Out of the blue, a question shapes in my mind: “What would I tell my parents if I were to meet them again?” The answer follows swiftly: “I would just hug them.”

Addendum I (September 17, 2016)

Having come across this haiku purely by chance, another question unexpectedly shapes in my mind: “What would I tell my children from the second marriage if I were to meet them ever again?” To my relief, the same answer follows without any delay: “I would just hug them.” Wonderful, this. Although I last saw my second son and my daughter thirteen years ago, while the last time I saw my parents was two years earlier, I could not imagine wishing to tell them anything at all. A good hug beats talking by a wide margin. We are but animals, after all.

Addendum II (September 18, 2016)

Amazingly, I dreamt of my children from the second marriage only a day after the first addendum was penned. They came to my house in Motovun and knocked at the door. I did not recognize them at first, but I realized who they were from the way they both stared at me without a word. We ended up hugging and hugging (“Hugging and Hugging,” September 18, 2016). The dream was brief but poignant. I recorded it in just a few words. For good measure, I left out all the emotions. Together with the title and date, the piece counts one-hundred and eight words. A lucky number, or what?