Haiku by Linette Rabsatt
around the corner
birds fly low
a mango tree blooms
-Linette Rabsatt
Virgin Islands
This piece really resonated with both of the editors. Kevin is from Puerto Rico, and Samantha is of Cuban descent, bringing us both back to a nostalgic past.
For Kevin, he was instantly transported back to the island, where the sweltering heat was broken only by the occasional rooster chant. He would watch as the plump mangoes sat upon their lofty perch— just out of reach. It was only when they came tumbling down, with a large thud, that the day’s snack was finally secured.
For Samantha, it was her parent’s mango tree that she thought of; consuming most of what her mother called “The Enchanted Garden.” The sliced fruit served poolside, as she floated by in an inflatable. Only when she tried to take a morsel did she discover it was just out of reach.
“Temptation out of reach,” was the over-arching theme we received from this piece. The mango tree, with its fruit— not quite ready, but tempting none the less, set the stage. Our terrestrial-bound selves reaching skyward in hopes of plucking the perfect one. Yet, to our dismay, the birds hovering aloft, chortle at our pursuits. They know the best places for ripe fruits, if only they can avoid the low-hanging wires, and melange of concrete house of their bi-pedal neighbours. So they spiral and dive, dipping just below the dense tree line. Are there better fruits over there? Somewhere other than here? Somewhere… just out of reach?