french lavender . . .
in love with a song
I don’t understand

Published by

Jessica Malone Latham

Jessica Malone Latham, M.A. is the author of cricket song: Haiku and Short Poems from a Mother's Heart (Red Moon Press) and chapbooks, clouds of light (wooden nickel press) and all this bowing</em. (buddha baby press). Her poetry has appeared in dozens of journals and anthologies, and she is the recipient of several awards. Most recently, Jessica's poetry has been featured in the Seasons of Haiku path at Holden Arboretum in Ohio, and on Mann Library's Daily Haiku. To see more of Jessica's work, to purchase her collections, or consider taking one of her poetry courses, visit her website: www.jessicalatham.com

8 thoughts on “”

  1. Enjoyed the juxtaposition of the color and scent of lavandsr with the mystery and ineffable quality of music and to my reading of love itself.

  2. Gorgeous. I sometimes listen to foreign radio stations, wooed by the music and play of emotion in a singer's voice without understanding or necessarily needing to understand the words. Scent and music can both be powerful emotional triggers. Lovely comparison.

    eucalyptus oil
    on the travel pillow
    my head full of home

  3. A beautiful ku with the touch of lightness (karumi) and poetic juxtaposition (renso).

    foreign land–
    I sense the breeze
    of intimacy

    Pravat Kumar Padhy
    Publication Credit: Cattails, December 2014

  4. __ Often, one cannot quickly understand those mixed senses, the songs of nature… heartfully felt here, Jessica… as you've inspired the readers deeper thoughts. _m

    this night song
    scents of flowers on the breeze
    a far owl

  5. I like the suggestion of synaesthesia in this – that music and words might have their own 'scent' too, or a trace of something indefinable. Interestingly it works if the fragment and phrase are reversed …

    in love with a song
    I don't understand
    french lavender

    … but that creates a slightly more melancholic feel for me… perhaps because there's more emphasis on what's not understood, by having it first. And closing with the scent invokes longing.

    Lovely juxtaposition.

  6. How scent evokes memories. I remember a song when I was a student in France and tried to find it for years. As soon as I did, I was transported back to my fifteen year old self. This haiku reminds me of that.

    marion

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