Robin Sidlo • Robin's Haiku

When the genre of haiku is mentioned, thoughts of the traditional Japanese poetry come to mind. However, contemporary haiku is much more than that. Today’s contemporary haiku writers use some aspects of the traditional form and they add other elements, like human nature, as well. Alexis Rotella is an American haiku writer that stands out among her peers. Rotella uses a universal emotion appeal in her works. To a reader, she can connect with you on a deeper level even if you have not experienced it yourself. In order to understand Alexis Rotella’ work, knowledge of her background is extremely helpful. A belief of having one’s mind, body, and spirit in balance is evident it Rotella’s education and career. She is a licensed acupuncturist, certified colopunctuist, and certified QXCI/Bioresonace practitioner (jadespring.com 2004). Rotella has received a masters’ degree in acupuncture and a doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy. She became interested in haiku while at Drew University working on her undergraduate thesis in Zen Buddhism (jadesprins.com 2004). Alexis Rotella has written over forty books including poetry and non poetry. A couple of her books are An Unknown Weed (AUW) and Rearranging Light (RL). She has also been published in The Haiku Anthology (THA). Kasuo Sazto, a professor at Waseda University, stated “Alexis Rotella in one of the best haiku poets in the United States. She has a born talent to catch the haiku moment in nature and in the human world” (jade spring.com). I feel very much the same about her work. I have selected several of her poems to comment on that show how she uses universal emotional appeal in her haiku. Her haiku feel to have come from her heart and this is what draws the readers into it. I have arranged the selected haiku in what would seem to be a chronological order to further express the timeline of emotions she conveys. The first poem starts us in her emotional ride. not yet lovers we drink from the same cup. AUW p.7 This poem reaches anyone who has experience first and second dates. The first line gives the anticipation on a romance blooms with the “not yet lover.” This reminds me of when you meet someone with whom the attraction and emotional is so strong at first. The excitement of what may be lingers between the both of you. The remainder of the poem show how much chemistry is between them due to them “drink[ing] from the same cup.” I feel like the same cup is a symbol for the overwhelming amount of things that they have in common and the feelings that are developing between them. She links the thoughts together with a scent link. The emotional feeling of anticipation and excitement make the haiku flow so well together. The ambiance of the haiku gives me a sense that all of this blooming romance may be by candle or fire light. Alexis Rotella takes this journey further in the next haiku. This time we are taken to a time that is further in the relationship that as blossomed. waterlilies . . . in a moment he’ll ask me what I’m thinking. ~AUW p.10 This poem gives me that feeling of a couple walking around a pond or lake. The woman stops to gaze at the water lilies and starts to day dream. As she is coming back to reality, she realizes that she had been in a trance for a little while and her partner will want to know what she was thinking about. Rotella brings about a great combonation of reality and a dream state. The waterlilies are floating on the water, just like she is floating in her own thoughts. Rotella uses a scent link in this haiku. She is using the atmosphere of the water lilies to join the day dream. This make the thoughts float together. Rotella bring us back to the love in another haiku. This one is about a romantic moment… a kiss. under a full moon our first French kiss ~RL p. 18 This is one of my favorite haiku by Rotella. She has linked the thoughts in this haiku by the atmosphere it creates. The full moon gives the scene for the romance and the kiss is the product of it. This is like she has summed up a romance novel in three lines. With this poem, I see a couple that just got married on their honeymoon. The capitalization ion the word French give me the impression that the couple was in France and had their first kiss in France. This haiku draws the reader in during the full moon and sums up the moment with a kiss. What could end anything better? This romance starts to turn south with the next haiku. lying— I tell him I’m not looking for a prince. ~THA p.169 This poem touches my emotions. I feel this is where she not happy in the relationship anymore. A constant battle of heart and mind is going on inside her. This woman is being pulled by what makes her happy and he obligations that she has. I went through this same battle as I was contemplating divorce. I feel that this person feels that they should settle for what they have not what they truly desire. Once again, Rotella links her haiku by emotion. The guilt is has a heavy presence for having to lie. It seems almost that she is lying to herself. This is connected with the disappointment of not have the “prince” of her dreams. This feeling breaks out into an argument in the next haiku. during our argument a pink rose tightens it petals. ~THA p. 173 This haiku shows hoe the relationship has turned from the blindly in love to reality for many people. During argument, tension is extremely high between those involved. The rose tightening its petals shows the tension is a subtle way. The beautiful flower is concealing its beauty show the intensity of this fight and the relationship slowing ending. I love how Rotella compares the two thoughts with each other. A rose and an argument have nothing in common, but here they seem to always have. I want to touch on one more haiku dealing with the emotions surround romantic love. This haiku related more with the lack of a relationship. wild roses and no one to love ~RL p. 22 This haiku has so much loneliness in the words. This show a cluster of roses, but no one is there to appreciate their beauty. I feel that this represents a person who is alone. This person yearns to love someone and to be loved back. This is depressing. Many people feel this way in their lives. The linking of a beautiful flower that symbolizes love and not having love is a powerful message. Rotella’s haiku deals with other appeals that romantic love. I found two haiku that deal with a loss. in the dead child’s room the smell of pencils ~RL p. 28 This haiku causes so many emotions to surface for me. I am a parent and I cannot imagine how my life would be without my son. I envision that this room has been kept up well by the mother. Everything is still were the child had last left it. I feel that this is the only connection the mother still has with the life of her child. The room has this feeling of life, even with the death of its occupant. Rotella links this with the scent link. The emotion of grief and longing is there to keep the thoughts together. This last haiku deals with confusion by the writer and grief with the grandmother. lilacs: for no reason my grandmother cries ~RL p. 2 I see a grandmother walking with her grandchild on a warm summer day. They start to pass lilacs and the grandmother stops. She starts to think of a loved one that is now long gone. This person is possibly her deceased husband. I feel that the lilacs were the flowers that were placed on his grave after he was buried. The grandchild was most likely too young at this time to remember the death of her grandpa. This creates the confusion as to why her grandmother is crying. As with a numerous amount of Rotella’s haiku, this haiku is linked by emotion. You can feel the pain for the grandmother loss in this poem, as well as, the confusion of the grandchild. Alexis Rotella is a premier American haiku pot. She uses an emotional appeal in her haiku that appeal to a majority of her readers. By reading her works, you can go on an emotional journey with her. She stands out among many other, and deserves to by read. Works Cited Rotella, Alexis (2004). About Alexis Rotella. Jade Spring Health Center. Retrieved June 20, 2004 from http://jadespring.home.att.net/about.htm Rotella, Alexis (1991). An Unknown Weed. Point Claire, Quebec: King’s Road Press. Rotella, Alexis (1985) Rearranging Light. Passaic, N.J.: Muse Pie Press. Van Den Heuvel, Cor (1999)/. The Haiku Anthology. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.