What if we could reset time, Marcus. Everything begins now, the way it is. We start afresh, no history, no past, no memories, no hurt. Time at zero. The first day of our lives.
We will have to relearn love, just as we will relearn hate. Why would it turn out differently this time?
You have to hope we aren’t hardwired to hate, that love is the primal, innate sensibility.
I hate to think you will be proved wrong.
at the bottom of the sea
in the forever dark
who can see the small fish smile
Phantom Road 
The prose poses the problem and the poem answers.
On past, present and hence, here is Eduardo Galeano: “Incapable of recalling its origins, the present paints the future as a repetition of itself; tomorrow is just another name for today.”
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Eloquently put…
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Luv the image and the tone of sarcasm in the haiku part of the haibun
Thanks for dropping in to read mine
much love…
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Thanks Gillena..
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I always love your conversations with Marcus – and I adore this haiku.
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Thanks Rosemary .. the blog URL is phantomroad.wordpress.com if you’d like to check out posts that haven’t been linked to PU.
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i like the use of ‘hardwired’ & am fish smiling 🙂
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Thank you 🙂🙂
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Chilling. We had better not tempt fate. Instead, Learn to dive deeper and meet those who thrive in the dark. Maybe there, we will discover, with Rilke ““Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.” Not that some might not have to die.
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Oh I love that quote Susan. Yes chilling us the word I think… to describe the state of the world..that’s what I was thinking about when I wrote it. Thanks so much.
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From one of my favorite books: “Letters to a Young Poet.”
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Am going to look for it.. thank you!!
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I love the emergence of the tiny fish at the end.
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Thanks Kerry…
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Ah! The thought is rather melancholic in its feel and matter of fact in its tone and the intermingling of the two creates an understanding of human nature. Things turn out as they turn out.
Who can after all see that small fish smiling? Not I.
Thought provoking. And I loved the haiku and its structure. Generally, the short-long-short structure is followed; it’s good to see it working the other way round. The shift in imagery is well done too. 🙂
-HA
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Thanks Anmol, am not following any of the rules..I’m calling it an adapted haibun form…conversation followed by a three line burst!
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I always love reading your conversations with Marcus 🙂 as there is a whole lot of poignancy and depth. Beautifully penned.
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Thanks Sanaa 🙂
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“Set time back to zero” – would we be ever again as trusting and vulnerable? Evocative write!
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So profound. I adore those small smiling fish at the bottom of the sea.
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Thanks Sherry… wonder if they know more than we do!!!
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And yet the fish will smile, in the dark or in the light.
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Thanks for dropping by 🙂
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I can imagine the fish smiling! Love this!
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Thank you Sara.
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In reality we can live for the day we have now, some will learn from it, some will not, and others notice nothing.
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True Robin…some do notice nothing…you said it perfectly!
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It’s a gentle conversation, full of yearning and wishful thinking, all of that tempered by the truth of the haibun, which to me is the ultimate mercy for lovers.
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Thanks Brendan. It is part of a series on phantomroad.wordpress.com Do stop by the blog whenever you can.
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What beautiful thoughts on the fish smiling beneath the darkness of the sea bed. Loved how you have related the conversation with Marcus. I am glad I visited.
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Thank you Dipanwita.
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We will have to relearn love,
just as we will relearn hate.
Why would it turn out differently this time?
Very wise thoughts, Thot! Sadly it might side-step many along the way!
Hank
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Thanks Hank.
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