William Hart: A Haiku Life
by Corrin Littlefield
Imagine going through one’s life by reading the haiku they have written. Each haiku offers a different memory or a different experience, but they all come together to create a bigger picture. They all come together to create the story of one’s life. This is what William Hart did in his book Cloud Eats Mountain. Each haiku offers up something different from his life. Some haiku are sad and others are humorous. The book has a little bit of everything, which helps to make the haiku relatable.
William Hart is originally from Kansas but now lives in Los Angeles. Throughout college and afterwards, he worked a wide variety of labor jobs in a multitude of states. He attended the University of Southern California where he earned a doctorate in English then taught college writing courses in Los Angeles. He now works as a full time poet and fiction writer. He has written two novels and ten poetry collections, which have been featured in several journals, newspapers, magazines, and anthologies. He is married to Jayasri Majumdar, a Bengali filmmaker. She helps edit his books and sometimes provides illustrations, and he writes for her as well as helps produce films.
The following are my reader responses to several of William Hart’s haiku. Some haiku have imagined felt responses, analysis of his haiku, or both.
while we dreamed
a lily bloomed
in the gift bouquet
Hart, cem, 12
The house is cluttered with stuff. Boxes and bags everywhere, besides one room. The newly yellow painted room. That room is home to a new crib and changing table, a wall of diapers, and a closet full of tiny clothes. That room is sacred. It is the only room in the entire house that isn’t overflowing with anything we could possibly need. The baby is due in about a month, and every day our nerves get worse. What if I’m not a good a mom? Or it doesn’t like their dad? Every night he says goodnight to it and I can’t help but smile. It’s reassuring to know that he is as excited as I am. In the middle of the chaos we currently call our life, there’s a gift bouquet from my sister. She’s been sending me little things as we get closer to the due date to keep me sane. None of the flowers have bloomed yet, but I’m still hopeful. We crawl into bed and he starts talking about a vacation he wants us to go on. But this time, us means three people, not just two. I join in and it feels like the conversation will never end. The next morning, I find him in the kitchen making coffee. One of the flowers has bloomed. One beautiful lily. It makes everything seem so real. All of our dreams will come true. We will be good parents and an even better family. I know it’s crazy to think that something so small could have such a big meaning, but I know it’s true, and that lily helps to prove it.
I like the image that this haiku paints. It’s specific but also very vague. The image of the lily in the gift bouquet is very specific. You can picture one or more lilies surrounded by other flowers in a vase with a big bow on it. You can also picture the lily being closed before going to bed and then waking up and the lily has bloomed. However, since the bouquet is just described as a gift bouquet, you don’t know what it was for. Maybe it was for a birthday or to celebrate a pregnancy. Either way, it is meant to celebrate a happy moment. I liked how the lily bloomed “while we dreamed” (Hart, cem, 12). It makes it seem like the lily is blooming with the dreams and making the dreams come true. The dreams are blooming into something wonderful; they will bloom into reality.
arrival gate
all those who aren’t her
come out first
Hart, cem, 16
I can picture a man waiting for his girlfriend, or fiancé. She was away on a business trip or something that kept them apart for too long. Time did not pass fast enough, but here he is, waiting to see his love again. He’s waiting and waiting. He hears footsteps and his heart starts to race. Maybe it’s her, he thinks, but it’s not. He starts to fix his hair and check his watch. He knows that her plane has landed and she is on her way to find him. More and more people come through but she’s not there. He’s starting to shake because he’s nervous but so excited. She’s coming. She’ll be her soon, he keeps telling himself. Finally, she emerges all by herself dragging along the same suitcase he helped carry from the car when she left a month ago. She drops it and runs into his arms. He picks her up and spins her around. They’re both crying out of happiness and relief. He gives her a long awaited kiss and they just stand there, smiling.
