re:Virals 460

Welcome to re:Virals, The Haiku Foundation’s weekly commentary feature on some of your favorites among the best contemporary haiku and senryu written in English. This week’s poem, chosen by Melissa Dennison, was:

     
the multiverse reclines in her pale blue eyes
 
—Gary Hittmeyer
 Blithe Spirit, Volume 34, number 2, May 2024

Introducing this poem, Melissa writes:

Why did I choose this monoku? Predominantly because it offers readers the opportunity to create their own meanings. It is a little mysterious, ambiguous perhaps. I am curious to discover what others make of it.  I am also a bit of a science geek and the idea of a multiverse has long fascinated me. There are so many possibilities here, what might other universes look like? Feel like? Are they the same as ours? Could there be other versions of ourselves in them, all reading this poem and deriving their own meanings? I love this poem for its imaginative word play, and the notion of a multiverse reclining in a human eye is playful, novel and intriguing. It is a unique concept and that is why I chose it.

Opening comment:

An exercise in boundless imagination to which I’m sure readers will respond. Gary’s mellifluous short poem, on first reading by a typical romantic cis male, is replete with the possibilities of love and the mystery of a woman lover. The salient use of “reclines” suggests fine art and the reclining nude, and sure enough: Henri Matisse: Reclining Nude with Blue Eyes (Nu couché aux yeux bleus), January 1936, Oil on canvas. The Barnes Foundation, New York. Still in copyright until 3 November this year.

This begs the question of whether the poet/reader is looking into these eyes, or is —less likely but also possible within the reading— the mind behind the eyes, looking out. The eyes are apochryphally said to be the window of the soul, but even if such a thing as the soul exists, the eyes are more for looking out of than for looking into, for just as the Mona Lisa’s smile, they conceal the true thoughts of the mind behind.

Now we come to the other salient word, “multiverse.” The romantic in me summoned up one of my favourite poets and poems, John Donne’s The Sun Rising: “She’s all states, and all princes, I”. A less imaginative choice in this week’s verse would have been “world” or, bringing in the starry eyes of romance, “universe”; but the multiverse is a hypothetical concept existing only in the imagination, or in the mathematical lacunae of things which cannot yet be accounted for in cosmology. And so, we have a poem of the mind and the imagination on which to meditate.

As for a multiverse of endless alternative possibilities, in which we can ‘be what we want to be’, well that, too, exists only in the imagination of the mind; for the realities on the ground are real constraints, full of imperfections. To become President of the United States, to win Olympic gold for the 100m, or to be forever young, are just a few of the multiple things of which I can, or ever could, but dream. A dream of endless possibilities in one woman’s love…well, that’s another matter.

Alan Harvey:

Staring into your love’s eyes. “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. / I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach…” Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The classic longing of love is exhibited in Hittmeyer’s monoku.

The multiverse’s many worlds and many possibilities are hypothetical for now. But when you first gaze into your soulmate’s eyes new worlds of possibilities open. It can upend your known existence and inspire new ones.

And where do these new universes reside? In those “pale blue eyes”.

If this haiku was written by the poet for a particular “her” with “pale blue eyes” it’s appropriate. Though it could have been more universal if the color wasn’t named. Blue eyes already have cultural advantages. To open the haiku up for more people maybe the eyes could be dewy or charming or delicate. Love has been found in many different colors of eyes.

I hope Gary Hittmeyer doesn’t take this as a criticism because his poem is elegant and charming.

Nili Ghosh:

She is looking beyond the obvious. Her ambition knows no bounds and opportunities are limitless. She is standing in front of the multiverse which is reflecting in her eyes with great hope and excitement to achieve the impossible.

Richa Sharma:

The author seems to be employing a fascinating juxtaposition of the concepts of perceiving existence through the eyes and the processing of certain information to imagine alternative realities. It’s interesting to note how this discomfort of knowing “anything is possible” reclines in a deeper mystery of communication.

