Dad’s old maps
a pinhole through the b
of Timbuktu
Published by
Edward Beach
Edward Beach is a short-form writer based in Bristol, UK. Published in Blithe Spirit, The Heron's Nest and A Hundred Gourds, he is a winner of the 2014 British Haiku Awards (haiku section).
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8 thoughts on “”
When I was a boy and would sometimes ask my father, as he was about to breeze out the door, where he was going, he would often answer, "Timbuktu." This shorthand not only told me not to be so nosy. It also conveyed a sense that that was where he sometimes wished he could be, in a mythical Eden, far away.
Edward's haiku suggests to me a different, more real Timbuktu, one that can actually be found on a map, explored, exploited, or perhaps even bombed.
Love this 'ku. It makes me think of where our parents went, places where we cannot follow…their lives so different from ours, more exotic in a way, their world so different…
(…and by "different" I surely do not mean better or worse. Just different.)
I could feel a sense of regret on behalf of the narrator's father's in this. If we think of the practice of randomly using a pin to decide where to travel, the fact that this one was placed so purposefully suggests the person had no hope of ever really going there. A sad, but very effective ku.
I always like your haiku and this is another one too:
Dad’s old maps
a pinhole through the b
of Timbuktu
Great pacing of lines, and I think for many of us in childhood Timbuktu was a magical mystical place that I didn't think still existed, but found out in my late adulthood it did!
When I was a boy and would sometimes ask my father, as he was about to breeze out the door, where he was going, he would often answer, "Timbuktu." This shorthand not only told me not to be so nosy. It also conveyed a sense that that was where he sometimes wished he could be, in a mythical Eden, far away.
Edward's haiku suggests to me a different, more real Timbuktu, one that can actually be found on a map, explored, exploited, or perhaps even bombed.
Really love this.Took me away from my usual thoughts.
Yes, this is excellent, loved it.
this is such an original take and I get right there, I think it is a bull's eye through the pin hole :-]
Love this 'ku. It makes me think of where our parents went, places where we cannot follow…their lives so different from ours, more exotic in a way, their world so different…
(…and by "different" I surely do not mean better or worse. Just different.)
I could feel a sense of regret on behalf of the narrator's father's in this. If we think of the practice of randomly using a pin to decide where to travel, the fact that this one was placed so purposefully suggests the person had no hope of ever really going there. A sad, but very effective ku.
marion
Wonderful.
HI 'Edward' :-)
I always like your haiku and this is another one too:
Dad’s old maps
a pinhole through the b
of Timbuktu
Great pacing of lines, and I think for many of us in childhood Timbuktu was a magical mystical place that I didn't think still existed, but found out in my late adulthood it did!
warm regards,
Alan