English Original
corner office
the slow unfurling
of a plastic fern
Joshua St. Claire
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
角落辦公室
一株塑膠蕨
緩緩展開
角落办公室
一株塑胶蕨
缓缓展开
Bio Sketch
Joshua St. Claire is an accountant from Pennsylvania. His haiku and related poetry has appeared in Modern Haiku, Mayfly, NeverEnding Story, The Heron's Nest, and Blithe Spirit, among others. He is slowly coming to terms with being a formalist.
This haiku uses irony to subvert traditional expectations of the form. Classical haiku typically foreground organic growth and the natural world, yet here that expectation is undercut by the artificiality of the “plastic fern” in L3.
ReplyDeleteThe “corner office” in L1, with its connotations of corporate power and professional success, establishes a setting defined by status rather than vitality. Against this backdrop, the phrase “slow unfurling” ironically imitates the language of natural growth, even though the object itself is static and lifeless. The image may also suggest the gradual accumulation of dust or the slow unpacking and arrangement of generic office décor.
In just nine words, this haiku captures the emptiness and artificiality that can accompany corporate success.