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.
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cardinals
one
pair
loop from tree to leafless tree
across
the
prairie
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sky
smudged
with
black
birds
another woman passes by
who
is
not
you
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she thought we should have sex but nothing fancy autumn rain
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winding a bobbin
cotton the color of
her husband’s winter
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
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morning rush
plums with a blush
plums with wrinkles
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
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morning birdsong
light filters down
to the boy’s prism
Autumn Mosquito, Modern Haiku Press, 2005
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hardware store smell of gun oil and morning donuts
Hermitage, 1:1/2, 2004
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benedictine monastery —
an autumn ikebana
in an empty room
Kraków Poems, 2004
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Happy Mother’s Day!
at last her favorite son
released from prison
Boston Haiku Society News, June 2001
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spring mud —
a row of young soldiers
in the coffins
Haiku Troubadours, Ginyu Press, 2000
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quiet afternoon
all my ambitions buried
in a foot of snow
A Penny Face Up, tel-let, 2000
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wild geese —
writing a wordless message
on the autumn sky
Heron Quarterly, 1:4, October 1997
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scenic overlook —
the whole Mississippi valley
hidden in mist
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now that you’ve left —
your side of the bed covered
with open books
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last bale of hay —
we sit down on it
and watch the moon
Woodnotes, 31, autumn 1997
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fresh scent —
the labrador’s muzzle
deeper into snow
Haiku Summit Contest 1996 (International), 1st Place
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rows of corn
stretch to the horizon —
sun on the thunderhead
1st International Kusamakura Haiku Competition, 1996, Grand Prize
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morning mist . . .
the soft brown eye
of the suckling calf
Canadian Writer's Journal Contest 1996, 1st place
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fluttering madly —
butterfly in the slipstream
of a passing freight
7th BHS James W. Hackett International Award for Haiku (1996), 2nd place
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the ticking of sleet
on the bedroom window:
your hand
gathers
me
Haiku Splash contest, 1996, HM
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morning twilight . . .
horse asleep in the pasture
covered with frost
HPNC haiku contest, 1996, 3rd place
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graduation day —
my son & I side by side
knotting our ties
Woodnotes 30, autumn 1996
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winter prairie —
a diesel locomotive
throttles down in the night
Frogpond, 18:4, winter 1995
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small town paper —
THE ACADEMY AWARDS
not even mentioned
Woodnotes, 26, autumn 1995
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four or five turkeys
roosting in a leafless tree —
winter evening
Ito-en contest 1995 Jury’s Choice Award
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his side of it.
her side of it.
winter silence
HPNC San Francisco International Contest, 1995, Senryu 2nd HM
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from house
to barn:
the milky way
Frogpond 17:2 (summer 1994)
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rotted stump —
brown pint bottle
still hidden inside
Frogpond, 17:2, summer 1994
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she speaks
of her late husband —
autumn breeze
Ko, autumn-winter 1991
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I read
she reads
winter evening
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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wedding picture:
each face finds
a different camera
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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frozen branches
measure the emptiness —
winter sunset
Ko, autumn-winter 1991
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that picture of Dad:
three different plaids, but mostly
the blue of his eyes
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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class reunion —
with my old girlfriend
her girlfriend
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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after
chickadee
stillness
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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chopping out stumps —
the old boundary dispute
with every stroke
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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birthday shopping —
into the dress she loves
her daughter’s hips
The Measure of Emptiness, Press Here, 1991
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summer sunset —
the baby finds his shadow
on the kitchen wall
Mainichi Daily News Contest, 1st place (traditional), 1990
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a spot of sunlight —
on a blade of grass a dragonfly
changes its grip
Geppo, 13:243, 1990
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dusk . . .
the mantle of God
kindles starlight
Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 4, 1990
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fall leaves the trees the winter sky
Harold G. Henderson Awards 1990, HM
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street magician —
tourists appear
disappear
World Haiku Contest, 1989, HM
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postal chess —
he moves me
from his cell
Frogpond, 12:3, August 1989
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figure drawing class —
in the model’s deepest shadow
a stark white string
Harold G. Henderson Awards 1989, HM
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each waiting
for the other’s silence —
April birdsong
New Cicada, 6:2, 1989
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first spring day —
beyond the woodpecker
beyond the moon
New Cicada, 5:2, 1989
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another Christmas . . .
my parents visit
the son in prison
Frogpond, 12:3, August 1989
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the smell of the iron
as I come down the stairs
winter evening
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
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trying the old pump a mouse pours out
Modern Haiku, 19:1, winter–spring 1988
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first feeding —
smelling her milk
the black cat
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
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first spring day —
each horse reaching
over its fence
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988
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frozen ground —
with every step
the thorn
Japan Airlines contest 1988 HM
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as the light fails,
still hammering
from the treehouse
Mayfly 5, July 1988
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the end
of moving day;
dogs barking
A Mouse Pours Out, HIGH/COO Press, 1988