Lee Gurga
Born 1949 in Chicago Illinois, USA
Living in Lincoln, Illinois, USA
Lee Gurga is a past president of the Haiku Society of America and former editor of the journal Modern Haiku. He is currently editor of Modern Haiku Press. He works as a general dentist in the farming community of Lincoln, Illinois.
His awards include three first prizes in international haiku contests, an Illinois Arts Council Poetry Fellowship, the Japan-America Society of Chicago's Cultural Achievement Award, and, in his professional work as a dentist, an American Red Cross Healthcare Heroes Award.
cardinals
one
pair
loop from tree to leafless tree
across
the
prairie
winding a bobbin
cotton the color of
her husband’s winter
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
morning rush
plums with a blush
plums with wrinkles
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
morning birdsong
light filters down
to the boy’s prism
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
hardware store smell of gun oil and morning donuts
Hermitage, 1:1/2, 2004
benedictine monastery —
an autumn ikebana
in an empty room
Kraków Poems, 2004
Happy Mother’s Day!
at last her favorite son
released from prison
Boston Haiku Society News, June 2001
spring mud —
a row of young soldiers
in the coffins
Haiku Troubadours, Ginyu Press, 2000
quiet afternoon
all my ambitions buried
in a foot of snow
A Penny Face Up, tel-let, 2000
wild geese —
writing a wordless message
on the autumn sky
Heron Quarterly, 1:4, October 1997
now that you’ve left —
your side of the bed covered
with open books
last bale of hay —
we sit down on it
and watch the moon
Woodnotes, 31, autumn 1997
fresh scent —
the labrador’s muzzle
deeper into snow
Haiku Summit Contest 1996 (International), 1st Place
rows of corn
stretch to the horizon —
sun on the thunderhead
1st International Kusamakura Haiku Competition, 1996, Grand Prize
morning mist . . .
the soft brown eye
of the suckling calf
Canadian Writer's Journal Contest 1996, 1st place
fluttering madly —
butterfly in the slipstream
of a passing freight
7th BHS James W. Hackett International Award for Haiku (1996), 2nd place
the ticking of sleet
on the bedroom window:
your hand
gathers
me
Haiku Splash contest, 1996, HM
morning twilight . . .
horse asleep in the pasture
covered with frost
HPNC haiku contest, 1996, 3rd place
graduation day —
my son & I side by side
knotting our ties
Woodnotes 30, autumn 1996
winter prairie —
a diesel locomotive
throttles down in the night
Frogpond, 18:4, winter 1995
small town paper —
THE ACADEMY AWARDS
not even mentioned
Woodnotes, 26, autumn 1995
four or five turkeys
roosting in a leafless tree —
winter evening
Ito-en contest 1995 Jury’s Choice Award
his side of it.
her side of it.
winter silence
HPNC San Francisco International Contest, 1995, Senryu 2nd HM
from house
to barn:
the milky way
Frogpond 17:2 (summer 1994)
rotted stump —
brown pint bottle
still hidden inside
Frogpond, 17:2, summer 1994
she speaks
of her late husband —
autumn breeze
Ko, autumn-winter 1991
I read
she reads
winter evening
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
wedding picture:
each face finds
a different camera
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
frozen branches
measure the emptiness —
winter sunset
Ko, autumn-winter 1991
that picture of Dad:
three different plaids, but mostly
the blue of his eyes
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
class reunion —
with my old girlfriend
her girlfriend
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
after
chickadee
stillness
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
chopping out stumps —
the old boundary dispute
with every stroke
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
birthday shopping —
into the dress she loves
her daughter’s hips
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
summer sunset —
the baby finds his shadow
on the kitchen wall
Mainichi Daily News Contest, 1st place (traditional), 1990
a spot of sunlight —
on a blade of grass a dragonfly
changes its grip
Geppo, 13:243, 1990
dusk . . .
the mantle of God
kindles starlight
Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 4, 1990
fall leaves the trees the winter sky
Harold G. Henderson Awards 1990, HM
street magician —
tourists appear
disappear
World Haiku Contest, 1989, HM
postal chess —
he moves me
from his cell
Frogpond, 12:3, August 1989
figure drawing class —
in the model’s deepest shadow
a stark white string
Harold G. Henderson Awards 1989, HM
each waiting
for the other’s silence —
April birdsong
New Cicada, 6:2, 1989
first spring day —
beyond the woodpecker
beyond the moon
New Cicada, 5:2, 1989
another Christmas . . .
my parents visit
the son in prison
Frogpond, 12:3, August 1989
the smell of the iron
as I come down the stairs
winter evening
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
trying the old pump a mouse pours out
Modern Haiku, 19:1, winter–spring 1988
first feeding —
smelling her milk
the black cat
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
first spring day —
each horse reaching
over its fence
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
frozen ground —
with every step
the thorn
Japan Airlines contest 1988 HM
as the light fails,
still hammering
from the treehouse
Mayfly 5, July 1988
the end
of moving day;
dogs barking
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988