Intimate Moments: Haiku by André Duhaime
by Jordan Oelze
Oftentimes when reading haiku I find myself getting lost within the meaning and symbolism behind the poetic devices. After reading both Michael Dudley’s and André Duhaime’s work, I found that my previous interpretations were restricting. These authors take their thoughts and emotions to a new level of honesty. I found in reading their work that these honest creations were to be absorbed and appreciated for what they were. Instead of sitting and analyzing each haiku, I let the haiku trigger me in whatever way it could. Many of these haiku are related to intimate moments between two people. These types of haiku always strike a chord somewhere in my heart. I find myself to be an incredibly romantic person. I long for connection and intimacy with others, and I think that these haiku fill that need from time to time. Intimate moments are well articulated in the world of haiku. One small moment can be elevated to elicit a physical and emotional response from the reader. I find that when I am intimate with another person my vulnerability causes my senses to heighten. This makes for more awareness, and therefore I can create beautiful images when it comes to my haiku.
In Orange Peels and Hanging From the Clouds by André Duhaime, the reader receives an honest few of life’s intimate moments. Likewise, in Michael Dudley’s A Man In A Motel Room and Pilgrimage, the reader gains an honest perspective into raw moments among humans.I think that both authors have done superb jobs in creating honest and natural haiku that simply explore the reality of situations through an unveiling of sorts. They take moments that could be considered insignificant or overlooked in day to day life and give them pure significance and meaning. Human interactions and emotions are paramount to understanding this complex world. As an actor I find each moment and action of humans to be truly beautiful. I constantly wonder why people do what they do, and what their underlying emotions are. These authors have helped me to take intimate moments and really feel the beauty within their simplicity. There is more to life than analyzing and critiquing. Sometimes it really is important to just see the haiku for what they are.
a cold dip:
her nipples my genitals
Michael Dudley, AMIAMR, 13
The structure of this haiku greatly serves the intimate moment created by the author. If the two body parts had been separated, then the reader wouldn’t be able to understand the closeness of the two people. It also created an image of the genitals on her nipples. So, it may not be a statement of the body parts, but that they are actually in contact. The cold dip starts the haiku off with a darker image, but the warmth is then brought back with the image of the two body parts. I find this haiku to be both erotic and almost comedic. Many people go skinny-dipping, but they usually just leave it at that. Dudley is able to take a small yet intimate moment and elevate it for the reader. I can just imagine the tingling and sensual feeling of another person’s warm skin within the cold water. Dudley leaves this haiku open-ended so that the reader can determine how the nipples and genitals feel. Is it a good feeling? An odd feeling? By leaving this haiku at just two lines the author gave the reader the meat, and it is their job to season it. He took what was a beautiful moment between two people and heightened it in order to elicit a warm response for the reader—even amongst the cold water.
since you left
I eat standing up
and smoke in my bed
André Duhaime, HFTC
Although not an intimate moment between two people, this haiku explores the intimacy that was once present, and the calamity that follows when that intimacy has parted. Building a bond and connection with one person is especially scary. You literally have to open yourself up to them. You invite them in at unexpected times, tell them unexpected things, and share with them your most inner thoughts. I have lately begun to create a relationship like this, and I have never been so vulnerable in my life. I find him creeping into my thoughts at the most random moments, and I even find that many things I do revolve around him. Daily routines and actions alter and adhere to the other person—your life genuinely changes. This haiku explores the despair that follows when this bond is broken. The author is standing up while eating even though he usually sits. He is lying in bed whilst smoking, though he usually stands. The absence of this person has created such a hole that he doesn’t know how to be on his own. That is a depressing thought to me. I often fear this for myself: being alone. Many people just don’t know how to be on their own. I find that doing things by myself makes me feel sad or lonely. Sharing moments and experiences with others is so much more fulfilling to me. I relate to this haiku wholeheartedly because I can’t imagine the devastation. Losing someone so close to you makes everything else seem more difficult. I love how simple this haiku is by switching two well-known actions. This shows that the absence of love can turn even the simplest tasks upside down.