An important observation is the usage of “reclines in” rather than “reclines on.” Does it hint at time travel? The secrets of the Multiverse may lie in the miracle of the now. I seem to sit back in my chair, looking at the accessible emptiness of the “sora” (sky), and slowly closing my eyes to enter the dreamscape.

Lakshman Bulusu:

Creating the infinite in the finite…
This one-liner is a great interpretation of multiple universes co-existing in a space and time that stretches the limits of space and time. And this “reclining into her pale blue eyes” beautifully creates a world beyond our universe that only “her” aka a lady’s eyes can imagine.

Metaphorically this can mean dreams of the dimension of a universe of universes can accommodate in the lady’s innocent looking eyes that she is dreaming of and believing in the same. Blue eyes suggest innocence and she is so naïve that her sphere of dreams her iris dreams off is a feeling of being one with the multiverse and one that settles in her eyes. And she trusts that her dreams are fulfilled.

She captures the infinite in the finite – a vision exponentially larger than herself and the level she is in i.e., the earth.

This monoku can also throw light on a spiritual angle and her inner-self. She is honest and trusts that she has elevated herself to a level of consciousness that can only be measured is only in eons of magnitude.

And she has become a “Blithe Spirit” that suggests she has merged with the soul – one that “reclines” with “infinity”

The color of her eyes and that of a universe of universes is a splendor she enjoys both being on a same plane and the “light” from both.

Jennifer Gurney:

Well, I’ll admit it. I had to google “multiverse.” I wasn’t sure whether it was a scientific word, a sci fi reference or a nod to the myriad multiplicity of identities in today’s world. To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure which it is.

But I did learn that it’s also the name for a DC comics Marvel continuity construct of how things are organized. Apparently there are 52 universes that appear through change and at the end, there’s a convergence when everyone is available to us as a storyteller. Fascinating idea. Not sure how I’ve lived on this planet for 60 orbits around the sun and not known this, but there you have it. Sharing it for the good of the order.

Either way, I love the personified view of the multiverse “reclining in her pale blue eyes.” For one, I tend to think of the heavens as a nighttime being. I’m not quite sure why, maybe it’s just more dramatic with the stars and planets lit up in a dark sky. But this image hooked me of the multiverse in the day, which is what I took the pale blue to reference – day sky.

The reclining image reminded me of the biblical reference to how God created the world in six days and on the seventh day rested.

I like the link to Mother Earth with the use of she versus he.

The language of this short-yet-philosophically deep monoku slows the reader down with all of the long vowel sounds: reclines, pale, blue, eyes. This slowing is the perfect tempo for the image of reclining and reflecting. I can imagine a satisfied smile on the lips of the multiverse.

And then, out of nowhere, the opening of a classic Ella Fitzgerald song floated into my mind. “Blue skies, smiling at me. Nothing but blue skies do I see.” And life converges: poetry, science, sci fi, Marvel Comics, nature, religion and Ella. All in eight words. Nice.

Amoolya Kamalnath:

the multiverse reclines in her/pale blue eyes

the multiverse reclines/in her pale blue eyes

the multiverse/reclines/in her/pale blue eyes

It’s the reflection of the sky in a woman’s eyes. A woman who is reclining at the beachside or even at the poolside. It could be a small girl too, who loves to admire the sky lying on the fresh grass.

The term multiverse here could mean the multiple thoughts running in her mind. It could also be the imagined worlds/scenarios playing in her mind in a chaotic manner where the situation she is in right now is only one of the possibilities in her imagination.

Pale blue eyes could mean the reflection of the sky in her eyes. It could also mean she’s going through some disappointment and sorrow. Due to all this sadness, she analyses her world in all the different ways she can.

