April 7, 2026 - 11:51
I really enjoyed the zoom with Ellen Samuels during class last Thursday, reading her haikus, and hearing about her story. Something that really stuck out to me when reading her haikus is how funny they were on the surface. Especially this one that I took a picture of on my phone:
Shitting is daily
exercise. Muscle, breath, clench,
let everything go.
How this starts with the blunt and aggressive word "shitting" and then uses the word exersice in the next line is very interesting because of how they contrast. Shitting is almost seen as unhealthy and an uncharming word, whereas exercise is healthy and a word people use proudly. The use of these two words brings the point up of how shitting is a normal bodily function, rather than embarrassing.
Then the line "Muscle, breath, clenth" sounds rithmic just like breathing and effort, and all of those words can relate to exercise, yoga, and shitting. This line conveys that even involuntary or routine acts involve discipline and bodily awareness.
The ending of "let everything go" at first can be read as a "release" but it is truly about letting go of the anxiety or tension felt in the previous line and also about letting go of the embarrasment felt in this poem. Overall, the poem suggests that even the most basic bodily functions can be seen as rituals of release and renewal. It argues that “letting go” both physically or emotionally, is a necessary, daily practice.