editors' picks from I-2

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Mark's pick | Alan's pick | Serge's pick | Carmen's pick

down from the mountain-- / the same cicada / the same rock

Is your cup half full? Half empty?

If we read this exquisite haiku from Penny Harter on more than a literal level, if we examine what it means to climb a mountain, to become enlightened or at least light-headed from lack of oxygen, then we are presented with a post-enlightenment conundrum.

Is the cicada the same as the enlightenment cicada? Are we able to bring a piece of the mountain back down with us?

Or, is the cicada the same as the pre-enlightenment cicada? Have we been to the mountain only to find things remained the same below?

The Zen-inclined will probably pick both. I'm happy to pick the question, the haiku itself.

editors' pick
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morning sunshine / a wasp rides / on my handlebars

I just love the simplicity of the haiku itself, and that comradeship of sorts that can occur between humans and the insect world.

It reminds me of some mosquitoes on Fraser Island, off Queensland, as I waited for dawn, half way up a small tree!

But let me tell you how Darrell puts it. Also, this is a collaborative haiku, and an interesting article has just been published on this very matter in Presence 15 by Mario Petrucci.

Hi, Alan,

It's one of my favorites also. The story was related to me by Carol Raisfeld. She told me she came out of a seaside restaurant, and pedaled off on her bicycle, not noticing that a wasp had settled on the handlebars. In her panic she pedaled faster and faster to try to blow him off the bike, but he settled in more comfortable than ever, and seemed to enjoy the ride. He stayed quite a while and they both became fairly comfortable with each others company, before he finally flew off. She allowed me to finish the haiku she had started on, and call it my own. Thank you very much, Alan, and Carol.

We've grown in haiku experience together. We compose quite a few jointly, but we always agree who will sign as author. Carol and I are still very much individual poets.

Darrell Byrd

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Sunday funnies / a mockingbird answers / the tea kettle

Very funny. I could hear the kettle. I like haiku about sounds, scents, colors.

I like :

- the original opposition between L2 and L3. What a surprise ! The richness of poem, especially a short form, can be made by the original assembly of two words from completely separate contexts.

- that opposition is "enhanced" by the structure L1 versus L2-L3. We have there a second level of building, with a similar surprising assembly. Humour works then at two moments

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This is bittersweet. I prefer haiku with humor that is very subtle or droll. This one has room for the reader. What do most people think of when they see the words: family reunion? For many there will be warm memories, but for others just to think of a family reunion will give them a headache. Then there will be completely different images depending on their cultural identity. Various readers will imagine hugs, kisses, handshakes or bows on arrival. Next, you may ask why the wisteria is hugging the whitewashed wall.

I think the wisteria embodies the loner in the family. Every family has at least one person who participates half-heartedly by standing aloof from the others and that has a strong effect on the others. As time goes by, wisteria can take over a large area whether it is a wall, a tree or a wooden frame.

So, this loner (wisteria) is able to make the most of a position which is removed from the family (rest of the garden). I even imagined that the loner clings to bitter or sweet memories of the way things used to be; or dreams of what could have been. No matter what caused the withdrawal of the loner, this person doesn't long for the real family but a "whitewashed" version.

editors' pick
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