Call it Perdido;
Water, wind or well explode through,
At the embouchure
I don’t usually like to explain my poems. I want people to interpret them in their own way, like them or not, without any muddling from me. In this case I am going to make an exception. I am very proud of this poem. It is one of my favorites because it has three distinct meanings. Most of the time I put a lot of thought into my poetry. Some come easily, some take a lot of work, tweaking, etc. but most are pretty straightforward descriptions. Not so with this one and in this case I am going to point the reader in a general direction. I am doing this because several people read this poem and did not understand it. These are smart people, some are even musicians (hint 1) so I decided folks didn’t get it because it is too personal or maybe it isn’t that good and I’m delusional. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. So without further ado, the clues to the haiku are in the definitions of Perdido and embouchure.
I wrote this haiku last fall but it took me until this weekend to take the photograph I wanted because they were dredging the pass (hint 2) for months and the dredge barge was not exactly attractive.
So here is the challenge: what are the three meanings of this poem?
Please check out CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI: Carpe Diem #740 a clam. This challenge is a brilliant example of haiku with several meanings and I am in awe of and inspired by Chèvrefeuille’s poetry.
May 24, 2015 at 8:35 pm
I like it, I see the image works well with the beautiful words you used. I find it very stylish to see a haiku with foreign words, yet used with such skill that it blends with the English and sparkles imagination and curiosity.
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May 24, 2015 at 8:56 pm
Thank you!
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May 24, 2015 at 10:05 pm
Hm …. I have some ideas here … very interesting 🙂
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May 24, 2015 at 10:27 pm
Awesome haiku dancing echoes … I had to read it several times to relate to it, but I think I finally got it. Maybe it’s because of the fact that English isn’t my maiden language (I am from The Netherlands) … but as I look at the photo than I almost feel at home. This photo could have been taken just around the corner of my home. I love to listen to the natural music of the wind, the waves and the sea … I can almost hear it right now …. the sound of the waves pressed between the stones … that sweet sound of the “wind”-flute …. I like this haiku. Really you have done a great job on this haiku “a clam” ….
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May 24, 2015 at 10:53 pm
Thank you kindly. Yes, I deliberately used words starting with “W” to produce a wind like sound. You certainly understand what I was attempting. I may explain what it means to me later if folks want me to do so. I but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who wants to give it a try. Your country sounds beautiful. I would like to visit it someday.
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May 25, 2015 at 12:10 am
This is beautiful Christy,
Though I (sort of) cheated and looked up the meaning of those two words before reading your explanation, I love what you’ve done here and “Water, wind and well” is a very effective alliteration invoking the sound of the wind. Terrific example of multiple meanings in one haiku – well done.
Clare
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May 25, 2015 at 12:26 am
Thank you!
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May 25, 2015 at 12:33 am
Oh, that’s not cheating, that is what I wanted you to do. It’s the only way it will make sense. It is about things close to me or near and dear to my heart, so without knowing what the words mean, especially Perdido, it makes no sense at all.
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May 25, 2015 at 12:36 am
You arouse my instinct and imagination with this, more in an artistic than scientific way I must say..
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May 25, 2015 at 7:20 am
The poem and the image marry well. Powerful!
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May 25, 2015 at 7:32 am
Thank you!
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May 25, 2015 at 10:01 am
Oh this is so wonderful!!! Awesome!!!
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May 25, 2015 at 10:03 am
Thank you!
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May 25, 2015 at 2:15 pm
I percieve a small part of what you might want to express, but will ponder some more. I did not know these two words so already my mind is bigger! vron
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May 25, 2015 at 2:52 pm
Excellent!
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May 25, 2015 at 10:34 pm
Pardon my intrusion Miss,
It just occurred to me DUH, we live in the same state! I live on the coast in Central Florida. Small world isn’t it? Well, I’ve got to get back to work. When I stop rowing, the slave ship just goes in circles.
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May 25, 2015 at 10:51 pm
Yes, there are a few fellow Floridians I follow. All of you are very talented I must say. It must be in the water….
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May 25, 2015 at 10:55 pm
I’m humbled Miss. Though I do spend an enormous amount of time in the Gulf, I’m sure it’s not the water. You’re very lovely, and I’m happy to make your acquaintance. We seem about the same age…old! nonetheless, I truly enjoy reading your words.
