cyclone gone…
a bobblehead still
on the shore
Comment: the word ‘still’ at the end of line 2 plays a pivoting role in this haiku, since it can either refer to a bobblehead that –blocked by sand friction– cannot wave its head (adjective) or to a toy lost by a child during the devastating cyclone, abandoned on the shore (adverb). The overall tones of this poem evoke a sense of solitude and silence which is further emphasized by the void left by the cyclone in the first ku. Note the doubled ‘one’ sound closing the words ‘cyclone’ and ‘gone’ in line 1 that gives a sense of openness (futoi 太い) and the soft ‘b’ sound in ‘bobblehead’ that clashes with the penetrating and subtle (hosomi 細身) ‘s’ consonant in the last ku.
