Karen Reed • Karen's Haiku

Many joys are found in reading Japanese-influenced American haiku. The old masters have given American haiku poets a fantastic framework to build upon. Their knowledge and insightfulness has greatly enriched American haiku. Some of the best modern day poets write haiku. It is a privilege and an honor to read and experience American haiku. In searching for haiku to provide enjoyment as well as insight into this wonderful realm of verse, David Lloyd’s, The Circle, was discovered. As stated in the book, at the time The Circle was published, Lloyd was living in Glassboro, New Jersey. He had published haiku and senryu and was teaching at Glassboro State College. Lloyd is a poet who writes from joy, the joy of people and of his surroundings. In his haiku, it is evident that he holds a great reverence of the natural world around him. Lloyd’s haiku demonstrates a Zen approach, as he writes about the natural here-and-now, leaving much to the imagination and intuition, and therefore drawing the reader into the total haiku experience. In comparison, Lloyd is a very different haiku poet we read, George Swede. Thus far, I have found Lloyd’s haiku focused on the natural world and pleasant pursuits. His approach is not edgy nor does he deal with negative situations. His focus is on the joys of life, the joy of people and the joy of nature. This first choice of Lloyd’s haiku is one favored by many readers. It reads as follows: Wild rose bending—     And bending even more         With the bee’s weight. The Circle, p. 39 This haiku demonstrates a joyful little interaction of a bee with a wild rose. The bee scouting for prized pollen lights upon a wild rose heavy with beautiful petals. As the bee walks upon the rose gathering the pollen he desires, the rose gives way under the bee’s weight. Finally, when the bee has enough of the precious pollen, he flies away and the rose springs back to be ticked by the breeze. The second haiku selected demonstrates the simplicity and the profoundness of nature and whimsy all at the same time. It reads as follows: Monarch butterfly     Softly flutters by         Queen Anne’s lace. The Circle, p. 49 In folklore, the butterfly is a thief, stealing milk or butter (Webster’s Dictionary, p. 199). He is a cleaver fellow and as he gently and almost effortlessly flies, he passes by and does not take his rest on the Queen Anne’s lace. The third haiku chosen is rhythmical and reads as follows: The rake     Repeating itself         In the dark, wet ground. The Circle, p. 33 Just as a rake is drawn through the soil over and again, so goes the seasons and the circle of life. There is a quality of holiness in drawing a rake through rich, wet dark soil. The smell of Mother Earth, the sensation of the rake on the palms of the hands, and the vision of all the little necessary creatures that are awakened is deliciously precious. The fourth haiku picked is sensual and reads as follows: With one’s mind     Knowing the blueberry         And with the mouth! The Circle, p. 37 We humans believe in our minds we know a lot but truly, we know very little by first-hand experience. Thankfully, most of us have savored a big, bright, bursting blueberry in our mouths. Is not the Creator of the Universe kind to us when He gives us such gifts? The fifth haiku identified is about a keenly wise man and it reads as follows: At sixty     He listens to roses         With obedient ears. The Circle, p. 44 Is does not matter if this man has taken up with roses fifty or five years, he knows them, he experiences them, by listening to them. And for his listening, he is rewarded well. The “prickly stems, pinnate leaves, and fragrant flowers with five petals” (Webster’s Dictionary, p. 1246), need generous amounts of brilliant sun, gentle rain, undivided attention and human love. When the LORD God gave Adam, the Garden of Eden to dress and take care of, He gave humankind a miraculous gift. The sixth haiku chosen for your consideration is as follows: The old man     Comes too soon to gaze         At plum blossoms . . . The Circle, p. 111 He is now so old and he does not have enough time left he feels to experience the plum blossoms once again. Therefore, he departs ahead of time to see what he longs to see, the plum blossoms of his youth. It is that human desire of the heart and mind to pursue that which makes us fulfilled, joyful and thankful for our experiences. The seventh haiku chosen for sharing is as follows: The yellow kite:     Shining way up in the sky—         The boy shining too. The Circle, p. 24 That kite, how very high it is flying, up and up it goes beyond a little boy’s dreams. He watches it as it soars, climbs, falls, and climbs again as it reaches toward heaven. What joy and accomplishment this little man must truly experience as is dances in the sun and he dances proudly in his heart. The eighth, ninth, and tenth haiku selected take a seasonal turn to autumn. They read as follows: Stepping on     The beginning         Of autumn. The Circle, p. 63 All through the night,     Oak leaves skittering,         And skittering. The Circle, p. 79 Taking leaves     From my yard to your yard,         Autumn winds . . . The Circle, p. 86 These three haiku are so poetically inter-woven; they are a three-stranded cord. They contain the same thoughtfulness of the raw beauty and simplicity of a majestic autumn day. The pungent, musky smells, the snap-crackling sounds, and the riot of colors of an autumn day turning to night are beyond expectation. The final haiku selected, which is my favorite, is found on page 106 of The Circle and it reads as follows: A golden bough     Of mistletoe blooming         On the dead oak. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant that lives on deciduous trees. There is much folklore about the mistletoe plant or the golden bough. The Celtic Druid priests held it as holy because it grew on oak trees, which are sacred to the Druids. Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a very special ceremony held around this time… five days after the New Moon following winter solstice, to be precise. The Druid priest would cut mistletoe from a holy oak tree with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground. The priests then divided the branches into many sprigs and distributed them to the people, who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder, lightening, and other evils. (Ancient Origins) Once dubbed All-heal, it was used as a medicine to cure many sicknesses. The Gauls, an ancient peoples, believed the mistletoe plant had ownership of the host tree’s soul (Ancient Origins). These facts bring all kinds of ideas to ponder upon in this haiku. Did the mistletoe cause the oak to pass from life because of a deep sorrow or grief over the loss of its soul? Had the oak been near to death when the mistletoe found the smallest spark of life left and attached itself to it? Did the oak live on through the golden bough? Is to die to live again, anew? Is the cycle of life frightening or is it exhilarating to you? What do you wish to be reborn as, a fragrant wild rose, an exquisite dragonfly, or a fat little frog, plopping into a cool pond on a summer’s day? Are we not reborn in our children, and in those who truly love us, or in some small way value what we are? Take some quality time to ponder and reflect on this enchanting haiku and explore the cause and effect. Think, feel, and be through the poet’s verse and enjoy who you are as a creature and a creator. In conclusion, David Lloyd truly writes from a Zen perspective, which requires thinking and meditation on the reader’s part. He writes from joy, the joy of people and the joy of nature. Please experience the pure joy of thinking, of feeling, and being at peace with the Creator and the created through Lloyd’s haiku as it shows the awesome uniqueness of nature and teaches us that humankind is only a small part of this collective we call Life. All of Lloyd’s haiku shows a quality of solitude, peacefulness, and oneness with the Creator. I have received much pleasure from reading Lloyd’s, The Circle. It is my earnest hope that you will experience for yourself the loveliness of his haiku. David Lloyd, thank you, thank you, and I salute you and your book, The Circle. To you the reader, good reading! References Ancient origins: Yule. Retrieved July 5, 2004, from http://www.candlegrove.com/mistletoe.html Lloyd, David (1974). The circle: A haiku sequence with illustrations. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. Webster’s new world college dictionary (4th ed.). (1999). New York: Macmillan.