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May 25, 2015 at 11:19 pm
Very interesting write … the haiku is a pearl and your explanation and photo are excellent! Loved your post.
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May 25, 2015 at 11:19 pm
Thank you, I enjoy yours.
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May 25, 2015 at 11:21 pm
Thank you kindly!
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May 26, 2015 at 12:58 am
Very welcome!
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May 26, 2015 at 8:10 pm
Well, you were already my favorite artistically motivated music-loving poet scientist before this beauty of a post, Christy, but this baby really takes the prize. The green moss on the rocks is the clincher for me photo-wise. Word-wise, it’s the sounds that match the meanings. Score. (Cue the music). Bravo. Love it, baby. Swinging.
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May 26, 2015 at 8:50 pm
Thank you! I am so glad you get it and like it. I will tell you a secret of this beautiful pass that only the locals can really know about. It was badly impacted by the BP oil spill. The town worked liked maniacs to clean it up and now 5 years later I see no sign of the former spill. I think there are still deep water oil mats way off shore but this area has come back pretty well. It burns me to see the. Same crap happening in Santa Barbara. Oh yeah, the news reported, a lot more oil was spilled than originally thought, like more than 4x as much. That is ALWAYS the case because they always underestimate the amount spilled and the damage it causes. Yes, I drive a car and I am not anti-industry per se but once you have lived through one of these man-made catastrophes, it changes your perspective and tolerance for ignorance and greed.
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May 26, 2015 at 8:59 pm
I think we have the knowledge to totally create new energy producers and standards to sustain the world’s population — solar, wind, hydro to name three of the more conventional and longstanding methods — but the powers in place are so powerful globally they won’t allow it to happen. You know, Christy? It’s about money, as you say, ecosystems be damned.
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May 27, 2015 at 6:58 am
Being a flute player I knew embouchure and Perdido I knew one meaning of (because I knew the meaning of Perdita (101 dalmations). The oil connection was lost on me until I looked it up. I think it is a perfect Haiku particularly given what happened there as you explained above to Mark. The photo is fantastic and the water looks beautifully clear. Glad the clean up worked but it makes you mad that it ever happened in the first place.
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May 27, 2015 at 7:24 am
Very cool! Yes, I broadened the meaning of embouchure to mean any restriction that concentrates although it is mostly used in wind instruments. Perdido Pass can be calm or quite treacherous depending on the tide and weather since there is the large Perdido Bay that empties out into the Gulf at his pass. Most folks that navigate this pass are well seasoned sea people. The Perdido Well is not the one that blew but it is the in the Gulf of Mexico and it is the deepest. Grammatically speaking, “oil” or “crude” would have been more correct than “well” but I wanted the continuous “w” sound. Lastly, there is a fourth albeit loose meaning using the actual translation of Perdido as “lost” in Spanish as you referred to with Perdita. I was thinking that in the case of being lost, either physically or mentally, there is usually a breakthrough of recognition. An “Aha!” moment which would also relate to embouchure. It’s a stretch, I know but it’s my poem and I’m sticking to it.
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May 28, 2015 at 5:14 pm
I thought it was very good. I liked the well as it (for me) did immediately bring oil to mind. Embouchure is predominantly an effect of the mouth and I presumed that this was a river’s mouth. I could have been wrong in that presumption. Our river mouth where I live opens and closes on a regular basis much to the authorities despair. It’s your poem but I love it.
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May 28, 2015 at 8:43 pm
Absolutely, one of the meanings of the poem is the rivers mouth emptying into the Gulf! That is the picture. The high volume of water and the restricted pass make for treacherous currents. We only have one high and one low tide a day and they are never more than a few feet in difference. It is because of the restriction or “embouchure” of the Caribbean on the Gulf of Mexico. I still can’t get used to it. I come from an area with two tide cycles a day that can have six feet of more of change.
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May 29, 2015 at 2:58 am
I’ve never heard of only one tide/ day. You live in both a beautiful and interesting place.
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June 21, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Beautiful words and image.
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June 21, 2015 at 1:44 pm
Thank you!
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