Haiku Classic 4

by Dhugal J. Lindsay

Commentary first published 6 June 2021 on the Mainichi (Japan) website. See also “Haiku Classic 1,” “Haiku Classic 2,” and “Haiku Classic 3.”

after the burial

thud of an acorn

on the limo roof

Michael Dylan Welch (1962– )

From Haiku Friends, Volume 3 (2009), edited by Masaharu Hirata, Umeda Print, Osaka, Japan

This haiku sets the concrete scene beautifully. The choice of “burial” rather than “funeral” signifies we are not leaving a church, but rather a graveyard. The oak tree from which the acorn has fallen must be one growing along the road out of the cemetery. The thud of the acorn brings us back from deep thought, thinking about the person who recently passed away. It also suggests rebirth and new life as well as constancy, as we imagine the great age of the oak that must have shed it. Life goes on!