I liked the imagery and emotion in this haiku. You can feel the tension of the person waiting for this woman. You can feel the want and the desire. You can also feel the sadness and the hopelessness because she has not come out yet. This person is very excited to see her. All they can think about is her, which can be seen in the second line of the haiku. Instead of saying, “everyone else”, Hart says “all those who aren’t her” (Hart, cem, 16). This shows that he is focused on finding her and everyone else is not her. Those other people don’t have identities other than not her.
late in the day
with a one-cricket band
summer begins
Hart, cem, 28
5-4-3-2-1. Buzz! Papers fly through the air; school is over. She has completed her eighth grade year and now it is time for summer. It’s time for swimming and bonfires, hotdogs and ice cream, her friends and relaxing. She jumps on the bus and it feels like she’s flying. She made it, now it’s time for high school. She arrives at her house and she busts through the door. Her mom gives her a huge hug and asks how her last day of middle school was. They sit down and talk for a little. “Can I go out with my friends?” she asks. “Not yet, what do you need to do first?” her mom replies. “Oh…yea…” she says, as she grabs her backpack and dumps it on to the table. Her mom had this crazy rule of having her and her brother go through their backpacks before they could go out on the last day of school. She rushes through the pile, throwing out nearly everything, besides her favorite pens. “Can I go out now?!” she asks excitedly. “One more thing,” her mom says and kisses her on the forehead, “Okay, you can go.” She rushes out of the door and to her friend’s house. They play outside and that is when she hears it, the cricket that signifies summer. Her and her friend look at each other and with one single word, an adventure beings: “Summer!”
I like how all of the sense are utilized with this haiku. You can feel the late day sun on your face. You can hear the cricket making the same, continuous sound. The phrase “summer beings’ (Hart, cem, 28) brings about all of the other senses. You can smell a pool or a bonfire, you can feel the grass or the cold water surrounding your body, and you can taste typical summer food. I like how the senses begin slowly, then hit you all at once.
it’s just the moon again
up to the same old same old
magic
Hart, cem, 48
“Mommy, the moon is following us,” she announces on their car ride home. “It’s because it’s lighting the way so we get home safely,” mom replies. She blinks and the memory is gone. She finds herself staring out of the big bus window. The moon is so bright and beautiful. It’s lighting my way home, she keeps thinking. She hasn’t been home in a long time due to school and the chaos of her life. She continues to stare out the window and think about her childhood and how much she has missed her mom. Just two more hours, she keeps telling herself, as she slowly falls asleep.
I like how the moon staying the same and doing the same thing over and over again is still considered magic. I love how the repetition of the action doesn’t seem boring or lethargic. I like how this can relate to real life, many people do the same thing every single day, but it’s still magical. Teachers do the same things every day, but it’s still magical and extremely important. There’s the magic with teaching students something you find important and there’s the magic of being an inspiration to your students. I also find the moon and stars so magical. I have so many memories that involve the stars and adventures. I remember the first time I saw a Wyoming night sky. The stars never ended. They went on for forever and if you squinted, you could see more stars. The night sky is so peaceful and magically. It makes you feel like anything could happen. Even though it does the same old, same old every night, it will always be magical and mysterious.
crickets can’t see stars
and stars can’t hear crickets
that’s why there’s us
Hart, cem, 49
I like how this haiku gives humans a purpose. It’s a small purpose, but it’s one nonetheless. This haiku helps to show that there is so much more out there than just us. There are the stars and the crickets and we might not be too aware of these things now, but if they were taken away and suddenly gone, we would notice and it would be sad. The crickets cannot take in the beauty of the stars, and the stars cannot take in the beauty of the cricket’s song, so we are here, to take in the beauty of everything. We have to make up for the lack of appreciation. It’s weird to think that we are only around to witness the beauty that other things cannot witness. We are here to hear the cricket’s song because the stars can’t. We are here to see the beauty of the stars because the crickets can’t. It makes everything seem so simple and trivial. We are around to witness the beauty that already surrounds us. The big problems that all of us face aren’t that important because we are around to see the stars and hear the crickets. It makes life seem much simpler than what humans make it out to be. We need to just exist more and take in the things we normal don’t notice. We need to appreciate that we can witness these things and that we have the ability to appreciate them. We need to think deeper, but look on the surface.
murmurs in the twilight
the parents downstairs
talking after bedtime
Hart, cem, 66
This reminded me of being a kid and my family. When my sister and I were younger, we would sit at the top of the stairs and try to eavesdrop on our parents conversations. It was kind of like we were being spies. Sometimes the information we gathered was good, and other times it was scary. I would always do this after I got in trouble. I would poke my head out of my room, because then I was still technically in my room, and listen to their conversations. When it was bedtime for my sister and I, we would go get ready for bed then go downstairs to get our mom to put us to bed. We always wanted our mom and would get upset if our dad would come instead. One of them would put us both to bed then head back downstairs to watch television. Sometimes you could hear them talking or you could hear the TV.
