Kim Tish • Kim's Haiku •

I am interested in learning more about many haiku authors, however David Lloyd’s writings were some of my favorites. His haiku writings were the most simple and natural haiku I have discovered during this class. His unique insight to nature is refreshing and enjoyable for me. Lloyd appears to enjoy nature and the simple pleasure of being one with nature. First, I will provide a brief background about David Lloyd and then discuss how his haiku writings appear to be based on the Zen approach. Lastly, I will share some of my favorites and my responses to those haiku. According to his book, The Circle, David Lloyd lives in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he is a teacher at Glassboro State College. He has published haiku and senryu in major magazines and has won several awards. He was first featured in Haiku Magazine as “Poet of the Issue” in the fall of 1970. The following haiku won the readers’ award of first prize in Haiku Highlights, and later the Best of the Year Award from the editor: See the sharp needles Forever sewing the sky To the pine branches. Lloyd writes haiku from the Zen approach. His writings are primarily concerned with concrete and actual life. Most are perfectly plain and ordinary everyday things or events in nature. His haiku are never a complete statement. He leaves the reader with a few simple words and leaves the rest to the reader’s imagination. Lloyd also leaves his poems open to the reader’s intuition, which allows the reader to respond directly to the haiku. In addition, he incorporates suchness in his writings. Every haiku has a single visual image, but he does not try to persuade his reader to form any particular idea or emotion. He merely leaves it undisturbed for the reader to discover as if they had viewed the image themselves. The following haiku demonstrates this undisturbed image: At the bottom Of the rocky mountain slope A pile of pebbles. This haiku leads me to believe that I am in a mountainous region, and I am looking up the side of this huge, beautiful mountain. There are shrubs and flowers along the different shelves of the mountain, but there is one strip of ground that has nothing green on it. It consists of rocks, which continue to make their way from the top of the mountain to the bottom. These rocks may start out large, but as they tumble down the side of the mountain, they continue to break into smaller pieces. At the bottom of the mountain, I am standing there looking at this pile of pebbles and wondering where on that mountain they began their journey. This is an example of a simple haiku that illustrates the undisturbed image of nature. Another reason I believe Lloyd’s haiku writing is based on the Zen approach is how he uses simplistic and sometimes overlooked images. He seems to overemphasize the trivial and ordinary everyday moments of life. These haiku are so straightforward and honest, and Lloyd explains them in an ordinary way with ordinary words as in the following haiku: Wild rose bending – And bending even more With the bee’s weight. This haiku is so simplistic that it is overlooked in our hurriedness of the day. I see this beautiful wild rose bending slightly from the weight of its own full petals. Then a bee lands on the rose making it bend even more. The rose may even bend a little more as the bee burrows deeply into the petals looking for that wonderful pollen he craves. After the bee retrieves its prize, it retreats from the rose and flies away as the rose springs back to its normal and somewhat bended existence. This is another example of Lloyd’s simplistic approach to writing haiku. This is an everyday occurrence, but we become accustomed to overlooking such a beautiful part of nature. Another characteristic of the Zen approach is the use of seasons within the haiku. Lloyd’s haiku are very connected to the seasons, as noted in his book, The Circle. The illustrations throughout the book are based on the seasons as well as the haiku. The simplicity of the illustrations still allows the reader to interpret the haiku from their own point of view. For example, the illustration of a bird on a bare branch has the following haiku below it: The chirping bird Barely disturbing the snow On the branches. Immediately, the reader knows the season implied in this haiku is winter because of the mention of snow. I see this chirping bird as a black bird, because all of the other birds usually migrate to a warmer climate in the winter. I also envision this bird landing on the branches of the tree so lightly and beautifully that nearly no snow is moved on the branch. According to The Wordless Poem, the core of haiku is this experience of the identity of things, of man and nature. This oneness is apparent in the writings of Lloyd. He recognizes the connection between his being and the nature around him. He is able to give