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triveni spotlight : 11 july

triveni spotlight A FEATURE EVERY ALTERNATE DAY! hosts: Teji Sethi and Kala Ramesh guest editor: Scott Mason

Theme: hand play



storm shelter…

a girl and her mother play

itsy-bitsy spider


Brenda J. Gannam

The Heron’s Nest

Vol. X, No. 4 (December 2008)


All these poems were originally published in The Heron's Nest. I chose to confine my search there not just for the quality but also for the convenience of its online archive. Scott Mason



4 Comments


Marcie Wessels
Marcie Wessels
Jul 11, 2022

I think this is really interesting for a couple of reasons.


I agree with Lakshmi. "storm shelter" is such a good set up, especially the word 'shelter' which implies comfort or protection. Added to 'storm' it gives one the idea that there is some trepidation or fear of the storm.


We have a mother and daughter huddled together in the storm shelter. There's an implied intimacy from the get-go. The mother entertains or distracts the child with a finger play. In and of itself, this is a really touching moment.


The other brilliant thing about this haiku, at least for me, is the choice of song.


This would be a completely different haiku with a different nursery rhyme and the…


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Kala Ramesh
Kala Ramesh
Jul 12, 2022
Replying to

Lovely, Marcie. Totally agree with your view on the nursery rhyme chosen - it adds colour and optimism to the haiku. _()_

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lakshmi iyer
lakshmi iyer
Jul 11, 2022

Superb!!!

Line 1 image is the best.


storm shelter ...

( Yes, ellipsis, my favourite)


The next two lines are so loving to read and looks as though your giving shelter to the spider or the girl must have got scared and her mother coaxing her with this play.

Thank you so much!!

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Kala Ramesh
Kala Ramesh
Jul 11, 2022

storm shelter…

a girl and her mother play

itsy-bitsy spider


Brenda J. Gannam


Most poignant. Of course in India, it would have been a poem using fingers in a regional language - for only the middle class and above learn English in schools.


But the idea is clear, and most endearing.

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