Haiku Poet Word Search

4 responses to “Allyson Whipple”

1. 

   haikutec

   February 10, 2025

   tumor removal
   the hole in a log
   where a woodpecker lived

   Allyson Whipple

   Trash Panda, Volume 7
   editor: Lisa Anne Johnson
   retired experimental research scientist, and environmental steward

   A fascinating haiku and great to have a stronger juxtaposition where we might for a moment, or moments, not understand why these two parts appear in the same small poem:

   For instance:

   tumor removal

   the hole in a log
   where a woodpecker lived

   AND:

   tumor removal
   the hole in a log

   where a woodpecker lived

   .

   But it’s packed full of meaning, from a tumour removed from a human, and a part of them is lost to surgery, as who wants part of their body removed that they’ve lived with since birth into childhood and further.

   The two comparisons are startling, and of course the word ‘tumour’ is frightening to many of us already.

   Then there is the sad fact that most non-human animals are seen as a ‘tumour’ or ‘blight’ if someone has the power to remove them from their home environs (external, also internal), or a removal because of a new housing scheme (even if the houses are badly built, aside and regardless of environmental concerns) or some other building scheme.

   As Apex Predators we still see everyone but us as predators to be hunted and killed, either for sport (foxes and badgers etc…) or incorrectly deemed a threat. We are lucky other animals don’t band together. An alligator or crocodile can move with speed and agility on land. I’ve witnessed a Common Brown (repeat attack) snake keep up with a galloping horse. The only prey to a human on a daily basis, at any time, anywhere, even going to the shops, or café, is another human.

   Loss, removal, empathy resonate, and so much more in this haiku. If we expand haiku, especially those with strong juxtaposition, a whole short story can appear magically in front of our eyes.

   And if we get the original haiku meaning wrong? We have OUR story, and why not. And often the author gifts us that choice too.

   deep bow,

   Alan

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   1. 

      Allyson

      February 13, 2025

      Wow! Thank you for that fantastic commentary!

      I wrote this haiku on a hike a few months before a planned hysterectomy after spending six years trying nonsurgical treatments for benign tumors (that despite the word “benign” were still causing me a world of hurt). I’d never wanted children, so it wasn’t the loss of fertility that bothered me. But I was upset about needing surgery itself (and the long recovery time), and the impact of organ removal on the body system as a whole, and paying for it/dealing with the horror that is the US health system. Plus all the unknowns: What if it’s worse than it looks on the MRI? What if the surgeon gets COVID and I’m stuck in surgical limbo for another six months waiting to reschedule? What if the doctor accidentally cuts a bit of intestine or bladder? What if the *very small* chance I don’t survive the surgery come to pass?

      My partner and I came across a log on a trail, and writ all over the wood was evidence that a woodpecker had lived a full life there. I would never call the woodpecker a blight on the tree, as both the bird and the tree were doing what nature intended. But something about seeing the used-up, decaying remains of a tree, filled with holes large and small, really hit a nerve in a way I hadn’t anticipated.

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      1. 

         haikutec

         February 14, 2025

         I used to be involved in a land care project of 2000 acres, and when a tree falls, we’d leave it there to provide life for critters of all sizes, and allow it to eventually become mulch, a constant giver of life from tree and shelter when a live, and still shelter in death, and giving back always.

         I wish humanity could learn from that, no one is a blight, we are a gift, not a nightmare to be unleashed.

         Many thanks and love this line “a woodpecker had lived a full life there”

         Alan

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2. 

   Some Recent Publications – Allyson Whipple

   February 15, 2025

   […] I was featured on Haiku Poet Word Search. […]

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