Past Due: Haiku by Jeff Stillman
by Erica Forbes
The beauty of haiku is how diverse each poem can be. From one line to multiple lines, each haiku can bring something new to its meaning. In Jeff Stillman's first full publication, Past Due, he uses the technique of one and three lined haiku. By utilizing the one line haiku often, he is able to string together ideas and thoughts, but his haiku with three lines force the reader to pause and meditate on the meaning. Regardless of which technique Stillman uses, his truly beautiful haiku come from the idea he is portraying. Stillman fills his haiku with explicit metaphors and symbolism that give each haiku a deeper meaning. His experience of spending half of his time in Florida and the other half in New York can be identified through his haiku. Stillman also draws inspiration from his life as an elementary school teacher.
New Year's morning the rent past due
Stillman, Past Due
Jeff Stillman likes to utilize the technique of a one-line haiku to express his thoughts. This haiku could have easily been written as a two line haiku or even extended to three lines with an additional phrase. However, Stillman wants the reader to feel like they are running for the deadline of the rent (Stillman). Although it may be a new year, there is still something from the past year haunting him. Many people like to start fresh and make something of themselves in the new year, but this person cannot do that. They may want to start fresh and new, but they are held back from doing so. This could also be why the haiku is only one line. The author may want to continue to the next line and start fresh, but they are held back. They have to stay on the same line because they still have to pay their rent. The rent could also be a metaphor for an obligation that is causing them to not move on with their life.
gardening
at day's end
our shadows touch
Stillman, Past Due
This haiku by Stillman progressively gets longer in phrase with each line. The third line is the longest and the word "touch" is off by itself. It itself is not touching any other words but there is something special about keeping it off by itself. It emphasizes the touching of the shadows and not the garden itself. The haiku begins at a very general place where someone is gardening. This could be any garden at any home at the end of the day. However, the haiku is not about the garden itself. It is about the love and companionship shown throughout the day. Gardens promote growth, life, and beauty and those are present in the garden by the end of the day. Him and his wife spent the day in the garden, slaving away and working for something beautiful, which is what a couple does in a relationship. Although the daytime may be uncomfortable and long, by the end of the day, the garden is something spectacular and beautiful just like their relationship. Stillman may have written this haiku in Florida since he spends half of his time living there and Florida is filled with gardens and life that can inspire haiku.
boardwalk stretching the length of her complaint
Stillman, Past Due
Stillman is married with two older children, so this haiku was probably inspired by one of his female family members. Like many of his other haiku, Stillman utilizes the one line technique to emphasize his idea. Not only were the boardwalk and complaint stretching long, but the haiku itself was as well. The haiku looks like a long boardwalk and it is longer than other one line haiku may be. He uses the word stretching, which I find appealing because, like a boardwalk, the complaint is being stretched out. Many people tend to complain about something relatively small but like to extend their feelings into something bigger. I am sure the complaint was nothing large, but the person complaining is making it into something they should not. The author, Stillman, feels this way as well. The haiku is almost sarcastic in tone because he is complaining about her complaint. However, he is not explicitly saying her complaint in unwarranted, just longer than it needed to be.
trial separation—
I pull harder
on one oar
Stillman, Past Due
When people are in the process of separating or there are rough waters in a relationship, there is always one person who seems to be trying harder than the other. Stillman personifies this feeling through the utilization of an oar. One hand is pulling the oar harder in order to make sure the boat is going where it needs to go whereas the other one is dragging behind. The lazy oar may still be moving but it is just not doing as much work as the other in order to keep the boat floating along. Whenever someone is in a rowboat and one arm is pulling harder than another, the boat tends to turn. This haiku could be about a change in events such as a separation. Even though one person is trying harder than the other, there is still a separation that happens. The word "trial" makes me think of rough waters. This separation is difficult and no matter how hard they can pull on the oar, change is bound to happen.
autumn's sunset fading glow of an old flame
Stillman, Past Due
This haiku set a nice scene for what the author is trying to portray. Whenever there is a flame or relationship between two people, it shines brightly and burns hot. However, in this haiku it is an old flame. It does not shine as bright as it once did before but there is still something there. The autumn sunset has the same colors as a low flame. The reader can easily visualize red, orange, and yellow in low, deep shades. The flame is there even though it may be old, but it is fading. Soon the flame will be completely gone, just like the sun in a sunset. The fact that sunsets also happen at the end of a day could tie into the relationship. It could be the ultimate end for this old flame, but since it is still there we should appreciate it for a little longer. Although this haiku leaves me with some sadness, there is also hope with it. The sun may set and there will be some time when everything is dark, but eventually the sun will come back. This old flame may be fading and everything might be darker in their life after the flame is gone, but that does not mean there will not be another flame. Another person and love is right around the corner.
upturned shells
cupping the receding tide . . .
