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,)
I feel the weight of advancing age in this ku. How well expressed!
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,…
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!
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.
Thanks so much for posting my haiku, Sanjuktaa & Kashiana!