Viral 8.3

                                                        stars
                                                        roof aerials facing
                                                        different directions

                                                                 Gonzalo Melchor

I first saw this haiku in Acorn No. 17 (Fall 2006). I loved the dichotomy between the tangle of aerials, none in agreement—how human!—and the galaxies in their eternity and mystery. Under the stars, the aerials seem to reach out for communication and even insight into the nature of existence, those mysteries that abound in the distance of space and time. They search in all directions, but in the end must settle for all-too-earthly transmissions. Perhaps the author also meant to suggest how, to satisfy this longing, human beings often construct individual (and often contradictory) belief systems to give some semblance of order and meaning to the universe. Yet above the chaos of the aerials, whose quest for the ultimate signals may not be satisfied (at least not in this life), the presence of the stars continues. Their progression that reminds us of the remarkable, mysterious wonders beyond this world.