Tin Roof

snowy wind rattles
the tin roof on the shed
i meant to repair

I have created a sort of "haiku character" that I often write from. To my mind, he is a sort of gentleman farmer, leading a life that is closely connected to the land. It makes a good way of getting natural imagery into the work. I think this fits into that character, although it is drawn from a real life experience.

My friend Beth invited me up to her parents' farm this past Friday. Just a quick weekend so that I could help her with some things. Well... we returned on Wednesday because of the weather. The snow was falling so much and the wind was so fierce that a section of tin roof on one of the sheds was rattling in the wind.

So, I adopted it for my character.

To my mind, the poem speaks about the things we leave undone that come back to nag at us. During a summer or fall day, we might not think of the tin roof that needs to be fixed because it doesn't seem to be a problem... it doesn't remind us. Besides, there are so many other things that are more enjoyable.

But, the roof is still there. And when things get bad, knowing that the roof isn't fixed just reminds us.

I'm feeling pretty good about this one.