deep winter
a boy in the fountain
collecting wishes
Published by
Kathy Lippard Cobb
Kathy Lippard Cobb lives (with her furry peeps) in Bradenton, Florida and is a graduate (summa cum laude) from Manatee Community College in the field of graphic design. Kathy is an award-winning tanka/haiku poet and is the former Associate Editor for White Lotus, a journal of Asian verse.
View all posts by Kathy Lippard Cobb
8 thoughts on “”
I guess it doesn't freeze there.
A practice that goes back a long way, to when people still believed there were spirits living in or near natural springs who needed appeasement and could influence the future.
The boy is a hungry agnostic.
Funny, Alan – this made me think of The Little Match Girl too. Whenever I read that or saw an animation/film that referred to it, I wept silently to myself! :(
It also made me think of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, but then 'deep winter' suggested coldness and he ought to have been making wishes, so I did think perhaps he was taking the coins.
.
deep winter
a boy in the fountain
collecting wishes
—KATHY LIPPARD COBB
.
I like how this can be read in more than one way. It could be the boy is stealing the pennies thrown/tossed into the fountain. As the first line tells us, it's potentially bitterly cold, and every penny towards food or heating is vital. Perhaps the boy is just going to buy some expensive fast food, or drugs, we don't know.
Whatever his wish or wishes, or other people's wishes, shouldn't we hope he makes it through the night unlike HC Andersen's The Little Match Girl?
I guess it doesn't freeze there.
A practice that goes back a long way, to when people still believed there were spirits living in or near natural springs who needed appeasement and could influence the future.
The boy is a hungry agnostic.
"Collecting wishes" is too sentimental for haiiku (or fur any other species of poetry)
Funny, Alan – this made me think of The Little Match Girl too. Whenever I read that or saw an animation/film that referred to it, I wept silently to myself! :(
It also made me think of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, but then 'deep winter' suggested coldness and he ought to have been making wishes, so I did think perhaps he was taking the coins.
marion
works for me. unusual thought.
Absolutely beautiful, I love it!
"collecting wishes" is a delightful way of showing the boy collecting the coins that people have thrown in.
Wonderful haiku! It has pathos and humour blended very effectively
.
deep winter
a boy in the fountain
collecting wishes
—KATHY LIPPARD COBB
.
I like how this can be read in more than one way. It could be the boy is stealing the pennies thrown/tossed into the fountain. As the first line tells us, it's potentially bitterly cold, and every penny towards food or heating is vital. Perhaps the boy is just going to buy some expensive fast food, or drugs, we don't know.
Whatever his wish or wishes, or other people's wishes, shouldn't we hope he makes it through the night unlike HC Andersen's The Little Match Girl?
Alan
I like how this can be read in more than one way. It could be the boy is stealing the pennies thrown. Thank posst