MahMight haiku journal: Grix takes a millipede marching and Craig Kittner decides on a long lunch with butterflies.

Thursday 15 July 2021

Grix takes a millipede marching and Craig Kittner decides on a long lunch with butterflies.

marching with its shadow the millipede casts doubt

GRIX

Statement:

The millipede may be small but it can create quite the illusion of grandeur! My haiku was inspired by this video: https://youtu.be/z3RcAzBA6QE.

This ku is also a metaphor for when we humans have to puff ourselves up to feel less intimidated . . . to hide within our protective shadows.

Once I had what I had to say written down, I played with the word choices and arrangement to allow for many readings:

marching / with its shadow / the millipede casts doubt

marching / with its shadow the millipede / casts doubt

marching with its shadow / the millipede casts doubt

marching with its shadow / the millipede / casts doubt

marching with its shadow / the millipede casts / doubt

A fave haiku:

long lunch

walking with butterflies

the ways I can't be shamed

Craig Kittner

Human/Kind 2.1

http://humanhaikujournal.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/6/7/116792551/finalhk2.1.pdf

Statement from Grix:

I had the pleasure of publishing this haiku and it has always stuck with me.

There is such a gentleness to how this poem was crafted – a sense of innocence (e.g. the rhythm in L3 evokes the feeling of skipping). But there is also a palpable sense of self-preservation (e.g. the way each line is gradually longer than the first).

I appreciate the alliteration of the repeated L's and S's, which are noticeable as they roll off the tongue, but not in-your-face. I love that this poem makes me feel so many things at once and has so many potential readings, depending on the interpretation.

Withnail and I:

"My heart's beating like a fucked clock!"

Waiting for Godot:

"And I resumed the struggle."

Grix says: So appropriate for me! 😜

Alan note:

More about Grix:

https://www.grixartistix.com/about.html

See also:

Haiku Society of America Conference - Signature Style: How Identity Informs Voice in Haiku

and

Interview with Julie Bloss Kelsey at The Haiku Foundation's New to Haiku: Advice for Beginners