Happy Humpday Haiku #7

Possibilities

What is possible

In seventeen syllables?

The limits you set.

            This haiku is constructed to be interpreted two different ways, and I think it highlights the two main mindsets I have adopted over the years. I will call the first reading the defeatist voice. When asked the question “What is possible…” the defeatist voice relinquishes a languished sigh, and addresses itself as the “you”. The voice feels overextended in trying to reach the limits it knows it has set for itself, signifying a sense of failure.

            I will call the second reading the ambitious voice. When asked the question “What is possible…” the ambitious voice responds with an inclusive “you,” signifying humanity. Whatever humanity thinks it can or cannot accomplish, the answer is always yes. We are limited inasmuch as we allow ourselves to imagine the possibilities for surpassing those limits.