I like how the haiku feels magical in a sense. I feel like twilight evokes a different emotion than using the word nighttime or dark. I think twilight adds some mystery to the haiku and what the parents are murmuring about. The word choice in this haiku is very specific. Hart uses murmur to show that the parents are being quiet and to also show that the child cannot clearly hear what they are saying. The word bedtime helps to show that it is from a child’s point of view and to them, everything comes to an end because they had to go to bed. However, the parents are still awake and they are still talking. Maybe the kid’s parents are having a party and there are a bunch of adults downstairs talking late into the night.
my cold feet
seeking solace
find more cold feet
Hart, cem, 77
They’re lying in bed after a fight. Neither one admits that they were wrong, but they both secretly wish that the other one would stop being mad. They don’t want to fight, especially over something so small. They’re both lying there, not saying a word. Her feet are freezing. She forgot to put socks on, but crawling out of bed meant being washed over by the cold. She slowly moves her feet over to where his feet are. Just do it, she thinks. Asking him to share his space and his warmth, is asking him forgive her and move on. It is asking each other to forgive and be happy again. She pushes her feet up against his, only to find more cold feet. She shivers and he pulls her towards him. He wraps her in his arms and kisses her check. He whispers, “I love you” into her ear, and then she knows everything is ok. She sighs a breath of relief, because she found the solace she was looking for, for both her and her feet.
I like the reality of this haiku, because that situation is very real. You always think that the other person will be able to warm you up, but they are always just as cold as you are. I like the usage of the word solace. It makes the situation desperate and in immediate need of warmth. It also shows that the other person, is the person that can provide that relief and make that desperation go away. I like thinking about this haiku in a deeper way, that it’s not just feel that are seeking solace, but people. Maybe someone has a cold heart from a terrible breakup and they are looking for someone to warm their heart and help them feel better. They finally find that person and they take that leap to find solace, only to find that the other person is hurting too. But they are able to find solace within the same pain because they can go through it together.
In Cloud Eats Mountain, the majority of the haiku are based around his life experiences. Hart talks about everything from a heart polygraph to the parents whispering downstairs. Since his haiku are relatable, it is easier to imagine them, as well as, feel the emotions evoked by them.
By writing about his life experiences, Hart enables the reader to relate quicker and to paint a detailed picture in their own mind. It allows for an easier connection with the reader. While reading Cloud Eats Mountain, the reader feels as if they are watching Hart go through his life. You are able to see the sad parts and the happy parts. But you also experience the little things that you might have missed. Hart “catches glimpses of the extraordinary in his day-to-day life” (Prime). For example, “blinds clattering / our house breathes in / the autumn wind” (Hart, cem, 46). He captures something as simple as the blinds clattering and turns it into a beautiful picture. Normally the blinds clattering would be an annoyance and something people might disregard, but Hart takes the blinds clattering and turns it into something bigger. It helps personify the house breathing and the intensity of the autumn wind. Hart gives life and meaning to all of his haiku, which helps them better portray the story and experiences he is sharing.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed William Hart’s haiku in Cloud Eats Mountain. I liked how the haiku came from his experiences and things he has noticed. It allowed for him to shine a different light on things people normally overlook. It helps you to see everyday things differently and he gives these things a personality. I felt like I was going through the haiku of his life and I could see everything playing out in front of me. I like thinking of the haiku as one continuous story. It gives the haiku a completely different meaning, but it also allows the reader to take knowledge from one haiku and apply it to a different haiku. Hart does a wonderful job of portraying his life through his haiku and creating a fascinating story.
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Works Cited
Hart, William. Cloud Eats Mountain. Virginia: Red Moon Press, 2013. Print.
Prime, Patricia. “Cloud Eats Mountain by William Hart.” New Zealand Poetry Society. Signify. N.d. Web. 13, April, 2016.
“William Hart.” William Hart. Earthlink. N.d.Web. 13, April, 2016. |