animals, plants, and insects’ feelings and a oneness with the reader. Lloyd is one of the Western poets who embrace the Zen approach in his haiku writings. I was able to connect with most of Lloyd’s haiku writings. Below are some of my favorites and interpretations: The longest night: Only the snowman stares At the stars. The first line could mean a couple of different events. It could be the longest night for a child, which is Christmas Eve as they wait anxiously for the arrival of Christmas morning. If the children believe in Santa Claus, they have long ago went to sleep anticipating his arrival, and only the snowman is left staring at the stars. The other meaning is that this is the longest night, because it has also been the longest day of winter. It is bitterly cold and no one wants to be out on this incredibly miserable evening. However, it is perfect weather for the snowman that is always staring with wide coal eyes at the stars. It is also usually bitterly cold when the stars are shining on a clear winter night. Again, Lloyd’s writings are wonderfully simplistic and beautiful. Another favorite of mine is: Over dried grass, Two butterflies— And a chill wind . . . At first, I was left with the impression that these butterflies were flying over very dry grass due to lack of rain. However, when the third line is added to the haiku, my thoughts changed to autumn right before that first frost. The grass is dried and ready for winter. These two butterflies are at the end of their short lives taking that last flight together before their inevitable deaths. The use of the word chill leads me to think about death of the butterflies and the other living plants and insects until spring returns. The following haiku also leaves the reader feeling a sense of loneliness and winter: Duck feathers On the lake’s shore Silent skies. In this haiku, I saw a hunter wishing duck season was not over for another year. He is preparing his boat and other equipment for winter near the lake’s shore. On the ground is all the duck feathers left behind by the ducks which makes him think about how much he enjoys the sport of hunting ducks, but the skies are silent. The ducks have migrated on and will not return into the next season. A summer haiku that aroused memories for me was the following: Tapping again On the back screen door, A June bug. When we lived on a farm, there was always an abundance of June bugs every summer. When walking outside, they would get in your hair and try to fly indoors. Their large hard bodies would tap on the back screen door until the lights were extinguished for the evening. Again, Lloyd shows his simplistic manner in writing his haiku. This everyday event would go unnoticed by the average person, but he was able to capture this small, insignificant event that brought back such a peaceful memory for me. One of Lloyd’s haiku that seemed almost spiritual to me is: The seagulls Not taking from my hands Their daily bread . . . I envisioned a man feeding the birds near a dock in a city. Near the water’s edge, there are pigeons, black birds, sparrows, and various other birds. These birds are usually so accustomed to humans that they will practically eat from your hands. The seagulls are not as trusting, and I see them as free spirits who are not dependent upon the city for their food. They are willing to feed themselves by eating fish and other creatures from the water. The reference to daily bread made me think of the Lord’s Prayer. I felt that the seagulls were unwilling to trespass on the man’s land and take his food unlike the other birds who gobble it up quickly. Another of my favorites is expressed perfectly in the use of Lloyd’s words, and the illustration of the acorn above it compliments the haiku. Now gently holding In the hollow of my hand Tomorrow’s oak tree . . . We often see acorns lying all around a big oak tree, but seldom do we take the time to stop and think about its potential. I see someone standing beneath a beautiful old oak tree, and this person is anticipating planting this single acorn with the hope that a new tree will begin to grow. I especially liked the use of the word “hollow” in the second sentence. This word is often associated with aging trees, and I see a huge hollow branch on this old tree. It is an awesome feeling to contribute to nature by planting a tree. Again, Lloyd focuses on the nature around all of us and pulls out a small event to bring it to our attention. I could continue throughout his book, The Circle, and describe countless other haiku that I have enjoyed. Lloyd has a sincere appreciation for nature in its undisturbed state of being. Lloyd follows the Zen approach to writing haiku, because he is able to take the most simple, everyday occurrences and make them into special moments. I enjoyed reading Lloyd’s haiku and only wish that he would have published more of his works. —Kim Tish