Frogpond 34.3 • Autumn 2011 (pdf) - Haiku Society of America

Juxtaposing the religious significance of the time of year during
which the eggs hatched allows readers entry into the haiku and
my emotion. With revision, the two parts of the haiku complement
each other, together reinforcing the sense of a time for
inner reflection and new beginnings.
Yom Kippur
the corn snake’s eggs
begin to hatch
I learned how to read the haiku of others, to move beyond the
surface imagery, to go deeper and find my own interpretations,
drawing from my accumulative knowledge and life experiences.
Timothy Russell’s haiku parsings taught me how to spot the
illusion of drama where none actually exists at the haiku’s
core—such as the artificiality often created by the popular
use of inverted syntax. His work confirmed for me the value
of effective juxtaposition and taught me how to recognize its
presence—or absence. With Tim’s brilliant and addictive dissections
at my fingertips, I began to understand which of my
haiku lacked clarity or were incomplete or one-dimensional. I
was eager to take them apart and rebuild them. For example,
reached maturity as
in a blue sky
the soaring hawk
stretches its circle
winter solstice
the circling hawk
widens its range
During the late Nineties and at the beginning of the new millennium,
Elizabeth St. Jacques taught me that there is something to be learned,
some morsel of insight in every sincerely expressed haiku, no matter
a poem’s perceived weakness or roughness. From her example,
I learned the value of humility, a sense of humor, and an open mind
when given the privilege of appraising another poet’s work. Elizabeth’s
selfless, joyous presence in my life, perhaps more than anything
else, helped shape the teacher and editor that I would become. By
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