Rhonda Russell • Rhonda's Haiku

I chose Michael McClintock to do my author study on because his haiku really caught my attention. McClintock’s style uses situations and people that are easy for the reader to relate to. He tends to be rather straight forward with his writings and I also like the sexuality that he uses in his haiku. After reading quite a bit of McClintock’s work, I chose some examples from the Haiku Anthology and from Jesus Leaving Vegas. in her navel part of the sea collecting sun (Jesus Leaving Vegas p.15) A sense of warmth came over me when I read this.. I envisioned myself laying on a beach with the tide flowing up around me and then slowly going back into the sea. A puddle of water being in my navel and the sun reflecting in it. This gives me a great sense of peace also. Just relaxing in the sun with no phones ringing and no kids yelling my name. two after two a panic of eyes until the .22 (Jesus Leaving Vegas p.24) To me this haiku gives a huge degree of drama. The first thing that came to mind was a group of deer in a field eating tree bark and grass. The deer look up to the sound of a gun and stare at the hunter as they point it at them. This provides a wonderful picture, not a happy one but it’s not hard to find. This haiku plays on emotion with sense of panic. how the sun reddens half in the water (Jesus Leaving Vegas p.27) What a beautiful picturesque moment of watching the sunset on the ocean. This haiku provides warmth and so much color with the use of the color red. This is something you might find on a postcard, but overall you can feel the beauty and the calmness that watching a sunset provides. McClintock is so good with the imagery in this one as with all of the haiku I read of his. letting my tongue deeper into the cool ripe tomato (Jesus Leaving Vegas p.115) This haiku is full of sexuality. One of my favorites of McClintock’s writings. The image of a tongue penetrating the tomato provokes sexual connotations. I do have to wonder if he is really talking about a tomato though. There has to be more to this haiku than someone simply eating a tomato. He deliberately uses words that can have a sexual connotation. McClintock does a good job of giving me the imagery of something more sexual. while we wait to do it again, the rains of spring (Jesus Leaving Vegas p.116) Wow. There he is again drawing my thoughts to the sexual side. He definitely gave me the imagery of a couple resting between love making while the spring rains kept them inside with nothing else to do. But then again maybe “do it” doesn’t necessarily mean having sex. Maybe they are just waiting to do something, anything. But my guess is not. McClintock uses the words “do it” for the reader to make their own decision on what the people are waiting to do. she leaves— warm pillow scent remaining (The Haiku Anthology p. 116) Ooh, this haiku reeks of sexuality. Why is she leaving? Is she having an affair? A one-night stand? This gives me the image of a man smelling the pillow that the woman just rested her head on after they had sex. The sweat and smell of sex still lingering in the room. I can picture this woman slowly getting out of the bed and gathering her clothes quietly to sneak out the door and not disturb the man she left in the bed. McClintock does a good job once again with the imagery and giving a sense of smell to this haiku. McClintock’s haiku give you a feeling of being let in. He enjoys sharing what he sees or thinks as well as letting you come up with your own imagery. He gives the reader good visions and images to help them see what he sees while still letting the reader create their own images. Overall, I feel that I connected with McClintock’s haiku more than anyone else’s writings. References The Haiku Anthology, Third Edition, 1999. Jesus Leaving Vegas, Michael McClintock, 1976.