wintry night
only the echo
from the hospice

© Agus Maulana Sunjaya (Indonesia)

The first line gives us a cold, fearsome situation while waiting for something probably outside our comfort zone. Who could stand the winter temperature without doing anything?

“Only the echo”… this is a gruesome feeling. Of course I don’t want some echoing whispers attacking my ears or mind while there is a wintry night.

In reference to the last line, I know the cause of his or her fear… I hope his or her spirit will be at peace.

– Fei Zhan (Indonesia)

The poet is from Indonesia, and I do not know about Indonesian winters. It may not be in winter, so the poet used “wintry.” But, I can feel it’s a chilly night from the second and third line.

– Norie Umeda (Japan)

This haiku is very chilly. The first line sets the scene, tone and atmosphere: cold, dark, and quiet. The last two lines indicate a lingering memory or reminiscence of the hospice—perhaps the emptiness felt by the loss of a loved one is reflected in this cold, dark winter night. I feel it effectively conveys a sense of loneliness and loss.

The repetition of ‘o’ sounds reinforce the idea of a haunting echo.

– Martha Magenta (UK)

Line 1: “wintry night”
Makes me feel cold and lonely. I become nervous—it’s ominous and scary.
Line 2: “only the echo”
Brings a feeling of silence, you’re alone with only the beating of your heart for company.
Line 3: “from the hospice”
So, we know we wait for our loved one. Will they wake and say goodbye or pass silently away? This one night is your last time with them.

– Marilyn Ward (UK)

The overall theme of this haiku revolves around loss, death, and grief because of the three words “night,” “echo,” and “hospice.” Besides the loss of someone that takes the writer in a state of mourning, I see another aspect of delusions and hallucinations. Usually, traumatic experiences in life resonate at the later part of life where a person may experience certain mental health issues, so maybe the writer is passing through the time where he can hear sounds from the past, maybe certain flashbacks that haunt him more in this wintry night that is mostly silent.

Another aspect may be related to hospice life where people usually get detached from the rest of the world and/or normality, so their voices usually bounce back because of not having active listeners around.

– Hifsa Ashraf (Pakistan)

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November mist
written in the field
a mole’s message

(Woodpecker 1997:2; Modern Haiku 38:2, 2007)

© Wim Lofvers (1930 – 2007) (The Netherlands)

I read this haiku as a nature-sketching haiku. I think that in the third line, “mole” means the kind of animal or the mist’s “mole.” If it is the mist’s mole, it refers to a very small part of nature. So, I can say this nature-sketching haiku is highly up to date.

– Norie Umeda (Japan)

The first line opens as a curtain on an autumn whitened landscape faded into a light fog that makes everything have no edge. This verse prepares the reader for a dreamlike journey in a mysterious world where, at a first sight, writing is the poignant reference to the second line. But in the third line, we discover that there’s a secret code drawn in the earth. The underground job of a mole makes me think of our unconscious thoughts, instinctual pushes which dig into the depths of one’s soul.

We are invited to think to whom the message could be conveyed. Since the mole’s message comes to the surface from the underground, it can be read as a kind of suggestion that the Es-part (still not conscious) of the author wishes to become the Ego—so visible, no more hidden as before.

Also, it seems to me we have a movement of a search towards awareness and the sound of “m” repeated in the first and third lines creates a mesmerizing effect as if the meditative “om” is the key to reach it…

– Lucia Fontana (Italy)

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frozen leaves
a deep silence
within

© Eufemia Griffo (Italy)

(Hedgerow #122, 2017)

For me, this haiku indicates that if we become able to see things from positive a perspective, evil will not remain in our inner self. The “frozen leaves” here stand for a thought process, “silence” stands for the state of tranquility, and “within” is infinity. A portrait of realisation in short.

– Manoj Sharma (Nepal)

There is a beautiful comparison in this haiku. Frozen leaves, where molecular activity has ceased. I can imagine such a deep state of meditation, a state of peace, where not a single thought passes through. Nice assonance in the words too.

– Martha Magenta (UK)

Frozen leaves indicate the lack of movement, motivation, and enthusiasm that makes them less active but not dead. It may be hibernation time where physically there is no activity, but spiritually and mentally, life is fully active. So, it is a transformation period of maturity, where thought processes goes on to the advanced level through meditation, and incubation. The word “within” indicates the process of knowing oneself more.

– Hifsa Ashraf (Pakistan)

I felt a sense of alienation from it. So, I can sympathize with this poem. “frozen leaves” reminds me of long patience. “a deep silence within” shows that it has no voice. The “a” emphasizes “deep silence.” It magnifies “deep silence.”
But “within” … so it is completely divided from the reader.

– Norie Umeda (Japan)

I think the poet sees this moment, leaves being frozen, with a positive spin. The silence can indicate several things: a meditation, a respect for the state of the leaves, or a peace in light of death or frailty.

Usually, we don’t like to have one word for the last line of a haiku, but occasionally we can use this technique to express various feelings. Not only is the last line surprising, and common at the same time (which is often a mark of a fine haiku), but it makes us focus on ourselves as well. What deep silence do we have within ourselves, especially during difficult times? I feel this haiku gives the reader an opportunity to introspect about the peace we have inherently within.

– Nicholas Klacsanzky (Ukraine)

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