The Tyrant V.S. The Birds: The Feathers of Insight.

Dad was a tyrant.

He was a giant man with heavy hands and a ferocious gaze. He walked with a limp from a gunshot wound that almost took his life. Instead, it left him partially paralyzed and permanently peeved.

Every day he would find a clever way to inflict the pain he felt, on the people he was supposed to love.

It was his superpower.

One spring evening, he came home, cigar burning in the corner of his mouth, with cases of TastyKakes, my brother, myself, and my three sisters were overjoyed. Daddy brought Cupcakes with a creamy vanilla filling, Snowballs with a pink marshmallow exterior, and a chocolate cupcake interior. He had Krimpets, Chocolate Bells, Kandy Kakes, and Juniors. He filled up the deep freezer with the TastyKakes and still had cases remaining so he left some boxes out for him to eat. We watched him in earnest, bite after bite, as he sampled the delicious treats. He licked his thumb after he had his fill. He pinched his cigar from the ashtray on the table, puffed, grunted, and pointed at the remaining cakes, beckoning us to eat. As we munched on the cakes, he stood over us. Exhaling, he blew the cigar smoke in our general direction and delivered an ominous warning. "Don't eat all those cakes at one time." He paused and looked at each one of us. The threat of what would happen if we did remained unstated.

He made us afraid.

This memory resurfaced as I continued my pursuit of purpose in 2024. I was looking for ways to discover insight into my contribution to the world. During my meditation on the topic of Purpose, a desire to express my thoughts in a poetic format stirred in my mind. However, Iambic pentameter was not working for me. I needed something powerful and succinct. I began to experiment with a few techniques when I rediscovered this story and insight into my purpose, The poetical technique I used was Haiku.

The Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry that contains 17 syllables arrayed in 3 lines of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables. The first line is traditionally a seasonal word and the second line is a "cutting word" or words in juxtaposition to the movement of the first line. There are a few more guidelines when writing a Haiku. However, the most important factor of a Haiku is the deep insight evoked by the brevity of words.

While standing outside contemplating how to distill my perception of Purpose, the essence of my reason for being, into a Haiku, I noticed a few shed feathers on the ground. Those feathers along with the thought of poetry all aligned with my desire for insight and triggered the memory of my father, causing me to write down the following Haiku.

Dad was a tyrant

It was his superpower.

He made us afraid.

The images that opened this article manifested while I considered these 17 syllables. They transported me back into the past.

Cake is delicious.

To think that a glare, even from a tyrant, could separate a child from their natural attraction to the sweetness of cake is folly. Each day, my siblings and I would find a reason to go into the freezer and grab a box of cakes. My brother and I would eat them in our room. My two younger sisters would eat them as they played in the backyard. My oldest sister, the savvy one, took them to school and sold them for a profit. As a result, the stash of TastyKake cases in the freezer began to shrink.

But, sweetness can be bitter.

We soon found the truth in this when after weeks of not seeing our father, We heard the rumbling of his Cadilac as it pulled up into the backyard. We listened for the slam of the door, the clip-clomp of his limp up the steps. Then we all braced. In usual fashion, he showed up angry and hungry, looking for something to devour. He walked into the house, a human tumult, turning happiness into sadness and accomplishment to ruin. To our ruin, he made his way straight to the deep freezer and opened the lid. He sat there blowing smoke from that cigar that hung from his lips, long enough for storm clouds to brew around his head. Suddenly, like the strike of lightning, his hands reached out and struck while his voice thundered through the house.

We could taste the words.

Haiku has the power to bring forth images, emotions, and sensations. Those 17 syllables, when properly considered, are geysers of insight that you can draw from like a fountain of unending fresh water. The essence I was able to distill from the second Haiku is evidence of that assertion. My mind became a river and my thoughts ran rushing, forcing out the story and pushing me towards the ocean of insight.

Cake is delicious

But sweetness can be bitter

We could taste the words

Pain is in the mind.

The wounds my dad inflicted that day started as physical then he activated his superpower and the lacerations gained the potential to cripple our minds.

He was livid. He screamed about how we ate all his cakes. He spit and blew smoke and chewed on us like he did that cigar. My brother and I confessed to eating a few boxes in our room. My two little sisters told him they snacked on cakes in the backyard. My dad became silent and seemed to stare into space as my oldest sister told him how she had taken numerous boxes to school and sold them for a profit.