Nathan Sidney—almost fractal…:

The multiverse seethes with activity, every possible activity, so to imagine it reclining is a surprise indeed. And irises have long been associated with cosmic activity, reference the many images juxtaposing eyes and galaxies/nebulae. The pleats and folds of the iris have a complexity that is almost fractal, the way that some imagine the structure of the multiverse. As the window of the soul, to see the multiverse reclining is to see the many people we each have been, the possibilities we have foreclosed and those which are still open. The multiverse relaxing the way a cat might relax, full of a coiled energy that could pounce at any moment, could bite or scratch or kill or get the zoomies. We see in her eyes many worlds, some of which we hope include us and lazy summer afternoons. Or are they the eyes of a newborn, a branching universe unfolding in her eyes as she quickens.

Author Gary Hittmeyer:

Thanks for choosing my piece! This one just sort of came to me. I am a heterosexual male, but had seen a picture of Paul Newman and said look at those eyes! :-) I don’t know if they’re considered pale or not, but are certainly striking. I started with the universe reclines, but thought multiverse was a little more modern sounding. Also running in my mind was the Who song, “behind blue eyes” – I always liked the sound of that phrase.

Thanks to all who sent commentaries. As the contributor of the commentary reckoned best this week, Nathan has chosen next week’s poem, which you’ll find below. We invite you to write a commentary to it. It may be as long or short, academic or spontaneous, serious or silly, public or personal as you like. All with respect for the poet. Out-takes from the best of these take their place in the THF Archives. Best of all, the chosen commentary’s author gets to pick the next poem.

Anyone can participate. Simply use the re:Virals commentary form below to enter your commentary on the new week’s poem (“Your text”) by the following Tuesday midnight, Eastern US Time Zone, and then press Submit to send your entry. The Submit button will not be available until Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in. We look forward to seeing your commentary and finding out about your favourite poems!

Poem for commentary:

     
dew under my feet
why do I need to fit
into glass slippers
—Vandana Parashar, 
 Heliosparrow, January 27th 2024

The Haiku Foundation reminds you that participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior from all parties. Please see our Code of Conduct policy.

Footnote:

Gary Hittmeyer was born in Brooklyn, NY during the fabulous fifties. He currently lives quietly in the beautiful Hudson River Valley of New York State, where he enjoys NY Mets baseball, silver age comics, BBC crime dramas, classic rock, EPL soccer, the sound of a mandolin, 75 degree sunny days, and short form poetry.

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There will be those seeking comfort in order who take a narrow view of haiku and senryu (though many of them may also repudiate this or that aspect of Japanese haiku written by its masters).  They will say this week’s verse is neither, but “a short poem.”  That may be so, but I leave you with:

“Haiku are small collections of words intended to manipulate mindspace.”
—Realism Is Dead (and Always Was), Jim Kacian, Modern Haiku 47:2 Summer 2016.

Perhaps provocative, and I feel sure he would add “not the whole story” (read the full article), but they are, aren’t they? Begs the supplementary question: how are ‘haiku’ different then from any other very short poetry?

“A word or small gathering of words which attempts to express an individual’s evolving consciousness of self, of others, and of the universe.”
—Marlene Mountain,  May 1988.  You might enjoy Marlene’s grappling with haiku definitions.

 

——

Received from Dan Campbell after the deadline:
“The multiverse reclines in her pale blue eyes.” Within those eyes, the universe surrenders, not in defeat, but in an embrace of endless possibility. The pale blue irises are not mere pools of color; they are portals to realms unseen, galaxies intertwined with stardust dreams.

Her eyes invite you to explore, to wander through the vast landscapes they reflect. They tell stories of ancient civilizations, of stars being born and dying, of the delicate balance between chaos and order. They are a reminder that we are all connected, threads in the same cosmic fabric.

In her pale blue eyes, you see your own reflection, not just as you are, but as you could be in a million different universes. You realize that within her gaze lies the potential for everything, a reminder that the multiverse, with all its infinite possibilities, is not out there in the stars but here, reclining within her pale blue eyes.”
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