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

fireflies one by one the half-tame rabbits come to feed
I would like to emphasize, however, that does not mean that
I find haiku written with a blend of humanity and nature generally
more appealing or valuable than haiku purely of the
natural world. I feel that all-nature haiku often do not get the
recognition they deserve. A haiku containing no reference to
humanity can nevertheless remind us of our bond with nature.
I did not reference humanity in “heat wave,” but I hope that
readers may intuit the poet’s sense of connection to the purely
natural world, and that the poem itself may even be read as
metaphor for human circumstance and emotion.
heat wave
one raindrop at a time
shakes the passionflower
My incessant talk of haiku nearly drove my family crazy, until
in self-defense they began writing haiku too—and getting
them published. My world was complete.
tiny pie-billed grebe— rain drips off
its wake the width a hummingbird’s tail—
of the river brief rainbow
Harry Gilli Susana Chelli Hoffman
* * *
As a few folks know, I have completed a haiku guidebook that
compiles all my formal lessons, some of which were presented
on-line in The Hibiscus School, and others that have never
appeared in public. I believe that among its many example
haiku from poets around the world are some of the best ever
published. I know that the lessons work, that they do the job
they’re supposed to. I know this because I’ve celebrated with
the dedicated writers who, guided or goaded by the discussions
and exercises, ambled, flew, or leapt into the thick of
the haiku jungle and emerged as exemplary, well-published,
award-winning haiku poets.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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