|
Rt. 9 Haiku Talk- Mann Library- March 23, 2006
Thank you to everyone here for giving
us a chance to share with you something we very much enjoy. As far as I know this is the first haiku reading in the 54 years
of Mann Library. You are attending a very rare event, perhaps a once in a century type of thing. I’d like to publicly
thank Janet McCue for her support and encouragement of haiku and my particular haiku habit!
In Japan haiku can be found
on the front page of certain daily newspapers and even on cans of tea. Haiku has yet to reach the mainstream masses here in
the U.S.-western world despite the fact it is often taught in elementary school. I believe haiku has wonderful potential to
become a form that many can enjoy reading and am very appreciative of being given a chance to share the haiku I love with
the patrons of Mann Library.
Haiku in Mann Library began sometime in 1989 when a custodian in the old Mann building,
tired of removing scribbling from the stacks elevator walls, decided to put up a blank sheet of paper. He hoped those inclined
to write might use the sheet of paper which could be changed when necessary. Whenever the graffiti was something unrefined
and inappropriate I was notified and would put up a new blank sheet. The custodian said it was like changing a diaper. Shortly
after this practice began I thought it might be a positive way to start the day by placing a haiku on this sheet and soon
I was placing several on the sheet and receiving some modest positive feedback... and even some red ink corrections to my
grammatical mistakes and from that same staff person I received fairly regular criticism that what I was posting was not real
haiku, which he had learned had to be structured in the 5-7-5 syllable arrangement that most are taught is the norm. I routinely
explained that in Engl! ish most practitioners and experimenters with haiku had moved away from following that exact syllable
arrangement.
It was great fun choosing haiku to post in that elevator yet when we were preparing to move into this
new Mann addition ( in 2000) I assumed that I would not be taping up a sheet of paper in the new elevator. If you noticed
how nice our elevator is today and remember the old one you can easily understand why a diaper made sense then but would not
fit the interior decor of today’s elevator. I now post a daily haiku ( and a daily tanka) on a dictionary stand located
in the first floor lobby right next to the new book shelf. I’ve also been very generously given a link on the Mann Library
home page for interested patrons to click on and see a daily haiku that has allowed me to feature one poet each month, a tradition
that has achieved interest and a following well beyond the users of Mann Library. Again I am very grateful for this rare opportunity
to share a personal passion and as far as I know we are the only major university library with a Daily Haiku!
Reading
haiku I believe can be a way to re-calibrate the senses and can serve as an antidote to the excesses of our age (these times)
We live in a world rife with bigger and faster being equated with better. There is a certain madness to our momentum and unless
we take time to tune our selves to the myriad nuances in nature, including our own nature, we are increasingly at risk of
losing our reverence for all sorts of relationships with the simple and subtle goings on that are always there for us if we
allow our selves to be open and ready to receive.. I consider haiku like little gifts and celebrations of (a kind of) awareness.
There is a spiritual dimension to the practice of reading and writing haiku. Haiku are focused in the present tense and require
us to closely examine things in our now. Experiences are momentary and fleeting, we are all informed with a consistent recognition
that what is here today can be gone tomorrow.
Haiku is all about awakening relationships while we are here that can
be taken for granted and easily overlooked. Haiku is a sensibility, a perspective and can become a way of life.
Some
advantages to the reading and writing of haiku:
1. It is highly portable, a favorite haiku can be easily remembered
and carried in mind for solace and reflection, as a reminder of some special moment. You can easily work and puzzle with haiku
creation while walking, riding bicycle, driving, while waiting in lines, in waiting rooms, while doing the dishes... just
about anyplace or anytime.
2. Haiku is free! Very little equipment is necessary, just a pen or pencil and paper. Most
of us who have a haiku habit carry a little pocket notebook and like a detective we go about our day jotting notes, looking
for clues about our season, observing signs of changes, recording what we feel to be personally meaningful with hopes it might
extend to be universally meaningful. Some haiku "moments", as we call them, practically write themself. The moment powerfully
dictates exactly what to write. More often a haiku is written after considerable puzzling and is the result of field notes
being worked with and refined until it becomes clear, concise and feels just right.
. ( some haiku poets have stated
they have worked on and off on an individual poems for many months if not years.).
3. As mentioned, we are all painfully
aware and burdened by the struggles and suffering in this world. Haiku is one form of recognizing that while we each grapple
with personal losses and frustrations we can celebrate and enjoy our world ever more by being open to the wonder and poetic
correspondence that is everywhere, every time we keenly become witness to the infinity about us. Haiku are a tool of recognition,
a way to tune, awaken and inspire our sense of being here now. Haiku are attempts to see and feel our place in this seemingly
endless parade of nature.
Haiku give voice to that which is voiceless and to that which we know by intuition. Very
often haiku acquaint us with something "known" but until we read about it and feel it, we were not connected to that knowing.
The haiku serve as bridges between our unconscious and our conscious.
If you think you sort of like haiku at all I
encourage you to go haiku hunting! Look up haiku on the internet, or seek out books or anthologies of haiku and see which
ones speak to you. Once you find one, you’ll likely find another... and another. Reading widely the incredible variety
of haiku will enable you to find what haiku resonate and are relevant to you. Once you have examples of haiku that have moved
you the spirit of those poems can begin to inspire your own attempts at writing. Remember, all you need is a little pocket
notebook and a pen and pencil.
