A Tiny Nature: Recollections of Poems and Trees
By Robert Weis (self-published, September 2023)

Review by Rebecca Otowa

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From the WiK Website:
“In this ‘recollections of poems and trees’, Robert Weis unites two seemingly distant worlds: that of short poems inspired by haiku and that of bonsai trees. Flora and poetry blend naturally on these pages through free verse poems, short prose and photographs, with a single aim: to make us see the beauty within.”

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This little book by Robert Weis, co-editor of the 5th WiK Anthology, The Nature of Kyoto, is a collection of free verse poetry and photographs mainly of bonsai trees (photographs by the author, Jean-Pierre Reitz and Zsuzsanna Gaal), tastefully designed by WiK’s Rick Elizaga. The photographs of venerable yet small bonsai trees dominated my first impression of the book. The photos are not connected by theme to the poems which are juxtaposed with them, at least not to me; there must certainly be a subtle connection, since the photos have been carefully chosen by the author to be next to the poems; and more perceptive readers will be able to find it.


The poetry is mainly about experiences with nature, which Robert Weis has plenty of, both in Japan and many places in Europe. The poems range among such topics as clouds, trees, water. An example, which I particularly liked, is “Tree at the Window” (partially quoted below), which leaves the reader in a pleasant state of doubt whether the poet is referring to a tree outside his window or to a lover who shares his life. Or both.

At each dawn I greet you before I leave you
To find you in the evening on the other side of the mirror
You look like me and I look like you
Day after day we grow roots
In silence
Like the tree in front of the window.

There is an introduction which traces the author’s affection for the Japanese tree Momiji (maple), also loved by the Japanese writer Kawabata Yasunari (who was himself a bonsai aficionado), and an afterword which details involvement with the Bonsai Japanese art form, which is very popular in Europe. True to the name of the present book, Weis expresses large ideas which are embodied in small or miniaturized things.

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Robert Weis was instrumental in setting up in the summer of 2022 a large exhibition in the Luxembourg Natural History Museum of art and photography, “Spirit of Shizen: Japan’s nature through its 72 seasons”. The accompanying catalogue constitutes an anthology featuring essays and contributions by several WiK members. 
He has also published another volume of poetry, Dreams of a Persimmon Eater (January 2023) and also the self-described “travelogue with a personal touch and some spiritual and literary insights”, Return to Kyoto (2023). Though these books are originally published in French, the present work was written originally in English.
He is a “geopoet” whose travels take him to various interesting areas of Europe as well as numerous visits to Japan and Kyoto. The photograph above shows a persimmon bonsai which the author saw in Kyoto in 2019.