I'd say the poet's choice of the word "this" adds to the idea of being caught somewhere, perhaps unexpected. The speaker of the poem is in "mid-winter." To mix things up, has he taken himself out to eat? Or maybe he's been stood up. Who's to say? But in three short lines he resolves the predicament with a bit of humor. As if the poet is saying: all we have is "this," what is right in front of us. And he makes the best of it. Certainly, he's better off than the eel. –Peter
Any choice other than "this" waters the poem down immensely. "this" gives it a visceral quality,
a hinted contempt or revulsion, a sense that the writer, who perhaps in the past ordered sushi and consumed it without much thought, suddenly is aware of his circumstances and sees a very specific specimen of (his) aloneness. The eel, of course, is not whole– it has been cut up, other portions have been or will be served to other patrons of the bar. He is alone among others;
alone with me and you. We experience not *a* poem, not *his* poem, not *the* poem, but
*this* one.
There's something about winter coming on, and the festivities of Christmas building up as a big family thing. When I saw sushi bars on every corner of Soho, London (England) years and years ago, I was so painfully shy, and alone, I couldn't get the nerve up to go inside these exciting places.
I can so relate to the 'just me' for quite a while. Thankfully I am very happily married so unless we are in separate places, there's no longer that 'just me'.
I feel that layering the poignancy is a wicked sense of humor as many of us wouldn't choose eel, at least for sashimi, if it was sushi, I might dare. :-)
Mid-winter evening,
alone at the sushi bar—
just me and this eel.
(from his haiku collection She Was Just Seventeen, Modern Haiku Press, 2006)
—BILLY COLLINS
.
.
dark morning…
the sushi bar opens up
for the train station
Alan Summers
Publications credits:
Aesthetics, (Bath Spa University 2007); Haiku Friends Vol. 3 ed. Masaharu Hirata (Osaka, Japan 2009)
College students prepare assignments and thesis within the same native requirements. Each educated native students further employ our writers for getting good piece of papers.
Education is not really a task that we have to accomplish and obtain the right marks but it's a proper schooling that has been organized for making us a good along with a successful person in addition to makes us an entire person and let us takes things in a positive way.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:30 pm
LOL
February 27th, 2015 at 2:45 pm
Better an eel than a heel.
February 27th, 2015 at 2:47 pm
Wow, very poignant.
February 27th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
I love it! But I wonder why he chose "this" eel instead of my eel, an eel, the eel, one eel, cooked eel, raw eel, Really! What else did he consider?
February 28th, 2015 at 1:59 am
I feel that the choice of "this" eel accentuates the loneliness.
February 28th, 2015 at 2:40 am
Perhaps he had only one eel sushi and let it last and last and….
February 28th, 2015 at 9:50 am
love this haiku, the eel gives it the punch it needs. brilliant
February 28th, 2015 at 10:08 am
Pearl,
I'd say the poet's choice of the word "this" adds to the idea of being caught somewhere, perhaps unexpected. The speaker of the poem is in "mid-winter." To mix things up, has he taken himself out to eat? Or maybe he's been stood up. Who's to say? But in three short lines he resolves the predicament with a bit of humor. As if the poet is saying: all we have is "this," what is right in front of us. And he makes the best of it. Certainly, he's better off than the eel. –Peter
March 13th, 2015 at 10:07 am
Any choice other than "this" waters the poem down immensely. "this" gives it a visceral quality,
a hinted contempt or revulsion, a sense that the writer, who perhaps in the past ordered sushi and consumed it without much thought, suddenly is aware of his circumstances and sees a very specific specimen of (his) aloneness. The eel, of course, is not whole– it has been cut up, other portions have been or will be served to other patrons of the bar. He is alone among others;
alone with me and you. We experience not *a* poem, not *his* poem, not *the* poem, but
*this* one.
PY
February 28th, 2015 at 11:18 am
Great relationship.
February 28th, 2015 at 2:06 pm
.
.
There's something about winter coming on, and the festivities of Christmas building up as a big family thing. When I saw sushi bars on every corner of Soho, London (England) years and years ago, I was so painfully shy, and alone, I couldn't get the nerve up to go inside these exciting places.
I can so relate to the 'just me' for quite a while. Thankfully I am very happily married so unless we are in separate places, there's no longer that 'just me'.
I feel that layering the poignancy is a wicked sense of humor as many of us wouldn't choose eel, at least for sashimi, if it was sushi, I might dare. :-)
Mid-winter evening,
alone at the sushi bar—
just me and this eel.
(from his haiku collection She Was Just Seventeen, Modern Haiku Press, 2006)
—BILLY COLLINS
.
.
dark morning…
the sushi bar opens up
for the train station
Alan Summers
Publications credits:
Aesthetics, (Bath Spa University 2007); Haiku Friends Vol. 3 ed. Masaharu Hirata (Osaka, Japan 2009)
.
.
March 6th, 2015 at 1:47 pm
I love this. I think he's kind of enjoying some quality time with that eel before he eats it! :)
marion
March 12th, 2015 at 1:57 pm
Great comedy in this confrontation … all the earmarks of a Billy Collins take on 'The Gunfight at OK Corral'. …see, it has the 'vertical axis, too :-)
– Lorin
March 12th, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Or maybe he doesn't like sushi and is just staring at "this eel" wishing he had anything else to eat … :)
April 29th, 2015 at 1:12 am
College students prepare assignments and thesis within the same native requirements. Each educated native students further employ our writers for getting good piece of papers.
March 3rd, 2016 at 5:39 am
Education is not really a task that we have to accomplish and obtain the right marks but it's a proper schooling that has been organized for making us a good along with a successful person in addition to makes us an entire person and let us takes things in a positive way.