Phaiku No. 3

Rooted in the silent fear of losing voice.

Author’s Reflection:

Louis D. Brandies once said, “It is the function of speech to free us from the bondage of irrational fears.” But what if fear arises not from speech—but from silence? From posture? From a moment misread?

This phaiku, ‘Singed',’ was born from that quiet tension—the way fear can ignite not from threat, but from stillness. A pensive posture may invite introspection, but to another, it may signal distance, danger, disapproval. In the absence of words, meaning is often filled in by our own shadows. This poem is a whisper toward compassion, and a reminder that not all silence is emptiness. Sometimes, it's the voice just before it finds form.

Phaiku No. 3

Singed

Unrealistic
fear born of pensive posture
wings once flew now burn