Sunday, September 23, 2012

September Heights, day 24 paradox

Inspired by the theme at


This will be a difficult one ... how to write a haiku (or a few) on paradox it's such a abstract word. I have to struggle a little with this one I think, but I will publish a new haiku for today's September Heights.

What is a paradox? It's a contradiction e.g.:

A taste for paradox is central to the philosophies of Laozi, Heraclitus, Meister Eckhart, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among many others. Søren Kierkegaard, for example, writes, in the Philosophical Fragments:

[...] that one must not think ill of the paradox, for the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without the paradox is like the lover without passion: a mediocre fellow. But the ultimate potentiation of every passion is always to will its own downfall, and so it is also the ultimate passion of the understanding to will the collision, although in one way or another the collision must become its downfall. This, then, is the ultimate paradox of thought: to want to discover something that thought itself cannot think [...] (Source: Wikipedia)


Source: Escher's Paradox
what's a paradox?
stairs going up and down
on the same time

what's a paradox?
thoughts without thinking
on the same time

what's a paradox?
haiku is for sure a paradox
different images

different images
seen through readers eyes
haiku paradox

Not so strong I think, but ... I loved writing these series of haiku on paradox.

15 comments:

PattiKen said...

indeed. sometimes different readers will take away opposite messages from the same haiku. paradox for sure!

Grace said...

I think the challenge of haiku is write it, NOT in abstract form. I like that you use the stairs, going up and down to illustrate the point ~

Unknown said...

I love your inspiration. M C Escher is great for today

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed these as a meditation on paradox - I think it needed several haiku to do the prompt justice.

joanne said...

excellent examples of paradox....the stairs haiku and image were perfect together, and the second made me think about how amazing that we all have 'thought without thinking'...

Judith Westerfield said...

Thoughts without thinking! Now that is a PERFECT paradox. Brrrrrrrrrrriliant.

Annie Jeffries said...

Escher was an excellent start off point.

Barbara said...

Wonderful set on a tough prompt! I especially love second one!

Ellecee said...

I, too, like the line "thoughts without thinking". Your set is excellent today...

odyzz said...

different images
seen through readers eyes
haiku paradox

this is exactly what is happening with me on september heights...well done

awalkinmyheart said...

Yes, this is a tough one to write haiku on as it is an abstract word. But I can see that you are inspired to have come up with 4 haiku!

Jolly said...

Liked how you explored 'paradox' through your haiku.

Reading Pleasure said...

Great set of haiku

Unknown said...

Excellent haiku.. Very poetic..:-)

Chèvrefeuille said...

You all make me blush with your kind, uplifting words.