1st place winner, Third Annual Jane Reichhold Haiga Competition, November 2018 organised by Failed Haiku and The Prune Juice.
Published in both Failed Haiku and Prune Juice, November 2018
commentary by Steve Hodge
This haiga works for me on many levels. On one level, the idea of losing oneself in the act of seeking self enlightenment affirms the purpose of the search for enlightenment. In her journey toward enlightenment, the poet finds that she has lost her “self” in the process. On another level, there is subtle irony – even humor – in the idea that one might lose oneself in the process of seeking self enlightenment. This is a fine senryu on its own but the image presents the same dichotomy that the senryu does, at least to my Western eye. I see crosses in the three wooden panels between the windows. The windows themselves might represent enlightenment, while the crosses might indicate that the poet has found herself considering the possibility that philosophies other than her own might hold the key to enlightenment. Or she might have found a universal key to enlightenment; one which includes the collective wisdom of a multitude of philosophies. While I’m sure that the track light in the top-center of the cupola is coincidental, I can’t help smiling when I imagine someone who is seeking enlightenment looking up to find an electric light above his or her head. Am I reading too much into this haiga? Maybe. I’m not a person of profound religious or philosophical beliefs. But I like this haiga for the possibilities that it presents to me.
