Reflecting on the simplicity of a Haiku: Ghost of Tsushima

As you may know, I have been playing Ghost of Tsushima for the past month. It has been a juggling act of sorts as I have been jumping from completing Monster Hunter World to getting through GTA V's main story (offline). But I do like to close off my gaming time with a bit of Tsushima. Every time I jump into this world, I am greeted by it's beauty and calm and I am lost in it. I sometimes get to spend only 10 minutes in the game but I find every minute totally worth it.

It was during one such session when I was riding through the night across a forest to the next mission marker that I came across a bird trying to get my attention. Of course, I made to follow it and it led me to Lake Izuhara. It seemed to want to show me something further across the lake. So I got off my horse and started swimming keeping an eye on the direction the bird was taking me. I was greeted by the notification that I had found "Ariake Haiku" and I was shown the prompt to interact.

This was my first time coming across a Haiku. I had seen them in the trailers and other streams but not paid much attention to it. So I was surprised when upon interaction, the night turned to a beautiful day with the sun shining at the horizon.

Then I got a chance to create a haiku by choosing from 3 options in each of the scenery. Upon making my choices, I felt a profound depth in the process. I did not think that three lines would make such a meaningful impact, but I was so proud with what I had ended up with.

A world's reflection
Submerged deep in nature's shade
Ever unbending

So simple and yet so deep. The words seem to have a meaning and a life of their own. "Deep in the shade of nature, the reflection of the world may be submerged but it still remained unbent. Nothing could shake the resolute nature of the world. It remained as is."

I had come across Haikus before in my life. In fact, one of my first projects in App development was in showing a simple haiku on screen. But at the time, I did not understand how calming and profound the process of creating one can be. Three lines can reflect a depth that sometimes 3000 lines struggle to.