listen

The following poem was the 02 Haiku journal’s “Editor Feature” on 29 October 2025, with commentary by the editors.

listen

ilsten

islten

silten

siletn

silent

The mind, engulfed in a swirling whirlpool of blurred thoughts, battered relentlessly, until . . . relief. This month’s Editor Feature goes to this piece. Two words have never been more skillfully crafted as a metaphor for the human experience. Participants of this worldly experiment, brought to their knees in search of guidance, answers, or connection—listening. All they are given is noise . . . dissonant sounds of wants and desires, clamouring with thoughts of expectation and hesitation. It is only then, amongst the din, that our subject understands their purpose; and in their reflection—silence.

—Kevin Irigoyen Penatello and Samantha Pardo Irigoyen, 02 Haiku editors