Reading The Signs: Solo Renhai No. 73

by John Daleiden

in the autumn dusk
geese rest on the farm pond—
red sky tonight

color in the valley trees
dew glistens on the corn rows

a scarecrow dances
beneath the harvest moon
shadows lengthen

in Renhai Studio

Archive Id: 73
John Daleiden: USA
Written: October 1, 2008

Theme: Change of Season
Season: Autumn
Kigo: autumn dusk: "aki no kure": Season, Climate: The Haiku Handbook, William J. Higginson, P. 276.
Verse Form: Free
Process: Forward

Links 1/2: The kigo, "autumn dusk" is a time when wild life begins their annual migration; geese fly long distances and rest in various places during the night before resuming their migration. The red sky is also a sign of seasonal change. These images of change link with Verse 2.

Links 2/3: In Verse 2 two effects of seasonal change are exhibited in the "color" change of leaves on decidious trees, and the morning "dew" left on the corn fields shortly after sunrise.

Links 3/1: In verse 3 the harvest moon lends an eerie effect to a scarecrow guarding a field; in this changing light the shadows move and lengthen as the moon traverses the skies; the image is one of change that is haunting, mysterious and beautiful. The night time beauty of the fall harvest season in verse 3 is linked conversly to the images of a fall sunset in verse 1. All three verses supply fall images of change—at "dusk", images in the daytime, and images in the moonlight. The theme of change is conveyed by the sense of time passing generated by the images in all three verses. The sensative inhabitant of this environment has only to "Read The Signs" to comphrehend the season.

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