re:Virals 528

Welcome to re:Virals, The Haiku Foundation’s weekly commentary feature on some of your favorites among the best contemporary haiku and senryu written in English.  In the host chair today is Melissa. This week’s poem, chosen by Jonathan Epstein was:

     
prom queen
the short reign
of primrose
—Anne Fox
 Wales Haiku Journal, Summer 2025

Introducing this poem, Jonathan writes:

I admire how the poet weaves a single metaphor through each line of this spring haiku, fusing it into a unified whole: the sovereignty of spring heralded by her majesty the sunny yellow primrose —its power to rule over nature’s rebirth, dazzle with regal colors (an array of pastels), and awaken a slumbering world. A “short reign” for her highness Prima Rosa, but how eagerly we await her return.

Host comment (Melissa):

When I read this senryu I immediately think of the brevity of life. Whoever the prom queen is she plays this role for a fleeting moment, as indicated in lines 2 and 3 of Anne’s verse. As Jonathan points out in his opening comments, this is a metaphor for life. Here the prom queen can be understood as representing all of us in the springtime of our youth. This should be (but might not be) a beautiful and joyous period in our lives. I recall my teenage years and I can say that I spent many of them full of self doubt and insecurities, particularly about how I looked, and whether I was too fat or too thin. These feelings are probably commonplace amongst young women, due to the societal norms and pressures that they experience. However this is a topic for another day.

The primrose or Primula vulgaris derives its name from the Latin for first rose ‘prima rosa’, as it is one of the first flowers of spring.

Primrose

Therefore it is not surprising that within popular culture this has long been associated with youth, new beginnings, young love and blossoming female sexuality. This is expressed by Chaucer in The Miller’s Tale (14th Century):

A brooch she bore upon her lower collar
As broad as is the boss of a buckeler.
Her shoes were laced on her legges high.
She was a primerole, a piggy’s eye.

A primerole being a primrose. This stanza is part of a story that describes a young, attractive woman who is unfortunately married to an old man. Shakespeare also makes use of the symbolism of the primrose in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595):

And in the wood where often you and I
Upon faint primrose beds were wont to lie,
Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet,
There my Lysander and myself shall meet.

Here the primrose beds can be understood as representing the passion that Hermia feels for her lover.

Moving on from symbolism to the botanical nature of the primrose – this is a hardy plant that resides in woodland clearings, hedgerows and grassland here in the UK, as well as cultivated by many keen gardeners. It is also the food plant of Duke of Burgundy caterpillars which are a Priority Species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.

Duke of Burgundy

As a curious aside, in the UK since Victorian times, the 19th April has been known as ‘Primrose Day’ (not that I knew this). The primrose was the favourite flower of the then Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. These flowers are placed on his statue in Westminster Abbey annually. Moreover, as primroses tend to be creamy coloured with a deep yellow centre, they have played a curious role in folklore and superstition. Their colour has led them to be connected with hens, through what is known as imitative beliefs, where things that look similar have the power to affect the other. So primroses became linked to egg laying and yes, you’ve guessed it – spring chickens!

Whilst primroses are considered to be spring blooms, with careful care and cultivation they are able to bloom a second time. And today climate change is impacting when they do flower, like it is so many other flowering plants. It is not unusual to spot a Primrose in full bloom in the depths of winter, in December. I wonder how this would influence our use of the primrose as a symbol within our poetry? No longer a prom queen but a woman in older age perhaps? What ideas come to mind when you think of this? Seasonality plays a pivotal role in haiku and in this senryu by Anne, but mild autumns and winters are causing confusion for many plants and many now flower a month earlier than they did in 1987. This challenges us as writers going forward. Not only can primroses flower long before spring arrives, but primroses now often have a second bloom either in summer or autumn. Again more food for thought.

Finally, perhaps our prom queen’s time in the sun is not as fleeting as first thought? Could she get a second chance, one in which the wisdom of experience can prove beneficial?

The symbolism of primroses (language of flowers?)…

Sudha Devi Nayak:

A haiku as delicate as silver filigree on a cloud, a transient experience turning into intransient memory. A young girl in the first flush of youth looking her best in a flowing dress, shimmering hair and crown on a rapturous evening with friends, classmates and teachers. An unforgettable experience, the last day of school made memorable by an event that made her the centre of all eyes. She feels glamorous, celebrated, confident, “herself”. Was anyone ever so young?
The moment is likened to a flower that has a fleeting life, brave in its delicacy as long as it lasts, every moment of it, so complete in itself. A primrose is a perennial that lasts longer than other flowers but a flower is but a flower.
Life is a mix of magic and drudgery, a moment of magic followed by endless moments mundane. This particular moment will forever be trapped in her memory before it evanesces. Every moment is ephemeral, it will fly past before it is replaced.

