Ħajku ta’ Hi u Hu: L-Ambigwità Sagra u Skandaluża Tal-Imħabba

by Joseph W. Psaila

published by BCD Printing Gozo, 2022

 Ancient Chinese philosophy calls them yin and yang, the traditional family calls them husband and wife, and Christianity refers to them as the lover and his beloved, while in today’s world, where marriage does not seem to be so much in fashion, they are most probably simply referred to as partners in partnership.

If we take into consideration Juliet’s famous line addressed to her lover Romeo: “What’s in a name?” (Act 2, Scene 2), then we will rest assured that Romeo would still be the same beautiful young man even if he had a different name. Love is eternal and there is hardly anything else to add.

Love, however, is the source of so much excitement and energy, serenity and anxiety; it can lead to be bliss, but it can also be the cause of pain and anguish. Considering that as Immanuel Kant once said: “Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made”, it is not surprising that at times, human love is not at all perfect.

Joseph Psaila echoes this in various haikus of his which are now put together into one anthology. When he asserts that the entire creation was created at the command of God’s Word while man was made out of earth itself, hence the name of the first human being – Adam – which is Hebrew for ‘son of the earth’, he is proving this point.

Psaila’s anthology is, as I perceive it, a personal journey of his own life. Having lost his wife unexpectedly, his life changed from top to bottom.

He was happily married for a good number of years when what most probably was the darkest moment in his life, transformed his very being. Grief has proved to be one of the greatest sources for art in its most eminent form.

Though erotic love plays an important role in these haikus, they are never vulgar

Poetry being no exception, the poet’s loss became a source of inspiration. He divides his anthology into five different stages, beginning with Grace, moving into Lust, which then develops into mature Love, sadly transformed into Separation, which then leads to acceptance and eventual Healing.

Love is stronger than death! This phrase is biblical in its roots but has become an adage accepted by one and all. It is the only human quality that gives us a glimpse, or a feeling, of the eternal.

This could be the thought that inspired Psaila to state that while lovers search for synchronisation that is always elusive, it does taste of the eternal although it is fleeting in its passage (p. 113).

Love reveals itself in a time of grace like a magnet (p.11), it must not remain lustful without seeking stability (p.40), it is complete and similar to understanding and rhythm in a poem (p.74), becomes painful when looked at retrospectively (p.131), and last but not least, it has the ability to re-invent itself through solitude upon reflection (p.152).

Psaila’s poems will be better appreciated if read against the background of the author’s own introduction. Though erotic love plays an important role in these haikus, they are never vulgar. However, they are still expressive in a way that is both revealing and sober.

It was Dutch spiritual writer Henri J. Nouwen who once said: “No human being can love another without being wounded.”

Psaila’s poems prove the point in such an illustrious fashion. The book is hard-bound and can be obtained from the main bookshops. I recommend it to all those who cherish poetry and have Maltese literature to their heart.