sunlight
between pier planks
sunfish


—Brian Gierat

This haiku is the third place winner in the April 2003 tinywords haiku contest, winning the author a copy of This Wine by William M. Ramsey, published by Deep North Press, and a copy of Dennis Dutton's 90 Frogs, published by bottle rockets press.

From the judges' comments: "This is perhaps the purest haiku of the submissions, a lovely juxtaposition of two natural elements that somehow makes us see something more, and also see connections among parts of the whole--or let's just say, a feeling of the oneness of things."

About the author: Brian Gierat
bigcarp at ameritech dot net

I have been writing poetry since high school but only started writing haiku over 3 years ago. Since then, I have been lucky enough to have haiku published in Modern Haiku, The Heron's Nest and Frogpond. It has been a perfect balance to my 9 to 5 profession as Shift Supervisor of Microbiology at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. Through my experiences of haiku I have found a greater appreciation for the subtle beauty that surrounds us... things that can easily go unnoticed because of the fast pace of modern living. As a haiku poet, I feel a certain "duty" to try and catalog as many of these moments as I possibly can. It has enriched my life beyond words.

7 responses
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published 30 April 2003
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Responses to the haiku for 30 April 2003 by Brian Gierat

  1.  
    Kathy Mann
    2003-04-30 15:45:10
     

    Perfect! I see it, I hear it, I feel it! The pure simplicity is bliss.

  2.  
    Jon Summers (SummersJ at Logica dot Com)
    2003-05-01 03:30:07
     

    A nice haiku - simple, direct, cheered up my morning anyway.

  3.  
    bob richardson (orgbob at webtv dot net)
    2003-05-01 10:01:51
     

    "nice", to borrow a word from my confederates.

    truly pivotal.

    however, i find this to be a monumental moment, an occasion for the ages, all being in agreement, and to think i was there.

    sadly, in contrast to what brian is saying about cataloging these moments, man seems destine to speed up his addiction to the rat race, of which we, seemingly, have become involved in...


    tis a pity

  4.  
    Phil (phuffstatler at hotmail dot com)
    2003-05-01 14:02:07
     

    I've had many a moment exactly how Brian has described it, growing up in a small Mississippi town. I would lay on the dock, on my stomach for hours, and using bits of crackers, feed the sunfish by hand, and occasionally try and catch one...

    Thanks, Brian!

  5.  
    shirley weese (sweese at island dot net)
    2003-05-01 14:07:20
     

    I felt like I was fishing and it was summer. Lovely haiku. I also like everyone's comments on all the haiku. Thanks for that.

  6.  
    john tiong chunghoo (bagiruang at yahoo dot com)
    2004-01-05 08:58:04
     

    the fallen swallow
    clawing and chirps
    towards the sky

  7.  
    bob richardson (orgbob at webv dot net)
    2004-06-18 19:06:09
     

    white ibis --
    between the lily pads
    murky waters


    -

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