The girl after this moment of glory would have moved on – caught up in the humdrum of ordinary life so many lead – bereft of charms that she may have dreamt of. Once in a rare while memory rustles and she is back again in that evening when she was privileged to have all the attention and admiration, the veritable heartthrob of so many. Yet she may have gone on to fame and acclaim. Even then she would have remembered her first brush with glory, when, in all her beautiful innocence she came under the spell of the evening so totally unaware and indifferent to the future awaiting her. Memory immortalises such moments. We all know it.

Radhamani Sarma:

Thanks to Anne Fox for having given us a very subtle, yet powerfully meaningful senryu. For us, those residing in India, this term ” prom queen” is quite new and strange. After much deliberation, prom queen refers to a young girl. Both the prom queen and primrose share some qualities: beauty, delicacy, fragrance, youthful exuberance and above all freshness. True to the adage “brevity is the soul of wit” Anne Fox, dexterously brings out analogy between the young girl who lost herself time just like a primrose according to its care and nurture;

English Literature abounds in time -honored sayings, quotes from poets, like Shakespeare who writes thus in Hamlet:

“Whilst like a puffed and reckless libertine
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads
And recks not his own rede.”

Now the point to emphasise is that the prom queen , the young girl during her intimacy with men, her first dating, outing, later on her subsequent social gathering dance parties, give and take gifts, loses her innocence. The prom queen and primrose now enter a path of short, unfulfilled, immature rather, premature life on the planet here. To conclude, a beautifully crafted written by Anne Fox.

Urszula Marciniak:

From reflection on old age, we quickly move to reflection on the beauty of youth.
This beauty is grand yet fleeting, seasonal like a primrose. The queen of the ball can be compared to a cactus flower, known as the queen of one night.
We realise that transience has been painfully present within us from the very beginning. Let us not torment ourselves. Let us enjoy everything all the more intensely, all the more quickly, while this moment lasts.
It depends on us whether we manage to delight.
Our life, though so short, is nevertheless relatively long.
If we were a mayfly lasting a single day, we certainly wouldn’t miss a single wonderful moment.
Between each inhale and exhale, there is plenty of time to smile at the enchanting world.

Amanda White:

Each line of this sharply observed and layered haiku evokes a remembered youth that although firmly inspired by an American, now universal, phenomenon of the prom, manages to broaden its appeal into the wider theme of youthfulness and its brevity. The primrose both evokes the possible colour of a dress, perhaps from a particular moment in time, even from the author’s own history to that of it’s natural cousin, a flower that blooms in spring and lasts but a season. It captures both a glitz/kitsch vibe and a wider consideration of the passing of seasons. Genius Anne! The short reign is of course brilliant, a line so cutting and vibrant, acerbic and gossipy, it takes us to the moment, the prom, it is filmic and alive. I was immediately reminded of the Lourdes song ‘Royals’ by the Australian singer Lourde.

There is something both real and fake at the same time and a glimpse into the lives of ‘ordinary folk’ having their moment. Both the song and this ku capture this beautifully. Thank you Anne, a gem.

Sitarama Seshu Maringanti:

Primrose is a perennial. A prom queen holds the position for a short period of time. It would be considered naive if I wrote a commentary on Anne Fox’s haiku, since I am not familiar with proms in Indian schools. Very few schools, if any, conduct proms in India. There are, however, farewell parties for the final year students who leave after about six years of study. The atmosphere at such parties is not only one of the joy of mingling for the last time but also one laden with a heavy feeling of sadness for parting with their friends and teachers. At the end of the day, everyone leaves school, his friends and the teachers with a heavy heart knowing well that they will never return to their alma mater again. It is no au revoir. There is no dancing nor singing of joyous songs. It is as the haiku says a short reign of primrose in the garden of life.

Amoolya Kamalnath:

This verse uses the principle of link and shift or link and leap. The title of prom queen is short-lived just like the lifespan of a primrose.

