Turning 18 is a curious thing. Without a profound election to vote in, a nicotine addiction, or a sexual desperation, I don’t have much use for this age.
Sure, I can drive as many people in my car as I want, I can talk on the phone in the car, and I can get a hotel room, but meh. I don’t feel any different. I don’t feel suddenly more mature.
I wrote a haiku that I kind of like. I don’t expect any of you to understand it, so you won’t like it as much as me. But here it is anyways:
A beam of harsh light
Looks soft in this angry sea
Leads the ships on home
It flickers but holds
And still the waves slap the rocks
In awful taunting
The ship sinks down deep
There is no more of the light
Our beacon is gone
Great Haiku in my opinion, not that that opinion carries a ton of weight. Still often the goal that we are going for in life (figuratively the beam of light) is “harsh” in a way. I mean every person that makes it into a college means one more other kid that doesn’t, right? Its the same for any sort of honor. Success is built on the failure of others. Finding a way to change that statement is a worthy life effort. Wow, what a digression! Well, the harsh light (could also be a metaphor for popularity) looks inviting compared to the “angry sea” of life though and we sail right to it unaware of the hidden dangers around. Or you sail away to avoid those dangers and thus go beyond the guiding lights of life. Or your ship sinks… I would guess my interpretations have little to do with what the poem is actually about. But then again writing is about what the reader sees in the end, right? Oh well, it really is some good haiku!
Nice analysis. Scroll to the bottom of http://brisownworld.com/?p=2985 to get my intentions. 🙂