Ten Haiku by Goran Gatalica

 

Ten Haiku

a snowmelt . . .
the glint
of innocence

feeling chill -
the swirl and spin
of the clouds

vending machine
spangled with
a dusting

a bare tree
too thin to take
my weight

a lonely light
in a network
of binding filaments

a robin’s nest
no more than
an arm’s length away

quiet spring
deep within the snugness
of the mossy orb

after her burial
the same as an envelope
spring clouds

thinking of childhood
the inner essence
of a birdsong

at the train station
the goldcrest’s slightness
in the rain

Goran Gatalica was born in Virovitica, Croatia, in 1982 and currently resides in Zagreb, Croatia. He finished both physics and chemistry degrees from the University of Zagreb and proceeded directly to a PhD program after graduation. He has published poetry, haiku, and prose in literary journals and anthologies. Gatalica has received many honors for his poetry and haiku, including Award Dragutin Tadijanović, the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts for the poetry book Kozmolom (2017), the honor “Haiku Master of the Month” (Rikugien Gardens and Biei, NHK WORLD TV, Japan, 2016 and 2017), the Basho-an Award (Tokyo, Japan, 2019 and 2020). He is a member of the Croatian Writers' Association.