last of the wine
her finger touches
my Adam’s apple
Dudley, Pilgrimage, Globe Aglow
Again, another haiku that elevates a simple moment between two people. This is what I genuinely appreciate about Michael Dudley’s writing. So many people overlook the simplest things, but I think that the simplest things are the most beautiful. The specificity of the situation makes it all the more raw and alluring. If the couple had been at the beginning of the wine bottle, then maybe the situation would be less erotic. They may be making small talk or sober talk, not really telling each other how they feel. However, the fact that it is the last of the wine shows that they have been at this for a while. They are probably drunk; feeling warm and cozy. I can picture the couple laying together, tipsy and smiling. She could be lightly touching his skin. I find that the lightest touches always make me feel more. They tingle my skin and send shivers down my spine. The specificity of the Adam’s apple shows how important and intimate this moment was to the author. He remembers exactly where her finger grazed. I am exactly like this. I remember every feeling and detail. Especially when it is someone so close and intimate. And even more when I am drunk. Every sense is heightened when you are in love and when you are intoxicated. This haiku is able to enhance those feelings and capture them within one small moment.
grandpa telling a story
my eldest
watches the clock
André Duhaime, Orange Peels
Everyone knows exactly what this haiku is talking about. Whenever my grandpa is telling a story or talking about something, he will take his sweet time in doing so. At a younger age this would bother me, because I was always anxious to be doing something else. Listening is such a hard thing to do when you’re younger, and I find that my listening skills have grown as I get older. Younger children don’t pay as close attention to details as older people do, that’s why I feel they are always missing something. They are not as aware as they could be, but that is what is so beautiful about growing up. As we get older we learn to appreciate and understand the little things. Simple stories from our grandparents become intriguing and enlightening. Small acts of love and care are more recognized. The father watching his child during this haiku creates a great image. The father has been there before, listening to his dad go on and on about something that seems insignificant. But when we appreciate others, we begin to appreciate every little thing about them. The child doesn’t possess the ability to truly appreciate the small things. Oftentimes children will actually cry over the small things. This haiku creates a generation of awareness and intimacy between a family. The small story being told by the grandfather is intimate and raw. Duhaime does a wonderful job of building on that intimacy and creating a dynamic story amongst family members.
crying stopped
milk drips
from the mother’s wrist
Dudley, AMIAMR, 37
The heightened senses are what make this haiku packed with imagery and beauty. Breastfeeding is such an intimate and surreal moment between a mother and her child. This woman literally carried her child inside of her for nine months, and for the next few months it must rely on her milk in order to survive. The mother is the key to any child’s happiness and security. This haiku does a brilliant job of addressing that security and sustainability. I imagine a baby sobbing in the middle of the night. So loud and unceasing, the only thing that can break the calamity is the mother’s milk. The baby just had a huge fit, and the mother is distraught and in pain after shaking and rubbing her baby to happiness. The milk is dripping from her wrist to show how harsh the moment before just was. There is leftover milk from the intimate moment. It shows how precious the milk was to the baby, and how important it was in ceasing the baby’s tears. Dudley sets up an intimate moment between a mother and her child wonderfully. The milk dripping creates an image full of sound and sight that helps heighten the entire situation.
tickled
by her breath in my ear:
Are you asleep?
Michael Dudley, Pilgrimage, Globe Aglow
This is the most intimate haiku I have come across. Sharing a bed with someone is incredibly vulnerable and emotional. Sleeping is something that we tend to do on our own. We are so vulnerable and unaware while we sleep. Some people make noises, snore, or talk in their sleep. Our bodies are open to anything while our minds aren’t aware. We get lost in dreams while the world continues to turn around us. The intimacy of sharing a bed with someone means that you are sharing parts of yourself with them. You are comfortable enough to sprawl out on the sheets, mouth open and hair messy. You accept the snores and morning breath because you appreciate the presence of the other person. The warmth of their skin and the feeling of their breath is so intimate and delightful. The moments before falling asleep next to someone are the most silent and amatory. Feeling his breath on my skin sends all types of warm shivers through my body. This haiku shows that intimate moment and breaks the silence. I greatly appreciate that. I can feel the warmth and silence in the bed as the two people drift to sleep. But there’s always that moment of wanting more talk. Maybe she wanted to say something else, maybe she wants more covers. The possibilities of her question are endless. Even though the silence and intimacy was broken, it is then created again by her breath on his neck. The constant flow of energy between the two people creates an intimate and sensual haiku.