The body labors to share.

My father's mind couldn't properly express his rage, so, his body was tasked to deliver the message. My dad leaned in so close to my sister that he almost touched her nose, for a second, I thought he was going to bite her face. He sprung to his feet, limped to the freezer, and began to snatch out all the remaining cases. Case after case he ripped open and dumped the contents on the table, ranting and raving about how ungrateful we were as he carried on. After a while the freezer was empty and a mountain of cake boxes covered the table and spilled to the floor. We sat as still as we could hoping to remain hidden in plain sight. My dad stood over us and passed judgment. "I have to go to work tonight," he gestured to the mountain of cakes stacked on the table and spilled on the floor, "all of these cakes had better be eaten by the time I get back." He looked at my oldest sister for a minute longer, turned, and limped out the back door. We heard the car door slam. The Cadillac engine roared to a start. The sound of tires violently ripping the earth and Daddy was gone.

Silent is the weight.

This exploratory use of Haiku to gain insight into my past has allowed me to tap into a powerful poetical method that can be used to discover the depth and breadth of purpose. The brevity of words evokes emotion and distills understanding through these words of power.

Pain is in the mind

The body labors to share

silent is the weight

In shadows, they glide

The Tyrant was gone and we revelled in the moment. He had presented us with a reality that could only be true in dreams. Eat cake to your heart's content! We sat around the mountain of goodies in the late afternoon eating and laughing savoring each bite. As the soft blue and cream hues of the sky mellowed into the deep purples and oranges of the evening we noted that the pile of cakes didn't seem to diminish and our sweet dream turned sour. My little brother suggested that we flush the cakes down the drain. We stuffed the commode until the pipes refused to take any more. Still, the mountain remained. The next idea was to stuff them in the trash, we started and stopped this quick because the evidence was easily uncovered. The last and best idea came again from my little brother. "Let's toss them onto the roof, Daddy won't look there." So he sat on the mantle of the window with his left hand on the top frame steadying his balance. I shoveled packages of cakes into his right hand as he flung them on top of the roof. The pile diminished and with one last heave, all the cakes were gone. We privately lamented the loss of all those treats. We openly celebrated the avoidance of a punishment that was certain to be severe.

As my brother and I were lying down to sleep, I allowed my thoughts to float into the backyard to the spot where Daddy would park his car. My mind envisioned the sun rising as the day dawned. From the front seat of his car, I could see him looking at the roof, smiling that hungry smile as the sun illuminated the cakes that we had just tossed up there. I jolted up as if splashed in the face with a bucket of ice water. I told my brother what I saw. We had made a grave mistake and there was no turning back.

Birds alight in dawn's soft light.

I don't remember falling asleep, but, I do remember awakening to the roar of the Cadillac as it pulled into the backyard. The light from the rising sun surrounded me as I sat up on the edge of my bed. The Tyrant's punishments were always violent and I, being the first target, always took the brunt of his rage. I listened as the door slammed and prepared for the clammer up the stairs, I imagined the feel of his grip on my neck, jerking me to my feet.

No rush up the stairs and no call for us to come ever came. My brother woke up and looked a question my way. I pointed towards the floor. He turned his head towards the light coming in the window, tilted his head up towards the roof, and looked a second question my way. I shrugged my shoulders. Less than an hour passed and we heard the back door slam. The Cadillac growled to life and the sound of him backing up turned into a purr as it softly dwindled. Daddy was gone. I leaped up and threw on some clothes and a pair of shoes. My brother did the same. We rumbled down the steps, bolted out the back door, and stood in the place where the Cadillac had just been.

We turned and looked at the roof...

By this time my three sisters had joined us as well and we all stood there in awe.

A flock of blackbirds crowded the rooftop.

Not a single cake, including the wrappers, remained.

The birds had eaten them all.

Darkness yields to Day.

In shadows they glide

Birds alight in dawn's soft light

Darkness yields to Day

Take the time today to explore your purpose in the form of a Haiku. What Tyrants will you find? What problems will you need to solve? Who will be your allies? How do you anticipate victory to come?

This is the power of Hiaku. The power to help you uncover your purpose.