‘Garden Party’ on Haiku Masters

 

Feedback on a shahai or photo haiku is always appreciated, particularly when a reader has interpreted a particular combination of words and images in a different way to that which inspired it. Often this happens when someone with a different life experience or background views the shahai.

When I first saw the prompt photo below on Haiku Masters, the delicate petals sitting on a large leaf reminded me of a tray of pastel-coloured, petits fours (intricate miniature desserts) that are often served at parties and other events. In this case I imagined a summer garden party because it was an outdoor shot.

In her comments, the haiku poet and judge Kazuko Nishimura reveals that the photo haiku also took her to a late summer garden party, but one located in Japan where the event Obon takes place, the Japanese Buddhist custom of placing food on lotus flowers in honour of the spirits of one’s ancestors.

And so I learn something new today as a result of Kazuko’s feedback…