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sanjuktaa

open sky :: SAMVAAD | 22nd January

hosts : Sanjuktaa Asopa & Kashiana Singh


the heft

of a cast-iron skillet

autumn deepens


---- Mary Stevens

(First place, Harold G. Henderson Memorial Haiku Awards, 2020; Mann Library's Daily Haiku; A New Resonance 12: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku, eds. Kacian, Jim and Julie Warther, Red Moon Press, 2021; Frogpond 44.3, 2021,)

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8 comentários


Anju Kishore
Anju Kishore
28 de jan. de 2023

I feel the weight of advancing age in this ku. How well expressed!

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lakshmi iyer
lakshmi iyer
26 de jan. de 2023

Lovely!!

I shall start from the third line

'autumn deepens' and why so?

Is that the weight of some haunting thoughts or the weight of pain, grief, sadness, loneliness, physical issues, etc

Cast-iron is unmatched for the heat. It retains heat as long as it can and it weighs too heavy.

Is the poet connecting some heat related issues, maybe physical like say... menopause/ hysterectomy/ that does have an experience of clouds of heat pushing in. And likewise she is connecting to L3.

Or the weight of some unwanted growth within her that's irritating her?

Or the post surgery and the treatment therein??

'cast-iron' skillet has this round pan like shape that maybe similar to that understanding of autumn deepens,…


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marilyn ashbaugh
marilyn ashbaugh
25 de jan. de 2023

In the midwestern United States where I live, weeks of autumn grey skies are not uncommon. While this grey is a nice contrast to the red and yellow leaves of early autumn, as autumn deepens people fall into a funk with the monochrome. Without the sun, it is challenging to know the time of day. We begin to slow down and become lethargic as if preparing for hibernation.

"the heft of a cast-iron skillet" is an apt metaphor for this time of year and its effect on the body, mind and spirit.


Thank you, Mary, for your expressive haiku!

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Mary Stevens
Mary Stevens
25 de jan. de 2023
Respondendo a

Thanks, Marilyn! Your description means a lot to me coming from you, whose haiku I so consistently appreciate.

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sanjuktaa
24 de jan. de 2023

Mary says: I would love to see others' comments on the haiku before I tell its story. I like to see how people interpret my poems.

So come on poets!Tell us your interpretations, give us your thoughts on this wonderful haiku. Mary Stevens is waiting to hear from you.

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Mary Stevens
Mary Stevens
23 de jan. de 2023

Thanks so much for posting my haiku, Sanjuktaa & Kashiana!

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