Three Senryu

commentary by Tom Lynch and Paul O. Williams

                Valentine’s Day—

                she reminds me

                to  fasten my seatbelt                                                                                                 +

                                Michael Dylan Welch

What has become of the passions of early romance? Small gestures of caring, little naggings, and yet not without sincere sentiment. (TL)

                before the guests arrive

                I straighten

                the straight cushions

                                Michael Dylan Welch

Who can’t read this poem and think, “been there, done that”? One needn’t be a finicky housekeeper to relate. The senryu, it strikes me, is more about the nervousness we feel when important visitors are coming than a comment on overzealous housekeeping per se. (TL)

                a lull in her hands—

                the hairstylist asks

                how I part my hair

                                Michael Dylan Welch

How many of us dive into our work and plow ahead only after awhile to wonder what we are doing. The hairstylist, sure of her skill, has realized she is beyond her depth for a moment and is caught up short, and has to ask what she should be doing. The way line one is expressed seems both natural and yet original—very nicely done. (PW)