still day…
a dry leaf breaks free
from the sycamore
Published by
Frank Williams
Frank Williams lives in London and has been writing haiku for about seventeen years. Frank also has an interest in contemporary haiga and renku. His poems have been previously published in various haiku journals and anthologies over the years.
View all posts by Frank Williams
This is a powerful poem by Frank Williams, one which well repaid the rereading and pondering throughout the day.
Sycamore of course is a particular tree conjuring a very precise image, as I have watched the fall of the leaves and especially the seeds of a sycamore in my garden countless times over the years. But what I particularly love about this poem is how it invokes in me a complex religious and spiritual reaction. Sycamore is a tree with Biblical connotations, and was specifically mentioned as the tree from which the disciple Judas suicided after betraying Jesus. So I feel encouraged to imagine the dry leaf breaking free could become an ambiguous analog of my own loss of faith, breaking from religion, and discovering with amazement a sense of intellectual freedom.
Then I ponder again the 2 syllable trochee of the opening line, which I believe has been made deliberately jarring: "still day…" Obviously the phrase can be read as a straightforward physical description – cleverly rendered as a palpable experience by the ellipsis. But I also read it as a spiritual exhortation – that one does not actually descend into darkness or spiritual or moral night by abandoning religion. One discovers – perhaps to one's own surprise – that it is still day, still light, and indeed still beautiful.
Thank you for publishing this thoughtful and thought-provoking work.
Intense. The leaf turns the page.
This is a powerful poem by Frank Williams, one which well repaid the rereading and pondering throughout the day.
Sycamore of course is a particular tree conjuring a very precise image, as I have watched the fall of the leaves and especially the seeds of a sycamore in my garden countless times over the years. But what I particularly love about this poem is how it invokes in me a complex religious and spiritual reaction. Sycamore is a tree with Biblical connotations, and was specifically mentioned as the tree from which the disciple Judas suicided after betraying Jesus. So I feel encouraged to imagine the dry leaf breaking free could become an ambiguous analog of my own loss of faith, breaking from religion, and discovering with amazement a sense of intellectual freedom.
Then I ponder again the 2 syllable trochee of the opening line, which I believe has been made deliberately jarring: "still day…" Obviously the phrase can be read as a straightforward physical description – cleverly rendered as a palpable experience by the ellipsis. But I also read it as a spiritual exhortation – that one does not actually descend into darkness or spiritual or moral night by abandoning religion. One discovers – perhaps to one's own surprise – that it is still day, still light, and indeed still beautiful.
Thank you for publishing this thoughtful and thought-provoking work.
Strider
Lovely. It's almost like the leaf tears itself from the tree to enjoy the remains of daylight. :)
still day…
a dry leaf breaks free
from the sycamore
An exemplary example of a haiku straight from nature but with added layers to reward the reader.
warmest regards,
Alan
I can see this – autumn again.