Poetic Musings: Balloon and Child's Smile Haiku by Ben Meier

out of sight         o

                   ballo     n

and the child’s smile

Winner, Nicholas Virgilio Memorial Haiku and Senryu Competition, 1992

Ben Meier, Grade 9

Commentary: L1 sets the tone and mood of the haiku, functioning as a suspense setup, and the layout of L2 visually enhances the meaning, thematic and emotional, of L1, showing readers the loss of something as evanescent as a balloon. However, unexpected yet visually and emotionally powerful L3, the "child's smile" (not cry), reveals the child's  "beginner's mind" (Japanese: shoshin; Chinese: 初心, a word from Zen Buddhism), an attitude of openness and eagerness.