John Wills: A Vacation to Nature

by Sendin Bajric
3 May 2012

John Wills is a very peculiar poet to me. The reason I say this is because all of his haiku from the book, Reed Shadows, solely revolve around nature. His only subject is talking about and describing nature. He very rarely includes talk about humans or any other subject that we normally read in haiku. Normally, haiku are structured as to have some small part of it giving a relation to nature or relating the subject to nature to create a parallel in their meanings. However, this is not the case with John Wills. His style of writing haiku is very simple. It is to write what he sees, when he sees it. I believe that that is it. In reading his haiku from Reed Shadows, I have not found one haiku that I could find a deeper meaning to.

This is exactly the reason why I have chosen to write about John Wills. Actually, I have two reasons. They are because I have an attraction to nature and because I love haiku that I can understand. There have been many times when I would read a haiku from The Haiku Anthology, for example, and have no idea what the author was trying to help us see or what he was trying to say to us. But while reading John Wills' haiku, I have come to realize that I like almost all of his haiku simply because there is nothing to understand about them or nothing to try and figure out; you simply just read the haiku, paint the picture that he writes for you, and appreciate it and sometime even think back on times where you have seen something similar.

The reason I have an attraction to nature and why I like John Wills' haiku so much is because growing up, my dad was the kind of person that whenever the weekend came, we would go out kayaking, canoeing, go on float trips, camping, mountain biking, or running. Mainly what we would do is go camping somewhere and then do most of the activities while we were out camping. It was a ton of fun growing up with a dad like him. By doing all of these cool things, I was able to experience many of the things that Wills describes in his haiku. So many times has it happened that as I read the haiku from Reed Shadows, old glimpses of the many adventures my dad and I have had keep getting brought up. I think it is so crazy how by reading his haiku, memories and pictures in my head of all of these aspects of nature are being recovered and I did not even know they were still there!

As I was reading through his haiku, I asked myself, "Why does John Wills write this way?" I wondered why he has this original style that no other haiku poets possess. For the longest time I could not figure it out, until I finally came up with two conclusions. The first, the one I am most confident that it is the real reason why he chose to write solely about this topic and why he writes so simple, is Wills is our messenger. He is our messenger between the urban civilization and the civilization that is in nature. What I mean by this is that he is trying to give us, the people who are secluded to the urban life, a taste and trip into what nature is really like and how beautiful it can be. I truly believe that he goes out in nature as a hobby, but publishes his haiku that he has written so that we can enjoy nature as much as he does. He wants to write us the scenes that he sees and the sounds that he hears so that we are given a chance to see and hear them. I think that he knows that so many of us are sucked into our lives in the urban side of life and so he wishes to give us a loop-hole so that we, too, are able to go out in nature using our imagination and experience it for ourselves. The second reason I have come up with is rather simple actually. I think that Wills does it for himself. He sees no reason to force himself to come up with the right word, the right structure, or the right haiku to paint what he sees. I believe that he is this nature fanatic, and writes haiku of the beautiful things he sees just because he likes it. So, the second reason is because he writes haiku for himself, so all that he is trying to do is to write what he sees, and no more.

Reading John Wills' haiku, I have found many that I love. As I had said before, many have recovered those "lost" memories or pictures in my head and now they are able to come back. So, many of the following responses will be examining why I like the haiku but also will be accompanied by memory responses that I wish to share so I may paint a more vivid picture of what can be seen with the haiku. The first, from Wills' section of "The Lakes and Seas" in Reed Shadows, gives me a picture of a man and a grassy field or prairie instead of a lake or a sea.

the breeze and I
making our way
through the grasses

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 85

By reading this haiku for about the fifth time, I have come to also realize yet another reason why I enjoy Wills' haiku so much. It is because so many of our human senses are activated just by reading his haiku. For example, in the haiku above, the first sense I experience is the sense of touch. From reading the first line, a reader can feel themselves walking down this prairie and have this light, soft, cold wind pushing them along but also raising the hairs on their arms. The feeling of just getting goose-bumps, where the breeze pushes you just over that line where you start to feel almost uncomfortable because of the cold, making you wish you had brought a jacket or hoodie. The second sense of mine that is activated is sound. The third line really captures this experience with "through the grasses" but especially with the word "through". I remember when I went on vacations to my home country of Bosnia-Herzegovina and I would experience this exact scene. Just across my grandfather's house was this small dirt path that eventually led to the soccer fields where the kids would play each night. Along the whole dirt path were tall grasses on either side. With this memory, I can perfectly imagine a walk down this field and hearing the slight breeze pushing down the grasses. The sound is of an almost scratchy sound; the sound of leaves or stems rubbing against each other. Although John Wills only mentions the grasses in this haiku, the reader can also hear leaves of trees in the background rustling against each other, as their branches are pushed over slightly by the breeze. Next, Wills uses the second line to personify the wind. He uses the second line to make the wind walking alongside the man or woman, or boy or girl. What I really, truly like about this haiku is that he writes it to show that nature and man can be brought together as one. He tries to explain how there can exist no difference between the two. The two words that he makes sure to use so that this concept can be seen by reading the haiku are "and" in the first line and "our" in the second. By connecting the breeze and himself using "and" and then reinforcing it with "our" really locks in that concept. Finally, the cool thing about haiku like this one is that haiku can be used to portray ideas like connecting nature with humans, making them no different than each other, and not only revive memories and paint pictures.

