High Summer

[dukealien]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

[Jana]

Yes, indeed. It was more pleasant to pass not knowing knowing. Clever phrase. Nice flow. I haven't read much Haiku, so can't comment on the style itself. What I can say is this hits something universal we all experience and expresses it eloquently. It's a nice contrast with the unpleasant imagery generated with the phrase "High summer roadkill." It makes me want to read more Haiku.

[LunaDeLore]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

dukealien,

it's amazing how short form poetry can impact us when reading, and i think ending this work way you did
truly gave it an impact that otherwise could be lost in a meatier poem.

Good work.

Luna

[dukealien]

Glad this got across despite the twisty ending.  (And the title even has a... what's the singular of "progeny?")

@Jana - This is barely, if at all, a haiku - there are much better on this site, not to mention in the world at large.  Might do as a Zen death poem, with a little revision... have to secretly keep that in mind for when the guy with the scythe and the hourglass shows up.  (Secretly since a death poem is supposed to be spontaneous    .)

[Brownlie]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

I read the colon like a simile or metaphor or some associated thing like that. So, what the hell is knowing knowing? Beats me. Usually forget about roadkill pretty quickly.

[dukealien]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

I read the colon like a simile or metaphor or some associated thing like that. So, what the hell is knowing knowing? Beats me. Usually forget about roadkill pretty quickly.

Good question on the colon - hadn't really thought that through.  I guess it's trying to make what comes after subordinate to the concrete (though stinky)  sight which evokes it.  If I were a Victorian (chronologically, not geographically) it might be an address:

"Oh, wheel-murdered Dormouse:
Was't pleasanter to Pass
Not knowing Knowing?"

or the like.

[Achebe]

I assume that the first knowing is from the smell, the second from the sight?
The question is rhetorical...
Maybe:...?
High summer / roadkill / pleasanter to pass not knowing knowing.

[Lizzie]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

I read this as a question posed to the roadkill: was it easier to pass away not having human style consciousness, not knowing about death or what was happening? That's just me.

[Achebe]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

I read this as a question posed to the roadkill: was it easier to pass away not having human style consciousness, not knowing about death or what was happening? That's just me.

That makes a lot more sense, thanks.
You can be surprisingly perceptive, Elizabeth.

[dukealien]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

I read this as a question posed to the roadkill: was it easier to pass away not having human style consciousness, not knowing about death or what was happening? That's just me.

Bingo, except that - assuming the critter was not aware in our human way - perhaps the question's for the reader.

[Brownlie]

I read the colon like a simile or metaphor or some associated thing like that. So, what the hell is knowing knowing? Beats me. Usually forget about roadkill pretty quickly.

Good question on the colon - hadn't really thought that through.  I guess it's trying to make what comes after subordinate to the concrete (though stinky)  sight which evokes it.  If I were a Victorian (chronologically, not geographically) it might be an address:

"Oh, wheel-murdered Dormouse:
Was't pleasanter to Pass
Not knowing Knowing?"

or the like.
[/quote]

Lol. Don't think there's anything wrong with the colon. The word "pass" is good cause it's a pun for passing on the road and death. I guess not knowing knowing is good. I mean, I don't really know how else to say that.

[vagabond]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?

good question..
assuming it was killed instantly, I guess the answer would be the same if the roadkill was a human, because in that moment all the wondering and "knowing" wouldn´t matter (it only can matter as long as we live).

[nibbed]

High Summer


High summer roadkill:
was it pleasanter to pass
not knowing knowing?



Hi, dukealien.
This is very sad.


I would change the word "pleasanter",
it looks too much like pheasant or peasant.
It is a brave poem, though! Well, kinda brave.
I hope today you are spared of all roadkill
and happy sunshine mixed with good health
brightens your day!

janine