Go for a walk, beside the good exercise you will find yourself taking notice and engaged
in what you see in an exciting, new way. You can write about practically anything; your family, friends, your cat or dog,
your coworkers, your workplace, birds, insects, flowers, wind , water, trees, the moon, the stars, sticks and stones, certain
slants of light, rain, snow, clouds, mud, whatever it is and you can give voice to these things in a way that will allow the
participating reader to share meaningfully in what you discovered. It may look easy to create a haiku but for it to be meaningful
to others there must be something beyond the ordinary. Haiku take the ordinary and show us the extraordinary that is there.
Here are some of my haiku, senryu and tanka and some favorites by others ( if time allows) that I hope have hints
and glimpses of something worth sharing...
Tom Haiku
& Senryu
a few about my family:
in
the dark
through the window light
my wife and child
*
a
whole year...
stirrings of our children
Christmas morning
*
autumn
nightfall
dropping my son off
for something else
*
my
wife drives a nail
in our daughter’s room
grandmother’s crucifix
*
snowfall
my
daughter asks where
we are going...
*
mid
day
my son’s bear hug
still with me
*
a
few about our cats and dog...
alone with the
cat
the look between us
held awhile...
*
my
cat comes up close
then shies away
alcohol on my breath
*
outside
the glass door
our old cat has forgotten
it wanted "in"
*
to
the cat:
"that’s complete and
utter nonsense"
*
asleep
in
my lap the new kitten
I didn’t want
*
calling
for
the lost cat...
wind chimes
*
red
wing blackbird calls-
the dog tugs for
another scent
*
after
day one
the new puppy
dog tired
*
stuck
inside
the dog gets up
and turns around
*
ordinary
walk-
our dog at the end
of his leash
*
another
morning
she says goodbye
to the dog
*
a
few about the workplace:
*
light snow...
the students study
in silence
*
most
of his studying
looking
out the window
*
a
stranger smiles-
the elevator closes
and goes up
*
always
takes his time
the custodian watches
the floor dry
*
a
selection of other subjects:
alone in the waiting room
checking
the plant
for reality
*
sidewalk
sale-
wind twists a lifetime
guarantee tag
*
dawn...
at
the empty crossroads
the signal blinks
*
left
and right
he follows the way
of his kicked stone
*
she
wanders away...
her snail disembarks
the matchbox truck
*
another
full moon
my checkbook
still unbalanced
*
letting
her
walk all over me
ladybug
*
where
I sit
on my usual bench
remains of a nut
*
one
tree
one bird, one song
the dusk
*
empty
parking lot
some wind collects and swirls
leaves into a shape
*
on
the way home
more geese
on the way home...
*
daybreak
from
the bread truck’s roof
frost swirls
*
the
spread of stars
wind moves the snow
from where it fell
*
undefended
in
the cold rain
their snow fort
a few senryu:
sneaking
M & M’s
the crunching
in my ears
*
wanting
my old life
when I wanted
my present life
*
after the
party
undressing
myself
*
now that I’m over
my bad mood
she’s
in one
*
she admits
she is not perfect
but
is glad I am
*
home from work...
the little one brings me
an
empty wine bottle
*
done-
the
repairman tells me
any fool can do it
*
in
the shower
an economy-size bar of soap
lands on my toe
*
older
and older
the strangers saying hello
to me
*
on
the bench
a young couple carries on
as if I’m not there
Tom
Tanka
she’s not here
to see it
but after breaking the stick
I perfectly fit the broken
ends
back together again
*
every few bounces
the
robin pauses on the lawn
to look and listen
as if that were all
there was to do
*
we
work briskly
into the momentum of the day
a long list of what to do,
once all there was
was to
fall in love
*
some
days seem
altogether too much
but then
so welcome it becomes
the night
*
how
many people
can you connect to
and lose in a life
without feeling
quite lost
*
ambivalence
I
believe is what
I’ve come to sitting here
watching wave after wave
land itself
*
Favorite
haiku, senryu and tanka by other poets ( selected by Tom C.)
