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Peggy Lyles: Haiku Poet
Haiku poet, Peggy Lyles was born September 17, 1939. Born
in Summerville, South Carolina, she now resides in Tucker,
Georgia with her family. Lyles went to Colombia College, where
she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Receiving the distinguished
Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Award allowed her to further her
education at Tulane University in New Orleans, Georgia, earning
a Masters Degree in English in the early 1960’s. During
the next two decades she taught English at Sophie Newcomb
College, in North Carolina and the University of Georgia.
She then made a significant career move as a result of her
interest in haiku and became a poetry editor of the Georgia
Journal. Thus began her accomplished haiku career. She is
currently, and has been a member of the Haiku Society of America
for many years. Specifically, she promotes haiku poetry in
the South Carolina and Georgia areas. Her accomplishments
include awards such as, Honorable Mention of the Harold G.
Henderson Memorial Awards in both 1980 and 1986 and the Museum
of Haiku Literature in 1985. The theme of Peggy Lyles haiku
poetry include relations to food and southern cooking and
lifestyle. She mainly emphasizes the hearing and smelling
senses. In the selected haiku that will be analyzed these
themes are apparent throughout.
through a cluttered room
the scent
of one fresh rose
The image that is painted in my mind through this particular
Peggy Lyles haiku is deeper than that of the ten words used.
I do imagine a small, cluttered, city apartment, and I do
see the one rose sitting in a vase on the kitchen table. But
I am able to see more than that too. Through her simple words,
the author establishes the reader in the cluttered room. I
am able to see myself walking into the apartment from a long,
hard day of work, with obviously a lot on my mind. The haiku
creates an image that is easy to relate to for any reader.
Most individuals have had the experience of being completely
overwhelmed with situations occurring in their life from time
to time. Most have also had an experience where a seemingly
insignificant person or object played a role in getting past
the difficult times occurring. That object enables you to
step back from the situation and notice the entire picture,
not simply the hard times. That is what I feel that this haiku
does for the reader. I think that it is interesting the way
in which Lyles arranged her words in this poem. Using the
word "through", it leads the reader to believe that
the character is looking past something. The author uses the
senses in a particular way also. Firstly, she imagines the
scent of the flower, and secondly, visually she paints the
picture of the rose. Perhaps she does this because she wants
the reader to smell something before discovering where it
is coming from. I like this poem because of the way it makes
me feel. The poem creates images that let the reader actually
smell the fresh scent of a single rose, and see the vibrant
red colors of its budding pedals. I believe that one knows
that a haiku is good and stands out when those images do not
have to be described in specific detail. When the poem lets
each reader create his or her own image, while still getting
the point that the author intended across.
Saturday: the tune
he whistles as he turns
the children’s pancakes
We are now recognizing a common theme among Lyles haiku,
that being the appeal to the senses. In this particular haiku
she directly appeals to the sense of sound, and indirectly
appeals to smell. She talks about the father whistling tunes
at the stove as he cooks breakfast. Though not described,
the reader can also hear the cracking from the pancake skillet
or grill. Besides the obvious image of the sounds the author
creates, she also just briefly helps the reader actually smell
the aroma of the food. I think that Lyles wants us to not
only are able to hear the noises of this Saturday morning
and the sounds of the family interaction, but she wants us,
as readers to feel the interaction and realize the significance
of this moment. Every haiku creates an image that is different
for each reader. From this haiku, the image that is created
by my mind is a father standing by a stove on a Saturday morning,
preparing breakfast for his family as his children watch on
from the kitchen table. It is a spring morning and the sun
is shining through the windows and reflecting off the kitchen
pans and silverware. I envision the children to be playing
games at the table. Like his children, the father is also
entertaining himself. I thought that it is was interesting
the manner in which the author chooses to place the word "turn".
When I first read the poem I assumed that Lyles was describing
the father turning the pancakes. When I read the haiku a few
more times I found that I was not sure whether the author
was creating an image that the father was turning the pancakes
or turning to look at his children. This poem is one that
goes along with Peggy Lyles theme as a writer, being focused
on cooking.
summer night
we turn out the lights
to hear the rain
With this Peggy Lyles haiku the reader’s sense of sound
is played on more than any other of the senses. With this
particular haiku, I imagine a humid summer night, where a
couple is comforted with the coolness of the nighttime shower.
I picture all the windows open of their home, and the couple
sitting in the front room silently. Nothing needs to be said
to each other, they are able to enjoy the moment in peace.
As a reader, the sensory images come into play along with
the visual ones. The reader is able to hear the constant noise
of the rainwater hitting the roof and gutters, while also
hearing the thunder and lightning crack in the distance. The
reader is also able to feel the sweltering heat created by
the summertime humidity, as they imagine the couple sweating
as they sit in their overheated home. I think that Peggy Lyles
wants the reader to feel the comfort of nature. She creates
an image that lets the reader imagine the most peaceful evening.
Lyles uses words that lead to images of complete darkness.
