For Earth Day Reflections
spring day mural:
green paint sprayed across the wall
behind leafless trees
NeverEnding Story, March 21, 2024
Chen-ou Liu
Commentary: The two parts of this "spring day mural/L1" haiku offers at least two contrasts, visual and symbolic (artistic/man-made: "replication of the absent leaves" of trees in L 2 vs natural/diseased or dying/dead in L3; And "spring day" in L1 vs "leafless trees" in L3) and one environmentally significant and emotionally poignant question: why these trees, a synecdoche used to refer to Nature, leafless during springtime, i.e. lifeless.
This ekphrastic haiku is stimulated by street artist Banksy's latest work of art, a mural featuring green paint behind a tree and a person holding a hose, and through describing and reflecting on this piece of art, the haiku amplifies and expands the meaning/significance of Banksy's work.
FYI: USA Today, March 18, 2024: New artwork from street artist Banksy spotted in London features environmental message
And for more examples about ekphrastic poems, see To the Lighthouse: Ekphrastic Senryu and To the Lighthouse: Ekphrastic Tanka