still not over you
Stillman, Past Due
Personally, I love this haiku and I think it is beautifully written. The shells are upturned so they have been disturbed by the oncoming waves. The beautiful shells have been beaten down and messed with, just like people experience in relationships. The shell is a person who has been through a lot with their past significant other but is still holding onto the love they once shared. The tide is receding just like their relationship is, but the shell is still holding onto its contents. At one point the shell and water were in full contact and had a beneficial relationship. However, the shell was thrown onto shore and washed up. Not only had it been through a lot, but it was also turned upside down. As the tide recedes, it is still cupping onto the sea, not wanting to say goodbye. This is just like a real relationship. This person in the haiku is not over their past relationship, even though their love was upturned and thrown around. The old lover may be receding like the tide, but the feelings are still prevalent. One person is still not over you. Jeff Stillman lives partially in Florida so he has an ongoing theme of using the sea and beach areas to inspire his haiku. This is just one example of his ongoing inspiration.
first crocus opening up about her bruises
Stillman, Past Due
A crocus is a beautiful, delicate flower with yellow, blue, and purple colorings. In this haiku, Stillman uses the imagery of a crocus to exemplify a bruised and beaten woman. She has the blue and purple colors that are similar to that of a crocus but has hidden them for a while now. Not only is the crocus opening up for the first time, but so is the woman. That is the beauty behind this one line haiku. The phrase "opening up" ties together the crocus and the woman. They are both opening up at the same time. However, this is not a quick reveal, but a slow, careful display of their true colors. This woman is taking her time and moving slowly as she opens up about the reason for her bruises, just like a flower opens slowly. The reader can interpret for themselves as to why the bruises are there. It could have been a domestic abuse, which is the most likely reason, but it also could be bruises from something else, like needle pricks from drug use or treatment of illness. The haiku is open for interpretation, making it easier to relate to.
waking to snow . . .
lost hair
dusts her pillow
Stillman, Past Due
This haiku provokes a lot of emotion from me, and to most other readers as well. Cancer is an illness that sweeps the world and causes many people grief. This person in the haiku is waking up to snow, which is cold and bitter. Although it may look beautiful from the outside, there is a lot more going on once you step outside and feel it. Just like a cancer patient will look beautiful from the outside, a lot is going on that outsiders cannot see. It looks peaceful from the outside just like a snowfall but if a person were to actually experience the snow, it is not a warm and pleasant sensation, just like chemotherapy. There is also a connection between the snow falling and the strands of hair from the cancer patient. The dust on the ground is falling flake by flake just like the patient's hair is falling strand by strand. This haiku really touches me because I had one of my best friends from high school get diagnosed with stage three lymphoma in the fall. She lost her hair and would always wear hats when we saw her, trying to hide what was going on. Whenever we would all get together, she would act like everything was fine, but at the end of the day we knew she was going through a lot in her life. Jeff Stillman evoked these emotions from one short haiku, which is the reason haiku can be so special.
humming bird sampling morning glories
first taste
of your lipstick
Stillman, Past Due
I think this haiku is adorable and it comes from a very tender part of a person's feelings. There is something about a first kiss between two people that is so special and loving. First kisses are usually very soft and tender, which makes me smile. The humming bird sampling the morning glories is also a very good visual of how to feels to have a first kiss. A hummingbird moves its wings really quickly but is still precise and looks graceful. When a person experiences a first kiss, their stomach flutters and they have a million emotions flowing through them but they still seem put together and graceful. The idea of tasting lipstick is also a charming sentiment. It is not an explanation of the feeling or the physical contact, but instead it is referring to another sense. The sense of taste is not usually the first sense a person thinks of when they experience their first kiss with a person. However, Jeff Stillman references this feeling through the humming bird. The hummingbird most likely has not had any other glories because it is in the morning. It is his first taste of the day, just like it is the author's first taste of her lipstick.
frost most mornings now we barely speak
Stillman, Past Due
The reader can feel the cold interactions between two people who used to have a strong connection. This haiku does a good job connecting the frost that is present in most mornings to the bitterness between the two people. However, there is some hope between them. There is only frost most mornings and they barely speak instead of not speaking at all. Even though their relationship may be rough and cold most of the time, there are some times when everything may seem like it used to. However, they feel cold towards each other most of the time. Stillman uses one of his prevalent techniques of writing a one line haiku to emphasize the fact that these people do not speak like they used to. They most likely only communicate through one line phrases just like this haiku is one line. They do not even exchange three lines worth of conversation, like a normal haiku. Their conversations are limited and cold.
Although Jeff Stillman may be new to the haiku world, his short poems reveal the wisdom and life experiences he has acquired over his years of teaching and having children. This book has not only shown a lot of insight into the feelings of people, but also showed how they could be related to ordinary places and objects. Although this is Stillman's first publication, Past Due was one of my favorite haiku books that I have read this year.
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Works Cited
Stillman, Jeff. Past Due. Virginia: Red Moon Press, 2015. Print.
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