For the lonesome soul,
The Road is a companion;
We never go alone.
Travel by Haiku: Volumes 6-10: Far Out On The Road With Friends, compiled by Marshall Deerfield, is about three trips Deerfield took, all with individual groups of friends. Throughout the book, Deerfield shares the road with Augustus Depenbrock, Shane Donnelly, Tara Lynn Faith Williamson, Stephanie Beattie, and Cameron Christopher Stuart. This book, which is a sequel to the previous collection that came out in 2016, is a collaboration between these six individuals where, depending on who is accompanying Deerfield, a notebook was shared between them. In this notebook, the passengers in the car would write a line of a haiku before passing it on to the next person. These haikus embody their collective experience on these trips. This gives the poetry such an interesting voice as it connects the different perspectives, observations, and emotions of the travelers. The tones and specificity of the haikus vary within each section, including this haiku in Vol. 7 which captures the free-spirited adventurer’s simple excitement:
Well, back on I-10
heading to LA. Can’t wait
to see the ocean!
Then there is this haiku in Vol. 9 that takes a more contemplative approach when observing the environment:
Dreams are often found
mixed in with mountains and sky
an endless balance.
The artful entwining of anecdotes with poetry created by the six collaborators brings attention to the effect of connection. Whether through the connected lines of poetry, the bonds between Deerfield and his friends, the ties to those they meet on the road, or the immersion in nature, connection is felt throughout the book. It is exactly the energy needed in 2021 and in the coming years. This collection tells the journey of the open road and the beauty of the remaining natural wilderness that exists around us. The allure and wonder Deerfield and his friends experienced can be seen in these two haikus in Vol. 8 and 9:
A lake so blue that
jumping in feels like falling
down into the sky.
High in the alpine
mind blooms with wild flowers
special kind of bliss.
While there is appreciation of beauty, there is also an acknowledgement of the decay and death that can be observed on such a trek. In Vol. 9: The Plot Thickens, Connection Deepens, there is mention of Pine Bark Beetles and the destruction they cause. These insects eat away at trees, such as Ponderosa pines, leaving them grey husks of their former strong selves. These beetles are not an invasive species but their heightened activity and prevalence, in places such as Colorado and Wyoming, is due to global climate change. Deerfield writes that it’s been a decade since a proper freeze was able to wipe out the eggs of these sap-eating insects, leaving this species left unchecked, and the balance of nature, as a result, has been tipped.
Deerfield recounts driving through these forests of death, the trees stubbornly keeping their vigil despite life having already left them and the very ground they stand on. He writes of how his heart ached for the lost life that surrounded him and the helplessness of being an eco-activist that cannot protest against an enemy that attacks from within the trees.
The stories that accompany these haikus add to the adventure of reading the book, exploring everything from the wonderful to the bleak, making readers feel more like passengers inside the car, watching the world stream past the window.
Travel by Haiku: Volumes 6-10: Far Out On The Road With Friends
Compiled by Marshall Deerfield
A Freedom Books
Published March 31, 2021
190 pages
Madison Betts is a junior at Drexel University pursuing a B.A. in English with a concentration in writing. When she isn’t buried in a book, she spends her time writing one, aiming to publish a series of her own. She also enjoys paddle boarding, yoga, and boxing.