry Publisher: Cyberwit.net (India) Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 124 Copyright: 2007 ISBN-13: 9788182530928 ISBN 978-81-8253-092-8. Published by Cyberwit.net (India). First edition: 2007 Printed in India at Astha Associates, Allahabad THE LOTUSES OF EVIL by AZsacra supplement and harmonically finish the theme of poetic nihilism started by Charles Baudelaire in "LES FLEURS DU MAL", bringing to the modern world traditions of "damned poets". But AZsacra attacks from the very heart of the East! Pushing away from classical haiku he comes to the new way of poetry - SacralWordcinema - maximally condensed and incessantly striking images of Good and Evil "beyond Good and Evil". The possibility to burst more impetuously into Another Dimension of Spirit! THE LOTUSES OF EVIL is the Top of the Poetry of Nihilism! Those frenzied spiritual ideas, which were outlined by Friedrich Nietzsche in his book "ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA", find more explosive and tragic solutions in THE LOTUSES OF EVIL… Haiku "for Everyone and Nobody"! Excerpt RAVEN IN RED SNOW hey, sparrow on one leg, soon will come the snow all of us are – in our fields – one-day-cicadas in vain writhes in the web the moth – the spider has died clear definiteness of the midge: behind is – the lizard, ahead is – the flame long ago abandoned nest does not remember the wild geese never moved the flower under hanging still in air dragonfly whim of the wind – the withered leaf had come back to the burnt tree the warmth of baby rats can you preserve inside yourself, killed rat? having broken down loose – the tear will not revenge on her eyelashes no longer pecks red snow – fell the raven had set the bird free came back and burst out sobbing near empty cage don't fear webs – you'll have your death amongst the blades of grass

THE KSHATRIYA OF POETRY OF THE SPIRIT
The Lotuses of Evil by AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA, Cyberwit, India, 2008, pp. 124, $ 15, ISBN 978-81-8253-092-8

The publication of The Lotuses of Evil by AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA reveals extraordinary power of imagination and originality. As a poetic artist, AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA feels that 17 syllable is not mandatory for haiku. The poet forges new measures to unravel life s complexities and to arrive at the moments that take our breath away :

don't fear webs
you'll have your death amongst
the blades of grass
(RAVEN IN RED SNOW, p. 10)

no one can
subdue: the leap
in Abyss!
(BLACK SAKURA BLOSSOM: BLACK GARDEN 1, p. 12)

O praying mantis,
don't kill this butterfly
the dew will do it
(BLACK SAKURA BLOSSOM: BLACK GARDEN 4, p. 20)

The above lines are full of passion transcending the limits of the world and corporeal self. The sustained intensity of emotions, almost incredible peaks of elemental force and majestic, luminous visions this is ZARATHUSTRA’ s greatest contribution as a poet. AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA’ s quest for divine spark inspires him to write about the distilled moments which resonate with his soul state:

the grasshopper
has comprehended the leap of
the tiger
(LOTUSES OF THE EVIL: PUREPOND 2, p. 42)

the snake
has lost its way
in the worm
(LOTUSES OF THE EVIL: PUREPOND 3, p. 46)

the butterfly
is late for
its Death
(LOTUSES OF THE EVIL: PUREPOND 5, p. 53)

the way of haiku
is the Way of
Abyss
(THE LEAP OF THE FROG OF BASHO, p. 66)

As a poet, AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA is most convincing and most alive when he seizes an emotion, looking it full in face. An intimate consciousness, which weighs, listens, penetrates the abyss - (the way of haiku \ is the Way of \ Abyss) to fly into rose-buds-this is a large element in the complexion of AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA’ s poetry. Our planet hath need of New Forms of Mania so that Buddha may subdue Death ( Satori of Shooting of Samadhi!). AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA is more simply and entirely occupied with leap of the tiger , Birth of Zero and Great Emptiness than any other contemporary poet.

His genius is visible in several lines full of subtle complexity and epigrammatic force: we are not \ worthy of \ death , lotus is \ more frightening than\ the tiger , to become the venom \ for the children \ of the nectar! , the rose \ to be stabbed by its own \ thorns! , wounds of \ the lamb are above\ Christ, knives are \ held by\ wounds . Ezra Pound aptly remarks: An image is that which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time. This wise observation is fully true about AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA’ s images in The Lotuses of Evil. AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA achieves continuous satoris by the technique of koans-riddles used by zen masters.

This is evident in the poet's sudden awakening to the Absolute. All great poets are able to compose great poems not by art, but because they are inspired and possessed. The Lotuses of Evil is a work of genius because it aims not at persuation but ecstasy; to turn\ yourself in One Single\ Hit! , to live only by\ Jerks of\ Death , to build \ Lost \ Emptiness .

AZsacra ZARATHUSTRA is able to utter his oracles with the sovereignty of an inspired poet. This creates sublime poetry. The sublime at the critical moment shoots forth and tears the whole thing to pieces like a thunderbolt, and in a flash reveals all the author 's powers (Longinus).

Santosh Kumar
TAJ MAHAL REVIEW