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Contrasts in the Haiku of Bernard Lionel Einbond
by Lindsay Scully
Bernard Lionel Einbond “was a classicist, his intellect, temperament, and education at harmony within the artistic traditions he embraced as poet and teacher” (Allman, Crestwood Lake). Einbond was a member of the Haiku Society of America, in addition to being a beloved professor of haiku and English. Two of his published works include The Tree As It Is and Crestwood Lake, both of which embody the haiku that is truly characteristic of him. Einbond writes haiku in such a simplistic way, but delivers an emotional punch with each one. Additionally, he typically writes with a contrast of some sort in each haiku, which makes his contributions to the haiku world extremely unique. He writes alluding to both elements of nature and human emotion in a way that captures his sensitivity and allows his readers to connect with his haiku on a deeply personal level.
frog pond—
a leaf falls in
without a sound
Einbond, 5, TTAII
This is perhaps one of Einbond’s most famous haiku. He wrote it as a re-conceived experience from one of Bashô’s famous haiku, and it won Einbond the Grand Prize of the Japan Air Lines Competition. One reason this haiku works so well is because of its auditory components and blatant contrasts. He manages to convey both sound and silence in such a succinct manner. This disparity leads to an effective visualization from the reader. They are immediately placed in a somewhat noisy setting, with frogs “ribbit-ing” and lots of movement. They can picture lily pads and the movement of the water. Einbond then turns that image into a very calm and serene setting with extremely minimal movement and silence. The image of the leaf falling silently into the pond makes the haiku seem more delicate. The way that Einbond connects the last two lines also contributes to the fluid movement of the leaf descending from the sky into water. This haiku is written in a very simplistic way, but strongly impacts the reader. It delivers the “emotional punch” that is characteristic of Einbond with the gentle, soothing imagery and word choice. The contrasts of the auditory elements make this haiku unique to Einbond.
by the casket
no words—
two silences
Einbond, 12, TTAII
Einbond manages to convey such a strong sense of helplessness and grief with just a few simple words. He captures the essence of an unspeakable death with the silence from the person who has lost a loved one. With three simple words, “by the casket”, he manages to place the reader in a funeral home. The reader can then smell the lilies that are typically placed by the casket and hear the quiet murmurs of those who have come to the visitation. Einbond manages to turn the silence of the mourner into loudness. He makes his sensitivity apparent through the loss of words that befalls on the mourner in the haiku. Einbond develops another auditory contrast here through the setting of the haiku and the action that takes place in it. He creates noise with the word “casket”, putting the reader in the funeral home, but then quickly draws the noise away with the two silences.
the silence between
the lightning and the thunder—
everything waits
Einbond, CL
Einbond conveys such a sense of anticipation through the auditory elements in this haiku. He opens with silence that drastically contrasts with the loud claps of thunder that he soon brings into the picture. He then goes back to the silence and anticipation with the absence of sound before the thunder. The reader is waiting and wants to hear the thunder that will inevitably come after the lightning. With this the reader also can picture the vivid flashes of lightning and hear the falling rain. The humidity and dampness in the air can be felt. Einbond uses this haiku to capture just a moment, but manages to deliver a sense of excitement and eagerness through the sensory images that the haiku illicits.
The contrast present in this haiku is extremely obvious to the reader. He uses the dead silence that occurs before and after a loud boom of thunder. He also contrasts the sense of anticipation in waiting for the thunder with the hurriedness and quickness of the thunder and lightening. The reader can visualize the flash of lightning that takes place in a split second followed by a startling clap of thunder. These contrasts help develop the haiku into one that the reader can respond to with a sense of eagerness.
Einbond also writes haiku about his family. Two of these haiku are written about his wife and his daughter. There is a distinct contrast between the two, as one is focused on his daughter’s youth and the other emphasizes his aging wife and unconditional love. Both show his sensitivity and care for his family as well as his emotional investment in them and the haiku.
the thousand colors
in her plain brown hair
morning sunshine
Einbond, 9, TTAII
This haiku is so emotionally appealing because Einbond writes about something that appears very simple but is actually very intricate and complex. This haiku, written about his daughter, captures the result of knowing the intimate details of someone well. He writes about finding great beauty is something as seemingly plain as brown hair. His description of the sun hitting his daughter’s hair leaves the reader with a visual image of multiple hues of shimmering chestnut, espresso, and chocolate. Additionally, his use of the term “morning sunshine” contributes to the haiku in two ways. First, it clarifies what is causing the thousand colors in her hair to pop. Secondly, once the reader is aware that this was written about his daughter, it appears that “morning sunshine” is a term of endearment from a father to a daughter. Much like this haiku, the next one offers some insight into Einbond’s love for his family, more specifically his wife.
