town barberpole
stops turning:
autumn nightfall
Selected Haiku, 1989
autumn nightfall
Selected Haiku, 1989
Nick Virgilio
Commentary: ... in Virgilio’s poem, we get a profound sense of ending, even of death,
when the barberpole is shut off—or turns off for some other reason
(power failure?). The day too is ending, as night falls, and the year’s
seasons are drawing to a close with autumn. The elements work together
to create a feeling of sadness...
-- excerpted from To the Lighthouse: "Thirteen Ways of Reading Haiku" by Michael Dylan Welch
Note: It might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following barberpole haiku by John W. Wisdom
the slow turn
of a barber’s pole --
afternoon heat
This poem by John W. Wisdom brings up images of old town America. We can envision a small town where a person is waiting to get a haircut. The slow turn of the pole reminds us of the cyclical nature of time: how days, weeks, and months rise in an endless parade. We can almost feel the weight of atmosphere hanging in the air making us pause to consider the world at a diminished pace.
-- excerpted from Haiku Society of America NewsLetter, 35:7, July 5 2020
-- excerpted from To the Lighthouse: "Thirteen Ways of Reading Haiku" by Michael Dylan Welch
Note: It might be interesting to do a comparative reading of the following barberpole haiku by John W. Wisdom
the slow turn
of a barber’s pole --
afternoon heat
This poem by John W. Wisdom brings up images of old town America. We can envision a small town where a person is waiting to get a haircut. The slow turn of the pole reminds us of the cyclical nature of time: how days, weeks, and months rise in an endless parade. We can almost feel the weight of atmosphere hanging in the air making us pause to consider the world at a diminished pace.
-- excerpted from Haiku Society of America NewsLetter, 35:7, July 5 2020
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