mother-daughter
small talk …
snap beans
To Hear the Rain, 2002
Peggy Willis Lyles
Chinese Translation (Traditional)
母女
閒談聊天 ...
脆綠豆
Chinese Translation (Simplified)
母女
闲谈聊天 ...
脆绿豆
Bio Sketch
Peggy Willis Lyles was born in Summerville, South Carolina, on September 17, 1939. She died in Tucker, Georgia on September 3, 2010. A former English professor, she was a leading haiku writer for over 30 years -- helping bring many readers and writers into the haiku community.
...in this haiku we are able to see the theme that most relates to Peggy Lyles work. The image that is created by a reader is that of a mother and daughter in their kitchen at home preparing a meal or dish. I imagine the daughter to be a teenager, and the mother to be an at home mom, both of who are caught up in the daily routines that have distanced them from each other. I imagine the conversation to be that of small talk because perhaps there has been some animosity towards each other or they simply have been out of each other’s life that a conversation cannot begin any other way. I can see each at the kitchen table with the silver bowl separating them as they casually throw the broken beans into the bowl. This haiku makes me think a lot about who these characters are and where they have come from. Through her words, my image begins with the assumption that there have been some difficult times between mother-daughter, and there will be more difficult times ahead of them. The connotations of the word "snap" leads me to think that something was revealed that has negative implications. The word "snap" connotes broken, injured, or popped. It does not lead the reader to believe that things are normal within this relationship. I think again as we have seen in a theme of her other haiku; Peggy Lyles wants the reader to realize the importance of these seemingly insignificant moments. The author slowly leads the reader into this conflict between mother and daughter. Firstly, Lyles creates and image of an unconditional relationship, one where both are apparent that love always is there, without question. In her second line, she foreshadows some kind of conflict within the family. And finally in her last line she reinforces that image with the use of the strong word "snap". Her auditory theme is also present in this haiku. The reader is able to hear the uncomfortable small talk between the family members, while also hearing the snapping of the beans and them falling in the bowl. This is seemingly symbolic of their conversation. It is almost like with the surprise of the news, symbolized by the snapped beans, it is they let go, and able to fall into the bowl to be dealt with later...
ReplyDelete-- excerpted from Katie Hill's "Peggy Lyles: Haiku Poet," accessed at https://www.brooksbookshaiku.com/MillikinHaiku/writerprofiles/HillOnLyles.html