Complexity Through Simplicity

By Ron Bateman

The wind and rain have settled back in after a two-day reprieve. I chose a seat this morning in the Guildhall café that would allow me to see the Peace Bridge that spans the River Foyle. I have been reading from John Paul Lederach’s book, The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace. His words resonate with me on this my last day in Derry. He states that, “a haiku must capture in a few words the complex fullness of the moment, a setting…an experience. I have come to see the haiku challenge as a metaphor. The practice of haiku is this: to embrace complexity through simplicity. I believe this is a core practice of peacebuilding, both discipline and art…” (p. 67).

I offer the following, humbly and embarrassingly:

A space once filled with
Violence. The shadow now
Bridged in confidence.