hosts : Sanjuktaa Asopa & Aparna Pathak
sprouting grass —
the slaughter tag
in the lamb's ear
-- Corine Timmer
( First place in Robert Spiess Memorial Award. 2020)
hosts : Sanjuktaa Asopa & Aparna Pathak
sprouting grass —
the slaughter tag
in the lamb's ear
-- Corine Timmer
( First place in Robert Spiess Memorial Award. 2020)
The contrast between fresh grass and lamb ready to be slaughtered is strong, presenting a sad moment
Corine has very generously shared with us the detailed commentaries on this poem. First the commentary by Alan S Bridges and then the backstory, the process behind this haiku, by herself. Thank you so much, Corine.
So here they are:
The contrasting images in this haiku are masterfully assembled, the softness of emerging grass and a lamb's ear, set against the stark reality of the pivot line. While our society imbues the lamb with imagery of a pastoral setting and the symbol of Jesus Christ, in strict livestock terminology, a lamb is "a young sheep under 12 months of age which does not have any permanent incisor teeth in wear." The slaughter tag shows a flock number and has an…