her hair turning gray
I still see her as she was
that summer we met
Einbond, CL
Einbond captures the essence of unconditional love through passing time. Einbond notices the beginning of her hair turning gray, which shows his intimacy with his wife. Her hair marks the passage of time and displays their long-term commitment to each other and their marriage. With the simple phrase “that summer we met”, he conveys that their first encounter is etched in his mind, contributing to the idea that she is his true love. He also personalizes the haiku with the word choice “I”, which bolsters his emotional investment in the haiku. This idea is further emphasized by the word “that” rather than “the”. The haiku as a whole gives the reader the pleasant image of an aging husband and wife that are still completely in love and attracted to one another. This simple haiku leaves the reader with a sense of optimism and warmth because of the concept of true love.
the summergarden
while musicians play, petals
fall to the water
Einbond, CL
This haiku is very representative of Einbond’s style of writing. It mimics the first haiku example, frog pond. Einbond opens up with the summergarden, which allows the reader to feel the warmth of the summer air, see the bright colors of the flowers and trees surrounding the pond, and imagine the blue water gently lapping in the slightly warm breeze. Through the term “summergarden”, Einbond sets the tone for the musicians, who are undoubtedly playing soft classical music. The reader can imagine a string quartet or pianist playing softly through the garden. Through the action of the petals in this haiku, Einbond manages to convey a very melancholy image. With the imagined soft instrumental music playing, and the petals falling off and dying, it suggests to the reader that it is a time of mourning or sadness. This is where Einbond’s emotional pull and sensitivity grab the reader.
Einbond brings in his signature contrast in this haiku through seasonal elements. He opens with summertime, a season of flourishing and life; he then contrasts this with the dying petals falling into the water. The reader can see the delicate petals being swallowed by the water. This is another small contrast, as the water is typically used to symbolize life and rebirth; however, it leads to the “death” of the petal.
bright stars—
but they give no warmth
frosty night
Einbond, CL
While Einbond writes about nature in this haiku, it can be applied to human nature as well. The more obvious of the two are the elements of nature and the things that they evoke from the reader. He first sets up a vivid color contrast through the bright sparkling white stars against a black sky. He then hits the reader with the coldness of a wintery night.
Einbond communicates his emotions to the reader without writing about another human being. This haiku in particular is such a fantastic example because it uses something as beautiful as a twinkling night sky and turns it to bitterness with the use of the word “frosty”. It doesn’t matter what Einbond is bitter about, the important concept here is that he communicated to the reader that he is in fact bitter and angry about something. He allows to reader’s imagination to wander. It is likely that the sensitivity that he typically writes with means that he is bitter about some sort of relationship. He can contrast a natural element of beauty with a more human element of bitterness and coldness.
frozen star...
unforgiving light
falls on me
Suzuki, 42, LH
While Suzuki’s haiku does not necessarily contain the blatant contrasts found in Einbond’s, it is still comparable to Einbond’s haiku on several levels. These two haiku can be tied together based on their themes, images, and how they capture the reader. The theme that both of these haiku convey is the idea of bitterness and anger. While Suzuki is more obvious with her “unforgiving light”, Einbond is more subtle with his “frosty night”.
The second aspect that the two have in common is the images that are present. Both concern a dark night sky with aspects of light from the stars. Both Suzuki and Einbond use the stars to suggest some sort of emotion to the reader. The authors also give off coldness from the haiku. This coldness is both physical and emotional; the physical and emotional coldness enhance each other and ultimately make the final haiku more emotionally appealing.
The final aspect that both haiku share is how they draw the reader in. Both of these haiku manage to do so with visual imagery and a sense of bitterness that the reader can relate to. Suzuki shows that there is some sort of obstacle that is unforgivable or shows her in a negative way, most likely having to do with a relationship. This is especially apparent because this particular haiku comes from her book Love Haiku. Einbond is more vague and open to interpretation, but the reader infers that he is bitter or angry or sad about a past or current relationship.
While separately Suzuki and Einbond are two very different authors of haiku, the comparison works rather nicely. Suzuki does not typically write with many contrasts, but doing so allows her work to be compared to Einbonds. What adds to this element of contrast is the distinct difference between Japanese and English haiku. While they may appear to be quite different, side by side it seems as though there is a strong common link.
Bernard Lionel Einbond has contributed greatly to the world of haiku through his sensitivity, simplicity, and contrasts. These contrasts are both subtle and obvious, and allow the reader to make many unique connections that bolsters and enhances the experience of reading haiku.
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Works Cited
Einbond, Bernard L. Crestwood Lake. Winchester: Red Moon P, 2003.
Einbond, Bernard L. The Tree as It is: New and Selected Haiku Poetry. Winchester: Red Moon P, 2000. 4-72.
Suzuki, Masajo. Love Haiku. Trans. Lee Gurga and Emiko Miyashita. Decatur: Brooks Books, 2000.
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