Natalie Kussart • Natalie's Haiku • Profile on E.S. Lamb • Essay on Lamb's Haiku

Elizabeth Searle Lamb and Yosa Buson For my comparison study, I have chosen to compare Yosa Buson to Elizabeth Searle Lamb. Elizabeth was born in Topeka, Kansas on January 22, 1917. In 1961, Elizabeth and her husband moved to New York. This is where she was first introduced to the art of haiku. She later became a member of the Haiku Society of America (HSA) in 1968. In 1971, ten years after she learned of haiku, she became the president of the HSA. Elizabeth was given the name, "The first woman of American haiku" by Raymond Roseliep. Today, she lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Almost two hundred years earlier, Yosa Buson was born in 1716 in Japan. In 1737, he joined a haiku linked-verse circle for five years. He later became interested in painting, which is the inspiration for some of his haiku. Buson is known as one of the leading haiku poets of the 18th century, and some people even call his work the "Return to Basho." Buson died at the age of 68 in 1784. I originally chose these two people because they both enjoy different forms of art. Therefore, I was hoping to find haiku that they had wrote about art and compare it. However, as I began reading their haiku, I was unable to find any specific examples of Buson’s haiku that depicted a specific painting, for example. Of course all of their haiku are beautiful and convey images, which is a form of art. So I found several of their haiku that were similar.   Plowing the field. A immobile cloud has disappeared. Yosa Buson to wake this first morning the dream still hovering nearby Elizabeth S. Lamb Across the Windharp After reading these two haiku several times, I thought they conveyed the same idea. Elizabeth’s haiku is talking about a dream. Many times when we have a dream, we still remember the dream when we wake up. As the day continues, the dream starts to fade more and more. With dreams, however, we sometimes remember them when something trigger’s our memory. So the dream in not really forgotten; it just cannot be seen as the time. Buson’s haiku is about a cloud. I image a farmer who has been in the field all day plowing. It is very hot, and every once in awhile, he takes out a towel to wipe off his forehead. When he does this, he looks up at the sky and notices a cloud that has not moved all day. Then, late in the afternoon, he looks up one last time to see the cloud, but it somehow disappeared. What makes these two haiku similar is the notion that even though something cannot be seen with the eyes, it is still there. Just like a dream returns when something jolts our memory, a cloud returns when it gathers enough moisture. Neither of these things is really ever gone; they have just disappeared for a while. The air shimmers whitish flight Of an unknown insect. Yosa Buson out from the shore the dolphins move with her luminous light Elizabeth S. Lamb Across the Windharp, p.65 I thought these two haiku were also similar. In the first haiku, I imagine a woman in a speedboat. She is relaxing by herself while the sun goes down. A few dolphins start to follow her boat. Since she is driving so fast and the sun is setting, nothing can be seen of the dolphins except for a beautiful luminous light. In Buson’s haiku, I imagine a very hot day. It is so hot, in fact, that the air seems to quiver and shimmer just like steam off of a heater. An insect takes off through the air, but he is flying so fast that only a whitish streak can be seen. I cannot even tell what kind of insect it was. The first reason why these two haiku are similar is because I think they both imply that it is summertime. Secondly, they are both about a creature in nature, and these creatures are moving so quickly that they only appear as a ripple through the air or water. I think it shows us that the water and air as basically the same thing. The dolphins swim through the water just as the insects swim through the air, and both of them are lit up by the sun. I think this is a neat comparison. A mosquito buzzes Every time flowers of honeysuckle fall. Yosa Buson ancient cottonwoods drop their leaves in the acequia September’s brittle wind Elizabeth S. Lamb Across the Windharp, p.107 In Elizabeth’s haiku, I envision being in a forest. It is the beginning of fall, and the chilly wind is blowing. I look up to try to see the top of the cottonwoods, but they are so tall I cannot tell where they stop. The wind is weighing so heavily upon the leaves that they start to drop to the ground. In Buson’s haiku, I imagine being in my mother’s garden. Lovely flowers are planted around the edges. The mosquitoes are out, which is a sign of summer. The mosquitoes try to land on the honeysuckles, but the flowers cannot take so much weight. Therefore, the petals fall off, and the mosquito must buzz around once again to try to find somewhere else to land. The reason that I think these two are similar is because of the "weight" of nature in both of them. Both of them deal strictly with two things in nature. I really like how the petals of the honeysuckles and the leaves of the cottonwood trees both fall because they cannon withstand the pressure of the mosquitoes and the wind. The difference between these two haiku is the season. One takes place in the summer while one takes place in autumn, which shows that nature is still the equivalent during all times of the year. A kite floats At the place in the sky Where it floated yesterday. Yosa Buson broken kite, sprawled on a sand dune, its line caught in the beach plum . . . Elizabeth S. Lamb Across the Windharp, p.41 In Elizabeth’s haiku, I see a beach at sun down. Most of the people have already gone home. As I am walking barefoot across the sand, I come upon an old kite. It looks as if it has been laying there for a long time because it is faded and brittle. I try to pick it up, but its string is tangled up in a tree. The kite is bent and broke maybe from the weather or maybe from a child tugging on it. Buson’s haiku depicts a kite that is flying in the sky. A child has brought the kite outside for the last several days. His parents told him that he must stay away from the trees. So he flies the kite in the same spot of the yard each time. When I paired these two haiku together, I first thought I may have done it just because they both mention a kite. However, I think they are similar in another way. Both haiku use the kite to show how things stay the same. In Elizabeth’s haiku, the kite stays in the same spot because it is attached to the tree. In Buson’s haiku, the kite stays in the same spot because that is where the child has been told to fly it. However, in Elizabeth’s haiku, the kite is broken and inactive, but in Buson’s, the kite is flying freely in the air. I like how these haiku have this contrast while also conveying some similarities. Throughout this essay, I have been discussing how these two poets are alike. For example, they both write very descriptive haiku that evokes clear images. To conclude, I would like to discuss how they are different. Elizabeth writes about the "now moments" of life. She wants to truly capture a specific moment as it is or as a sharp memory that has suddenly surfaced in one’s mind. Buson, however, liked his moments to be idealized instead of realistic. Therefore, he wanted to describe the essence of things, not their outward appearance. How wonderful that these writers with different styles can still compose haiku that relate to one another! —Natalie Kussart