(Click on Image)
dawn stillness...
a bluebird reappears near
the ancient walls
There appears to be numerous movements of time in this haiku.
1) first, "dawn"--this is a specific time frame--the first light of the sun glimmering in sight on the horizon (it is preceded by a change from a dark sky to a gradually lighting up of the sky--thus, a continumum of change, an event that happens every day of the year weather we see it or not, it is happening).
The "stillness" element is also intriguing because the word suggest an atmospheric "halt" in motion and or sound--an opposite contrast to "dawn".
2) second, the bluebird "reappears".
Here, "reappears" implies this is a frequent and / or ongoing event. This bluebird or another bluebird returns again and again, just like the dawn. Now we have a juxtaposition of two natural (nature) elements, the physical geophysical event of "dawn" and live avian "bluebird" creature. Two natural elements from different nature facets.
3) third, "the ancient walls".
The walls (in the photo--and any constructed by man in any time frame) are made of physical earth formed items--stone and mortar. The walls are a third and different natural element in this haiku. The fact that these walls are "ancient" (but of course man made) suggest a third frame of time in the haiku. The stone is older than the building time of the wall, and the ancientness of the wall suggests a past time when men built the wall, extending into the present moment of time when all 3 elements--"dawn", "bluebird" and "ancient walls" come together in the Aha moment of the haiku. For me, this haiku suggests many different stages and movements in time--the simultaneous different uses of time in this haiku is the Aha.
John Dalieden
/jd
No comments:
Post a Comment