Though some may see this image as not comforting, but in fact
rather discomforting. I would challenge this feeling the author
makes it clear that the darkness that is created has been
self-created. She arranges her words interestingly. Firstly,
she lets nature set the summer night set the natural scene
of darkness, and then she adds the personal power of the characters
turning off the house lights. I really like this haiku. It
gives the reader a degree of comfort. I think much of that
comfort comes from her choosing to use the pronoun "we",
instead of a singular pronoun. A lot of the time comfort is
more apparent when you are not alone.
mother-daughter
small talk…
snap beans
Here again in this haiku we are able to see the theme that
most relates to Peggy Lyles work. The image that is created
by a reader is that of a mother and daughter in their kitchen
at home preparing a meal or dish. I imagine the daughter to
be a teenager, and the mother to be an at home mom, both of
who are caught up in the daily routines that have distanced
them from each other. I imagine the conversation to be that
of small talk because perhaps there has been some animosity
towards each other or they simply have been out of each other’s
life that a conversation cannot begin any other way. I can
see each at the kitchen table with the silver bowl separating
them as they casually throw the broken beans into the bowl.
This haiku makes me think a lot about who these characters
are and where they have come from. Through her words, my image
begins with the assumption that there have been some difficult
times between mother-daughter, and there will be more difficult
times ahead of them. The connotations of the word "snap"
leads me to think that something was revealed that has negative
implications. The word "snap" connotes broken, injured,
or popped. It does not lead the reader to believe that things
are normal within this relationship. I think again as we have
seen in a theme of her other haiku; Peggy Lyles wants the
reader to realize the importance of these seemingly insignificant
moments. The author slowly leads the reader into this conflict
between mother and daughter. Firstly, Lyles creates and image
of an unconditional relationship, one where both are apparent
that love always is there, without question. In her second
line, she foreshadows some kind of conflict within the family.
And finally in her last line she reinforces that image with
the use of the strong word "snap". Her auditory
theme is also present in this haiku. The reader is able to
hear the uncomfortable small talk between the family members,
while also hearing the snapping of the beans and them falling
in the bowl. This is seemingly symbolic of their conversation.
It is almost like with the surprise of the news, symbolized
by the snapped beans, it is they let go, and able to fall
into the bowl to be dealt with later.
a breeze
that whispers leaf to lead…
morning glories close
The image that is created by my mind from this haiku is a
quite night in spring. There is a peacefulness that the author
creates that leads the reader to believe that there is a beginning
and an end to things. When I read and reread this haiku the
image that is created in my mind is that of a secret or something
that is being kept from another. The breeze, lead, and land
all symbolize the secret that is being passed. Perhaps the
phrase "morning glories close" implies that a new
coming is close. Perhaps something different is in the making
with the arrival of the new day. I think that the one thing
that Peggy Lyles would like the readers to get out of this
haiku is that there is a relationship between human nature
and actual nature. The arrangement of words of this haiku
is key to getting the author’s point across to the readers.
If in fact the poem does symbolize gossip or a secret then
it would flow just like this haiku does. The breeze is the
beginning of the conversation. The leaf would carry the rumor
and everywhere it falls it would release what has been said.
The arrangement of words is significant because it leads the
reader through a logical progression of events. That progression
could relate to anything, not just a secret or a rumor. The
senses are apparent within this haiku more than any of the
others analyzed. Every line appeals to a different sense,
bringing to reader to the core of what the purpose of a haiku
poem is. The first line, "a breeze" appeals to the
feeling. The reader is able to be placed in the middle of
the scenery and actually feel the light coolness of the breeze.
The second line, "that whispers leaf to lead" appeals
to the auditory sense. The ruffle of the leaves is what is
heard from the reader’s point of view. Finally, the last
line "morning glories close" applies to the visual
sense. The brightness and uncertainty of a new day that comes
with the morning glories reflects all kinds of different shades
of possibilities.
autumn
and my son’s voice deepening
the wind chimes
This haiku follows the pattern of the other haiku that have
been analyzed. This particular one is no different in that
it has the same theme of appealing to the auditory and visual
senses. Through this haiku I develop an image that is seen
through a mother’s eyes. The mother is watching her son
grow up in front of her. I picture an ordinary day. There
is no special significance of the particular day that needs
to be established. Obviously the season is fall; the mother
is sitting back in no special place and watching her son.
The setting is not important in this haiku. On this day, the
mother notices the developments in her son, as she had noticed
the changing colors of the leaves on the trees earlier when
she looked outside the window. Perhaps she is in a daze, and
the noise of the wind chime break that daze apart, and refocuses
her. Or perhaps there is a relation of the sound of her son’s
deepening voice and the gentleness of the wind chimes. As
I have felt with the previous haiku, I feel that Peggy Lyles
is trying to make a point of significance and life. There
is no mention or connotation of a specific day that would
lead this mother to look at her son differently than she had
the previous day. This leads me to believe that the author
wants to reader to realize that there is significance I everyday.
It doesn't have to be a birthday or a graduation day, which
leads a mother to sit back and look at her son differently.
The arrangements of words are different in this haiku than
in the other haiku that have been analyzed. There is a pause
before "the wind chimes". I believe that there is
a reason for this. The mother realizes that things are different,
and then there is a break and the day goes on with the pondering.
The senses that Lyles uses here are mainly that of hearing.
In conclusion, through these six haiku examples of we are
able to see the common themes of her work, which have been
established from her background. Coming from the southern
background of South Carolina and Georgia, she adapts aspects
of that lifestyle into her haiku collection. Senses play an
important role in her work. Within each collection of work
a reader will find that Lyles draws them in through use of
one of the five senses. Her work has more depth than I expected
when I chose her for my contemporary author. The thought process
of where a poem came from and where it takes you is interesting
for any author, but with Lyles I feel more of significance.
—Katie Hill
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