Begin Again: A Haiku Conversation

In times of uncertainty, Vera and Rudy have this in common: they turn to creation as both refuge and resistance, finding solace in the practice of writing. This poetry conversation came organically when Rudy shared his thoughts in Haiku form, drawing on a structure to distill deep meaning into a few words. His commitment to the form reflects his belief in the power of self-reflection, interrogating norms, and creating space for truth. Vera responded in turn in Haiku form, shaping her words as questions, knowing that curiosity and inquiry are powerful tools for learning and disruption. Each question was an invitation for them to reflect, to reconsider, and to engage more critically with what is currently happening in the world. Through Haiku, they weave a collective space where questions, truths, and disruptions can freely exist, reminding the reader that even in absurdity and chaos, community remains the strongest foundation and pathway to liberation.  

Every day presents more challenges to be lured into the status quo of fear and passive acceptance, but collaborative writing can anchor us. As Felicia Rose Chavez argues in The Anti-Racist Workshop, traditional writing spaces are built on hierarchy, competition, and exclusion. This reinforces white supremacy by privileging singular authoritative voices. We can disrupt and challenge these kinds of mindsets, and instead form a collective where voices evolve into constructive dialogue, perhaps into spaces that embrace communal creativity. 

How do we acknowledge and confront the pressurized state of the world, where oppression, violence, and the unpredictable, attempt to erase our humanity?  In engaging in this Haiku conversation, Vera and Rudy model a way to resist being silenced. We encourage you to build a chorus of urgent, questioning voices through writing that not only allows for full expression to make sense of the madness, but also as a way to sharpen understanding and make your visions clearer, so we have space to focus on our well-being.  If we can write to reflect the world as it is, we can also write to manifest the world as it should be.  

Haiku Conversation

Rudy: 

Full blown shock and awe

Modernized and camouflaged

Matching heartlessness

Noise is everywhere 

The silence is resounding

We’ve been here before 

Vera: 

What truths do we seek

Through screens that block our vision

Are we half-awake? 

What will break the noise?

Echoes of the past or us

Finally speaking? 

Rudy:

It’s all relative

Truth that disempowers facts

Makes it hard to sleep 

Nothing breaks the noise

It’s nature is to be heard

In echo chambers

We can block it out

Claim our shared humanity

Listen as love speaks

Vera:

Whose truths hold the weight

When powers carve the stories

Writing the future? 

What if silence fell

Shattering echo chambers

Could truth find a voice

By blocking out noise? 

If power shapes our beliefs

Does unity blind? 

Rudy: 

Who’s to really say

Truth tends to hold its own weight

On scales of justice

We need grains of salt

It’s the antidote for noise

Across the spectrums

Unity builds up

What injustices tears down

When values align

Beliefs can differ

They are far too broad not to

Just like most people

Vera: 

Difference is vast 

So when hearts move in rhythm

Unity takes root

If unity heals

Let’s make space for all voices

To begin again

Salt heals and preserves

Seasoning the path ahead

Can you taste the change? 

Rudy: 

For good or for worse

Change is inevitable

Nothing can stop it

And essentially

We can make the difference

It has been proven

Movements are local

And connected globally

We are not alone 

We acknowledge that so much of the world asks us to look away from grief, from injustice, and from the simple truth that we need each other. Since you are here reading, let this be your invitation to pause, gather with another, and begin a conversation that matters. Start with a question. Or a Haiku. Let curiosity be your compass and care be your anchor to build something better, together.

Chavez, Felicia Rose. The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom. Haymarket Books, 2021.