The Third Line

Foreword

If a Haiku is the written record of the conscious experience of self in situation and of “pure awareness” of the moment, a sketch can be considered as the drawing equivalent.

This piece aims at connecting the drawing to the writing, the first having preceded the second in providing what Allen Ginsberg has described as a “leap of the mind”.

The title of this piece refers to the fact that the third line in a traditional Haiku does seal that leap, role given here to the drawing.

 

Feature image

The breakfast finished
Its tastes and smells receded
A morning syntagma (*)

sketch of the third line of the haiku: a morning syntagma
A morning syntagma

For Josée

It was to be our day
We decided to revisit 1959
White ducks at the Fry  

sketch of the third line of the haiku: white ducks at the Fry
White ducks at the Fry museum – Seatte

Old Orchard Street

Searching the orchard
Behind the row of trees
Number 2276  

a multi-colored sketch of the third line of the haiku—number 2276—superimposed on an orchard.
Number 2276

 

The rock at Pine Point

It was a special visit
With a hint of something ending
Turbulent waters  

a monochrome sketch of the third line of the haiku: turbulent waters
Turbulent waters

Splendor in the grass

In the poem?
No, in the back yard
A spluttering of colors 

a yellow, black and green sketch of the third line of the haiku: a spluttering of colors
A spluttering of colors

 

Credit

All drawings to Maurice Amiel

Quoted expressions were taken from: Goldberg, N. Three simple lines, New World Ed., Pomona, Calif. 2012

 

(*) A syntagma, in linguistics, is an “elementary constituent segment of text” according to Wikipedia

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