Iran
Slate sky, sirens wail
Strait of Hormuz choked by flame
Peace lies in dust storms
by Jamie Power
Editor’s Note
The power of a haiku is in its final line, which should open up the narrative into something bigger and universal: ‘peace lies in dust storms,’ is so effective in this poem because it contains ‘peace’ and ‘storms’, words that would normally be in conflict with each other as regards meaning, and conflict is the focus of this poem. On that same, final line, ‘lies’ is a great choice of word as it presents two meaning: to lie down (in surrender?) or to not tell the truth (some world leaders?) This is a wonderful haiku.
