I particularly like the sense of realism in the timing in this haiku, Robert.
There is the brief, sudden opening of a lightening flash, then a sense of a pause before the second line, and in that pause the poet appears to be puzzling over the fragmented visual image of what was just illuminated. Then it is all pieced together, and it is bizarre and real and wonderful. What an unforgettable image – rain drops on the spines of a hedgehog (and we don't even have hedgehogs in Australia) – all glimpsed in a lightning flash. Indeed, if I were a Zen devotee, I might even say you have captured a moment of satori.
A camera might capture an image of such an animal in a flash photo, but your haiku reveals the animal, and the observer, and the flash, in a transcendental 3 line moment.
Wonderful poetry, Robert. Thank you for sharing it with us.
September 29th, 2014 at 9:05 am
Dear Robert,
I love hedgehog haiku. :-)
lightning
on a hedgehog’s spikes
raindrops
(originally appeared in 120th WHA Haiga Contest, May 2014)
—ROBERT KANIA
Incredibly atmospheric with those lightning bolts reflected off the hedgehog's spikes.
*
Here's a one-line haiku:
after rain midnight dreams a hedgehog
Alan Summers
Publication Credit: brass bell: a haiku journal
One-Line Haiku curated by Zee Zahava (Monday, September 1, 2014)
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September 29th, 2014 at 10:22 am
I love how the focus switches from the sky to the earth and then zooms in on the tiny raindrops on the hedgehog’s spines – wonderful!
marion
September 29th, 2014 at 1:05 pm
I sense that this is a special moment in a summer storm. It brings the storm to life.
September 30th, 2014 at 7:02 am
I particularly like the sense of realism in the timing in this haiku, Robert.
There is the brief, sudden opening of a lightening flash, then a sense of a pause before the second line, and in that pause the poet appears to be puzzling over the fragmented visual image of what was just illuminated. Then it is all pieced together, and it is bizarre and real and wonderful. What an unforgettable image – rain drops on the spines of a hedgehog (and we don't even have hedgehogs in Australia) – all glimpsed in a lightning flash. Indeed, if I were a Zen devotee, I might even say you have captured a moment of satori.
A camera might capture an image of such an animal in a flash photo, but your haiku reveals the animal, and the observer, and the flash, in a transcendental 3 line moment.
Wonderful poetry, Robert. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Strider
October 2nd, 2014 at 9:09 am
Love the way the images play off of each other. Absolutely lovely!
December 24th, 2016 at 4:27 am
nice post, thanks for sharing.
July 23rd, 2018 at 11:12 pm
well done post