HAIKU: Variations in Life and Landscapes

By Agustin Pacheco

This delightful and thoughtful poetry collection by Agustin Pacheco is filled with haiku about the four seasons, and of man's place in the world. His haiku convey a sense of wonderment, discovery, beauty, understanding, and awe about nature, but they also address the destructive, re-constructive, and adaptat

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Nov 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638376330

Agustin Pacheco

Agustin Pacheco is a biologist and a naturalist. He earned his BA and MA degrees from Northern Colorado University in biology and Spanish. After graduating, he became a high school teacher where he taught students to appreciate the beauty of nature. He spent much of his life living among the beautiful plants and animals as well as the wonderful landscapes of all kinds in different parts of the world. He is currently retired and lives with his wife in San Diego, California.

Book preview

When I discovered Haiku, it was a serendipitous experience. As a worshipper of Mother Earth and Father Sun and a grateful and appreciative lover of their beauty and gifts, Haiku spoke to me at once. Immediately I realized that Haiku recorded a beautiful moment in nature to be cherished forever. I started experiencing those delightful present moments and remembering moments from my many past joyful encounters in nature.

Haiku's three lines with a five-seven-five-syllable structure was my cup of tea since I liked discipline. So, I became an ardent and strict writer in the required form. Yet, I kept Haiku which composed smaller outside the form since I could not discard them. It was such a love at first sight that I started my joyous Haiku journey right then and there. I walked in nature and composed my first Haiku.

Walking cross country

among lavender Nettle

with golden pistils

Clear pearl dew drops

on the tips of Cholla thorns

Mockingbird nesting

Colorful rainbow

arched above the green valley

grazing Elk beneath

Cattle

grazing

swatting flies

Because I loved nature since I was quite young, when I grew up, I went to college to study Biology. Learning so much about Planet Earth and its many magical wonders was an overwhelming experience. The more I learned, the greater my joy and appreciation. I was especially intrigued by the complexity, perfection (and imperfection) of all the components of nature, created over billions of years. Particularly magical was the infinite variety of exquisite and beautiful life forms made possible by genetic expression from an alphabet of a mere four DNA nucleotides; creations from the tiniest one-celled organisms to the largest whales, dinosaurs and giant Sequoia trees. It was so intriguing that life adapted and could exist in the air, soil, deepest oceans, hottest deserts, highest mountains, coldest Antarctic and in every other niche on Earth.

Yet, I was disturbed to learn about the heartbreaking destruction that man was causing to beautiful Mother Earth; burning trees and dimming the sun, tearing up the land, polluting water, air and land, wanton destruction of all kinds of life, all driven by over-population and greed. How could we be so destructive! It became evident that our ignorance and greed needed correction. Sadly, and reluctantly, I felt the need to add a chapter to this book on Wandering Man Haiku of serous interest and concern. Much of it about man's harmonious adaptation, but also about his destructive nature, as well as his corrective endeavors.

It occurred to me that I could maybe make a small difference. As a teacher, I could impart knowledge and spread my love of nature and my philosophy of caring for Mother Earth. I also would have time to travel in the summers to enjoy the wonders of Earth and I chose the medium of backpacking to do so. I went to many parts of Earth to explore and enjoy all the beautiful animals, plants, landscapes and waters. It was exciting to impart knowledge of Biology to students and how it was so much about Earth's wonders. It was my hope to excite students as much as I was. It worked! I could see the awe, concern, joy and interest in the many students whom I taught. They now had a view and understanding of Earth which they did not have before.

Students started a Biology Club and it became the biggest club in the large school where I taught. I was asked to sponsor the club. It worked to repair damage to earth and these students established a large and successful recycling center. Students came up with so many ideas to get the community involved in helping the aching Earth. And the community responded with their support beyond the students’ expectations. Money earned from the recycle center was donated to environmental organizations.

Students also started a backpacking club which became so popular that we had to train student and adult leaders to help guide trips, mostly on the California Coast Trails and the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada of California. It was such a pleasure to see the awe-struck student backpackers learning about and enjoying the wonders of Earth. Most of these students had little experience about being out in nature and enjoying its wonders. It was my pleasure to teach them about the beauty and intricacies of Earth in balance.

At the time when I started teaching, I acquired a ranch in the beautiful high country of northern New Mexico where I found opportunities to write Haiku and photograph many beautiful wild flowers. It is a beautiful place of short prairie grasses with much juniper, pinon, ponderosa and scrub oak forest. There are many wild flowers, birds, elk, deer, cougars, fox, coyotes, turkey, quail and fresh cool breezes in Spring and Summer and beautiful snowy days in Winter. There I was able to practice what I taught my students about keeping the environment in balance. I particularly enjoyed practicing no-till gardening, producing nutritious food and growing beautiful flowers, mostly hybrid Iris.

The great, deep-blue sky often fills with billowing white clouds in the summer that sometimes yield much appreciated thunder storms with cooling rains followed by translucent, colorful rainbows arching over the valley to the east. At night, the dark dome fills with billions of stars bisected by the Milky Way with its misty silvery glow. The golden moon seems bigger than anywhere else. It is here where I still spend much time enjoying nature day and night in all four seasons in my retirement. It is here where I have written much of my Haiku.

Spring welcomes the arrival of