Haiku 2023–328

Champaign — just a name

but one that’s indelibly etched

in a dark, dark place

— —

Champaign — the county in Ohio, not the city in Illinois.

No one from there ever caused me problems.

I’ve only been there once and it seems like a nice enough place. I’d go back without hesitation if asked.

No, I don’have a problem with the place and I don’t have a problem with the people, but the word itself is an anchor point for pain. You see, it was on the license plate of a vehicle parked in a driveway. I knew that the only reason a vehicle with Champaign County plates would be parked in the driveway was if horrendous news was forthcoming, a moment I would remember forever…

…except I didn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, the bad news was delivered but I have only hazy memories of the moment at best. The image seared in my brain is the Champaign County plates that first informed me the moment was nigh. There’s a lot of pain attached to that moment — a moment that I will never, ever forget.