This second haiku I really enjoy for the beauty of the picture it can make and also because it reminds me of a time where I have experienced something similar. This one is from the section, "The Rivers".

another bend
now           at last           the moon
and all the stars

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 61

Swoosh…swoosh…swoosh. That is all I hear when I read this haiku. The "swoosh" of the water being mixed as the wooden paddle strokes its calmness. This is a very relaxing haiku due to its sounds that are produced. While it is a relaxing haiku, it is also one that contains irritability, an uncomfortable feeling, or a feeling of being exhausted or tired. There is evidence of this in the first and second lines. In the first, the word "another" is the first signal that the author or person on the river, has been on the river for a while now and is getting tired of it. He/she states, "another bend", as if they have gone by so many already. In the second line, I read the line as if I had just finished a marathon, taking a deep and loud breath at the spaces between "now"/"at" and "last"/"the". The reason I do this is because I would imagine that the person on the river is exhausted from all the rowing he has done already, unless he is on a boat instead. I like this haiku very much because of the way it is constructed. The first part, like I had just mentioned, promotes this uneasy, uncomfortable feeling for the reader, making the haiku a less desirable one. However, the final part, "the moon/ and all the stars", although it may be considered a cliché, relieves the haiku of its derogatory connotation. This common, yet very relaxing image, gives this relief for the reader to think about the night sky and ponder on it how he/she will. I also enjoy this haiku because it reminds me of a time where I was in a very similar situation. My dad and I often go either canoeing or kayaking together on the summer weekends. It was one late summer night and we drove down to ramp leading to the Meramec River in St. Louis, Missouri. The sun had not set yet but it was getting close. My dad untied the kayaks from the truck and we were soon paddling upstream. My dad began the trip aggressively, cruising ahead of me by about 60 feet. We had gone around so many twists and turns in the river that I lost my sense of direction. Eventually, I came to the turn-around point and when I turned around, my dad was about a millimeter wide and tall from what I could see. He eventually went completely out of my sight, leaving me paddling in the dark alone. With every stroke, the paddle seemed as if it was getting heavier and heavier. There soon-after, I saw a turn in the river where the trees in the surrounding area looked familiar. I made the turn and there I saw the ramp leading to my dad's blue truck with my dad just getting out of his kayak. I got off the river, and noticed my shadow on the ground. I looked up at the brightly lit moon and gazed at its lonely position in the sky. Sometimes, I wish we could look at the sky for one full day and do nothing else.

This next haiku is one that surprised me a lot when I read it. As we know, John Wills is one who has a deep, sincere passion for nature. His haiku primarily focus on nature itself . . . except this one.

paddling
among the water lilies
her white summery dress

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 36

What an interesting find, huh? Who would have thought that Mr. John Wills would include a romance/love haiku in Reed Shadows? What is even more interesting is that the very next haiku reads, "the snake/ stops swimming      rests its head/ on a stone" (pg. 36). A part of me wants to say that there is an underlying connection between these haiku. Anyways, I really appreciate the haiku above. Maybe it is because of the fact that I can hear the sounds of the water churning from the paddle…or I just really have a knack for canoeing/boating. What I like to do with a lot of these haiku is cover up the lines below as I read the first, then go on to the second, and finally uncover the third. So, covering up lines two and three, I read, "paddling". The first thing that comes to mind is, as said before, the sounds of the churning water every couple seconds or so. It sets a relaxed mood for the haiku. Uncovering the second line but keeping the third out of view, I get a sense that this water is green, and not blue or clear. Finally, uncovering the third line, the reader is surprised. "Her white summery dress" boasts admiration and emotion! Although this haiku can be seen as a little creeper-ish, it still shows how such beauty can draw so much attention. Although Wills is often seen as trying to draw attention to the beauty of nature, he is able to easily do the same to the beauty of women. Another interesting aspect of the haiku's third line is about the white summery dress. Common ideas of what a summer dress typically looks like would usually contain vibrant green, blue, and yellow colors. In other words, colors that are "happy" colors. But in this haiku, Wills describes the woman as wearing a white summer dress. Actually, now that I think about it, white can also be a happy color. I mean, when compared to black, it is definitely a happy color. Also, the dress being a summer dress means that a lot of skin is uncovered by the woman, therefore attracting the author's attention even more. Overall, I am very glad that Wills can write a haiku like this so that I now know that he is not just some nature freak.

