Compassion #21
I step out the door
Anthony Nanfito, Haiku Ponderings
The snail is on its commute
Paths cross but no crunch
Pondering This Haiku
When I wrote this haiku, I was teaching English at a private Catholic school in Chiang Mai, Thailand. As part of my employment I was permitted to stay in the teacher dormitories on campus for free for the first three months of employment.
On the particular morning that I wrote this haiku I was stepping out of my dorm building and heading to the main section of campus. On my way I saw a snail who was walking (er … sliding?) across the path that lay before me.
As we both made our way, I let my imagination wander and wondered to myself what does this snail do for work? Is it heading to work like I am? What was a typical day of work for a snail?
With each step I rode on an imaginary thought train as I pondered the daily lives of snails. Each step took me further from my reality in to the reality of snail’s life—but not so far from my own reality that I wasn’t mindful of where I placed my large, 13-US sized feet. Hence, the line in the haiku about paths crossing, but no crunching.
Before long the snail and I were several meters apart and I was drawn back to my reality as I approached the school’s main campus. My imaginings of a snail’s daily life drifted from my thoughts as agendas and lesson plans took their place.
A Question for You to Ponder
How do you express compassion toward yourself?
How do you express it toward others?
Share your answer in the comments below.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month:
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
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