Haiku is meant to tell about a seemingly ordinary moment (having to do with nature) in a way that makes it special. Humans are existential creatures. Sometimes, as we go about our daily routines, we see something special in an ordinary moment that we have failed to experience the last 100 times we have performed the routine. Whether it is a special moment in which you appreciate the same cool breeze that has been blowing for the past month, observe the colorful array of fruits that normally occupies your neighborhood grocery store’s produce section, or read for the 30th time God’s creation of the rainbow in Genesis. An existential moment can happen anytime as we go about our business in God’s awesome creation. Most people, after experiencing such, want to tell others about this golden moment.
But how do we tell them? Do we expect them to understand exactly what we felt in that brief and commonplace moment? For them to appreciate it would require a level of empathyequal and opposite to the teller’s ability to recount it to them. Of course, one can’t expect everyone to be empathetic enough to appreciate such a seemingly mundane event (human’s are also very self-centered). It has to be expressed in an artistic and succinct way. The event was but a moment, so the reflection must be also. Haiku is perfect for the occasion.
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