Unfinished Haiku

by Jessica Tremblay

Unable to figure out the last step of an origami,

I sit there, frustrated.

I unfold the paper and start over.

Soon, I’m blocked again.

I flatten the paper on the table.

The creases mark the battle. I sit still,

imagining the finished origami—a tato box.

So close, and yet unable to finish.

Yes, it’s frustrating, just like an unfinished haiku.

Every once in a while you get a flash of genius,

a haiku that simply comes to you,

but by the time you write it down, you forget

the last line or a word.

And the haiku is unfinished, imperfect.

You know the answer—it was given to you a moment ago.

Now, the missing word is this big gap

in the middle of the poem,

staring you in the face.

And, just like a used origami paper,

the haiku cannot be reused or repaired.

It can only be trashed or recycled.

First posted to Jessica Tremblay’s Old Pond Comics blog on 21 December 2013.