free at last, the
fly
flew out the window- and then
right back in again
- James Hackett
*
when
I have sat long enough
the red dragonfly
comes to the wheatgrass
-Laurie Stoelting
*
fence
fallen away
I close the rusted gate
behind me
- Yvonne Hardenbrook
*
Across
the fields
a swallow carrying one hair
from the plow horse
- vincent tripi
*
yesterday’s
paper
in the next seat-
the train picks up speed
- Gary Hotham
*
music
two centuries old-
the color flows
out of the teabag
- Gary Hotham
*
far
at sea
a tiny bird
rests on flotsam
- Margaret Molarsky
*
autumn
twilight:
the wreath on the door
lifts in the wind
- Nick Virgilio
*
phone
call
from a far away friend
the cat starts purring
- Penny Harter
*
beach
walk
the stick I tossed
yesterday
- Tom Painting
*
waves
crash
against the pier- the bottle
slips from my hand
- Michael Ketchek
*
That
breeze brought it-
a moment of moonlight
to the hidden fern
- Foster Jewell
*
two
crabs
grappling with locked claws
taken by a wave
- Robert Zukowski
*
still
ahead of us
the storm
we’ve been driving toward
- John Stevenson
*
cloud
shadow
long enough to close
the poppies
- Christopher Herold
*
the
thief left it behind
the moon
at the window
- Ryokan
*
so many boulders
in the stream all of the water
finding its way
- David Elliott
*
warm
evening
an open door
to someone’s living room
- John Stevenson
*
after
the garden party the garden
- Ruth Yarrow
*
running
his fastest
to right field
last child picked
- Mike Dillon
channel
dispute
she aims the clicker
at me
- Dee Evetts
new
flypaper
she waves her arms
to get them going
- Dee Evetts
*
20,000
feet
traces of masking tape
on the jet engine
- Dee Evetts
*
loud
applause
for the last speech
before lunch
- Dee Evetts
*
bad
movie
I’m only awake
during the explosions
- John Sheirer
*
eye
exam
I stop trying
so hard
- Hilary Tann
*
Starbuck’s
a
man in cowboy boots
asks for latte
- Yu Chang
*
running
away ,
Mommy
helps me pack
- Adele Kenny
*
the
tethered dog
watches the guide dog
enter a deli
- John Stevenson
*
we
drive in silence
and even though I offer
occasional smiles
you know you’ll never reach where
it
is that my thoughts wander
- Jean Jorgensen
*
if
its not the headlines
it’s a dead deer by the roadside
or something else
I just keep tripping over
the
first noble truth
- Michael Ketchek
*
The
huge reservoir
beyond the dam
thinking of my wife
I realize the great value
of holding back my
words
- Michael Ketchek
*
not
a single star
out of place in the
milky way-
the garden gate
left ajar all night
- Pamela
Babusci
*
vacation’s
end
the highway still unraveling
when I close my eyes
how many parts of myself
have I left homeless
behind
- Marjorie Buettner
*
I
tell my guardian angel
I’ll happily die
in April
alas, each April comes
and I tell her I’m
not ready
- Pat Shelly
*
I
had read
your love poems
and now,
having met you,
read them again
- John Stevenson
*
far
down the valley
she waves and calls to me
I love her more
in the time it takes
her voice to arrive
-
John Sheirer
in the curve of light
the crash and spray
of the full-moon tide;
for
a moment with arms crossed
the power of my youth
- Jeff Witkin
*
A
subway train
traveling beside ours,
veers up and away,
My feelings for you
go where they go
-
John Stevenson
*
Writing
a poem
of longing for her
I’m irritated
by the interruption
of her phone call
- George
Swede
*
with
a man
who was once
the center of my universe
I discuss
interest rates
- Fay Aoyagi
*
weeding
in the garden
humming to myself
suddenly a mourning dove
calls from me some sadness
I can’t
quite name
- Mary Lou Bittle-DeLapa
*
Several
languages
and a thousand theorems
safe in his cranium
how serene my father
looks in death
-
Marianne Bluger
*
a
sudden loud noise
all the pigeons of Venice
at once fill the sky
that is how it felt when your hand
accidentally
touched mine
- Ruby Spriggs
*
Wind,
do not tease me
do not muss my hair
My joy is too large for the house
and I cannot go in
to await
his coming
- Pat Shelly
*
listening
to you
talk about him, about you
about them, about me
and now, here it is, somehow
the dinner
I made for us
- Christopher Herold
Tom Seasonal haiku:
SPRING
spring
sun
good enough
right where I am
spring wind-
a kid in the neighborhood
has
a new whistle
in the middle
of some construction
a lilac blooms
spring-
removing
the neighbors
from view
spring in the air
so many false starts
in my heart
keeping
quiet
the day’s last light
on new grass
peepers
my daughter whispers
something
she knows
SUMMER
left
and right
he follows the way
of his kicked stone
letting her
walk all over me
ladybug
she
wanders away...
her snail disembarks
the matchbox truck
sidewalk sale-
wind twists
a lifetime
guarantee tag
late afternoon sun
noisy blackbirds swarm
the transformer
one
tree
one bird, one song
the dusk
having brushed off
several small ants
an
extra large one...
AUTUMN
potluck
luncheon-
a yellow jacket cleans
its antennae
autumn colors-
how assertive
she
becomes
where I sit
on my usual bench
remains of a nut
empty parking
lot
some wind collects and swirls
leaves into a shape
on the way home
more geese
on
the way home
daybreak
from the bread truck’s roof
frost swirls
fall
colors
in the lake-
one thought after another
WINTER
the
spread of stars
wind moves the snow
from where it fell
picture window
in all that
white
a cardinal
undefended
in the cold rain
their snow fort
first
snow gone-
this steady need
to practice
snow filling
our tracks into the woods
by
heart
a few snow flakes
entering the woods
silence
in love
bicycling
into
the snowstorm
winter stars-
our meeting
un-arranged
Closing
haiku:
glancing back
the woman I passed
grows lovelier
-
Jeffrey Winke
|
