Toll Booth Lit for Christmas

The following brief comment appeared in an essay titled “Haiku Toolbox: Synesthesia” (Modern Haiku 44:3, Autumn 2013, page 49). See also “Toll Booth Lit for Christmas” by Karen Sohne and Bill Pauly and “The Light in the Darkness” by Ruth Yarrow.

by Paul Miller


        toll booth lit for Christmas—

        from my hand to hers

        warm change


Christmas lights on their own are a cold, outdoor image. Welch adds a humanity, a personalization to them through the touch of the toll booth attendant. That the attendant is of the opposite sex adds a different glow to the scene.