The choice of primrose as the flower in this verse brings about a lovely alliteration. The Latin words from which primrose has been derived are prima rosa which means first rose. It is so named since it’s one of the first flowers which start to bloom in early spring. Primrose being the “first rose” would befit a prom queen and both are what they are for a brief period of time. The primrose fades after the bloom and the prom queen goes back to her normal life after the prom.

Dan Campbell—a garland of blooms :

They handed her that crown on a Friday night, gym lights flashing like fireflies in July, but it was barely Spring and the wind still bit like it meant something. She walked in slow, real slow, dress swinging like a screen door on a windy day, smile sweet as sugared tea, but her eyes said she knew. Knew that this was a flash and over in an instant. Just like a primrose, blooming too early out by the ditch, catching frost before it gets a chance to feel real sun. She shined, Lord, she shined — but beauty like early flowers don’t get to stay long. They clap, they cheer, they move on. Same folks who shouted her name now pass her downtown like she’s invisible. But she can’t forget. No way, no sir. She remembers the feel of that crown, plastic or not. The way they looked at her. The way her heart beat louder than the music. And even if it all faded faster than cheap perfume on a hayride, it was hers. Her bloom, her time. Maybe short, but it was wild, it was magical, and that was enough. First beautiful bloom in a cold field — that takes guts. That’s a special kind of queen if you ask me.

Anne Fox:

Thanks for this honor Jonathan Epstein. I have a small garden which in early spring is overrun by two primrose which look like girls in pink party dresses. It outshines everything for a short time and reminds me of the brief popularity of being prom queen (No I never was.) or otherwise the looks and feelings of invincibility that come with youth and then the ensuing life of, usually, lesser fame as everything grows around one.

Thanks to all who sent commentaries. As the contributor of the commentary reckoned best this week, Dan Campbell has chosen next week’s poem, which you’ll find below. We invite you to write a commentary to it. It may be short, or of moderate length, academic, your personal response, spontaneous, or idiosyncratic.  As long as it focuses on the verse presented, and with respect for the poet, all genuine reader reaction, criticism, and pertinent discussion is of value.   Out-takes are kept in the THF Archives.  Best of all, the chosen commentary’s author gets to pick the next poem.

Anyone can participate. Simply use the re:Virals commentary form below to enter your commentary on the new week’s poem (“Your text”) by the following Tuesday midnight, Eastern US Time Zone, and then press Submit to send your entry. The Submit button will not be available until Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in. We look forward to seeing your commentary and finding out about your favourite poems.

Poem for commentary:

     
a bit of Mozart
among beeps and buzzes
of the MRI
— Tim Dwyer
  Frogpond, 48-2, 2015

Footnote:

Anne Fox is a nature photographer living moment to moment on a tidal river at Broomes Island, Maryland. Her haiku, senryu, tanka and haiga have been widely published. Notable verses this year include:

garden gnome
the pagan
in all of us

—Anne Fox
Five Fleas 14 May 2025

rain to snow
how light the touch
of grace

—Anne Fox
LEAF issue 6 April 2025

—–

Jo McInerney sent this commentary after the deadline this week:

“Anne Fox’s lovely senryu is at once poignant and gently wry. It balances the fickleness of fashion with a deeper understanding of how fragile and fleeting is youth and the special beauty it brings.

‘Prom queen’ is a peculiarly American accolade awarded to a beautiful girl at the apex of her early life. It is widely enough known not to need further explanation. Before the poem moves beyond its first two words it has already established a moment both intense and fleeting.

Its second line – ‘the short reign’ – naturally delimits this girl-woman’s brief period of influence and acclaim. The night of the prom inevitably gives way to the beginning of another life.

Line three is a delightful surprise. The ‘short reign’ is explained as that ‘of primrose’. Not, as the reader might briefly suspect, the young girl’s name, but, one imagines, the colour of her gown.

‘Primrose’ is an inspired choice on Fox’s part on so many levels. The pale yellow of morning sunlight, immediately full of beauty and promise, assertive and yet gentle. A colour poised to fade. And the word itself – etymologically breaking down into ‘prim’ and ‘rose’ or ‘first rose’, such a lovely amalgam of naivety and hope.

Finally, the senryu carries, almost imperceptibly, the judgement of an older, more resigned perspective. Primrose is typically considered a colour only the young can wear. Its clarity and brightness often contrasts unflatteringly with more worn complexions.”

re:Virals is co-hosted by Shawn Blair, Melissa Dennison, Susan Yavaniski, and Keith Evetts (managing editor).

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