This next haiku is one that took me a long time to understand, which sounds ridiculously dumb because Wills' haiku are so simple, in the way that they are easy to understand.

once the sun
has disappeared      the color
in the woods

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 72

I read this haiku time and time again and could not figure it out. The whole time I kept saying, "There is no color in the woods after the sun disappears!" I eventually realized that there can be a "color in the woods". The reason I know this is because I have seen it before. It is actually a very frightening, yet peculiar and interesting color. My dad and I have gone mountain biking many times in parks that have dirt trails that go deep into heavily forested areas; and many of these times we would be coming back out of the woods when the sun had already set. I remember one specific time when this had exactly happened but this time we were about a ten minute bike ride from the parking lot. We were deep in the woods and it was a pitch black night. We were riding at a slow pace, and all of a sudden, as if my dad knew that I was already getting scared, he speeds up and leaves me behind. I immediately responded trying to not get left behind. The reason I was so scared of being left behind was because of what the woods looked like. I remember it exactly. It was this dark blue in some areas but there was also this light blue in others. It was so weird. I remember asking myself why is there this blue color if it is a pitch black sky and the woods and brush are green, mostly. The blue colors together just set this scary mood for me as if someone was going to steal me while I was riding the bike. The reason I like this haiku is because Wills captured this experience in nature that a lot of people either have not noticed or have not seen; also because of the fact that I knew exactly what picture he was trying to paint for the reader. Although, I did not realize it at first, I eventually did.

This next haiku brings about another concept that Wills is trying to portray. He tries to draw a connection or similarity between man and nature.

the dawn wind
fluffs the feathers
on the owl's neck

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 74

This haiku brings to mind the common body response of shivering. The reader almost has a tendency to shiver a little bit when he/she reads the first line. I like this haiku for the same reason that Wills wrote it; to bring a connection between man and animal, or man and nature. Bringing about this connection brings about, in return, a sense of comfort with nature. Knowing that we are no different between each other makes us more comfortable to go out in nature and do the things we wish to do with little to no fear or embarrassment. I also like the alliteration in the second line with the "f" sound. I appreciate it instead of using a word like "raising". Also, I like that he used the word "neck" for the owl. I am not sure if there is a special word for an owl's neck, but if there is, then I like that he used a human element to make the connection.

When Wills does choose to write about romance, it seems like he knows the perfect way to put his thoughts to words. This next haiku I absolutely adore mainly because I would have never thought of using this plant to depict beauty.

laurel in bloom
she lingers awhile
at the mirror

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 102

After first reading the haiku, I did not know what laurels were. I searched them on Google Images and saw that they were the plants used for the Olympic wreaths. I was amazed because that is the perfect flower to use in a haiku when talking about a beautiful woman. The laurel wreaths are seen in Greek mythology when the gods and goddesses are seen wearing them. That is why this flower in the haiku is so awesome! I then searched for mountain laurels because this haiku is in the section, "The Mountains", in Reed Shadows. I found images of the flower itself and it is so beautiful. It is definitely a must-see flower. That is the main reason why I like this haiku; because of the way the laurel is used to depict the beauty of the woman in the haiku.

This next two haiku are from Wills and Peggy Lyles. I chose them to compare among each other because they both talk about something inching its way through water.

water lilies
slithering through them
a leech

John Wills, Reed Shadows, pg. 38

through a maze of lilies brushstrokes of the trout

Peggy Lyles, To Hear the Rain, pg. 26

I obviously saw a possible comparison between these two from the lilies in both haiku. First of all, both of the haiku examine an animal working its way through water lilies in a stream. The most important similarity yet difference in these haiku is the word choice for the chosen animal in each haiku. In line two of Wills' haiku, the leeches are described as "slithering" through the lilies, since leeches usually have a negative connotation. On the other hand, in Lyles' haiku, the trout is described as making brushstrokes through the lilies; as if making fluid movements like the hands of an artist painting.

It was a true adventure in doing this assignment on John Wills. I can honestly say that, at first, I was not as pleased with the haiku as I would have expected to be, since they were all about nature. But as I started looking farther into them, I learned to better appreciate them, turning more into a vacation to nature, rather than an assignment on nature.

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Works Cited

Wills, John. Reed Shadows. Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada: Burnt Lake, 1987. Print.