dayrise
any minute now
the children whispering
André Duhaime, Orange Peels
This haiku explores the beauty behind having children. Like many intimate relationships, we grow and adhere to other people. I don’t personally have kids, but I understand the rituals behind many activities with children. When someone is a part of your life for so long you are able to adapt to what they bring to the table. This is clearly a parent who is used to their children whispering each morning as the sun rises. It is such a sweet image to deal with. Early mornings are meant for light whispers, warm coffee, and soft cuddles. This haiku explores the ritual behind a family relationship. Each morning during the weekend I always expect my nephew to be running on the hardwood floors while I sleep below. As the sun comes up I know that he will soon follow, and it is something that I often wait for. This haiku helps me to understand the little things and how important and beautiful they can be, because one day the children will be grown and will no longer whisper in the house.
mechanically
her phone number
at my fingertips
André Duhaime, HFTC
my tongue insider her
navel
:
lint
Michael Dudley, Pilgrimage
After reading many of Duhaime’s haiku I found that he didn’t play with structure as much as Dudley seems to. I think that the structure of the haiku can greatly affect the way that it is read, which can aid the author’s intent. I think that both of these haiku have done excellent jobs in their structure, though. Duhaime gives a pause after each packet. The idea of the intimacy behind machinery is both comical and real to me. There is something so intimate about messaging a certain person, but if you think about it…it’s not intimate at all. He is in connection with her by means of machinery. He isn’t touching her or looking at her, but he is in communion with her. At the touch of a button he could delete her number, or at the touch of more profess his love. There is an invisible rubber band connecting these two people. The structure helps show the irony of the situation because each line is separate from one and other. The reader is able to differentiate between the feelings of each word, and really chew it. Dudley’s structure is far more interesting, but I think that it has equally intimate qualities. The first line is open-ended and erotic. The reader isn’t sure where the author’s tongue is. We are then able to see it is in her navel. We can appreciate the sexuality and intimacy, but we are then thrown off by the realness of the lint. This haiku also takes a sort of comedic twist. The intimate moment is thwarted by a piece of lint—another simple thing that is so important to the haiku. The coolest part about this haiku is that it forms the shape of her body. We are able to see the navel and how it curves down. The lint is then the last thing that we come to. I can imagine his tongue tracing her body and expecting something sweet, then tasting a piece of lint. It is so raw and real because things like this happen. I’m sure they laughed about the lint as he picked it out, and they continued on with their sexual activities. It is just one intimate moment after the other with this haiku.
These authors helped me to look past the absurdity in the world. Oftentimes images and moments are distorted due to society’s labeling of what they should be. Instead of focusing on what things should be, these authors focus on what things simply are. By stressing the importance of every person, action, moment, or feeling these authors have opened up my mind to the beauty of simplicity. Not everything needs to be analyzed. Overthinking and overanalyzing can cause distress because it muddies the beauty of the moment. By looking at the reality of each situation, these haiku have created images that can be interpreted in many ways. Because the haiku are so real and honest, anyone can relate themselves to the story. As an actor, I find that I notice and understand things that many other people don’t. I constantly watch people and read people because I want to know more. In researching these authors I was given a glimpse into intimate moments between people, and I was able to shape them to my liking. The simple images and simple moments were not even simple. That’s the most wonderful thing. The simplest things are able to be elevated and stretched so that they create deeper and more beautiful meanings. Michael Dudley and André Duhaime were able to hone in on these intimate moments and explore the senses and feelings within them. In turn, I was able to fill my romantic heart with raw and honest haiku.
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Works Cited
Dudley, Michael. A Man In A Motel Room. High/Coo Press, 1983. Print.
Dudley, Michael. Pilgrimage. Red Moon Press, 2005. Print.
Duhaime, André. Hanging From The Clouds. King’s Road Press, 1998. Print.
Duhaime, André. Orange Peels. Les éditions Asticou enrg., 1987. Print.
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