Trumpeter Swans. Photo by Edward O’Connor.

Three Swans

A Visual Haiku

I took this photo of three Trumpeter Swans on the shore of Lake Ontario about five years ago. The way it sets up, with the swans on either side looking in the same direction, and the one in the middle turned slightly away, reminds me of the structure of classical haiku. As you may know, this Japanese verse form consists of three lines. Usually, the first and the third line contain five syllables, and the second line…