Eddie Morosini

Garry Gay's Haiku Journey Garry Gay was born in 1951 in Glendale, California. In 1974, he graduated from the Brooks Institute of Photography with a BPA. Ever since he graduated from the institute, Gay has been utilizing his skills as a professional photographer. In 1993, Gay began creating digital images and has built quite a reputation and skill. He is currently a member of Advertising Photographers of America, Film Arts Foundation, Friends of Photography, Artrails, and the Cultural Arts Council of Sonoma County. Gay continues to use his photographic background to enhance and further the meaning of his haiku. Gay was greatly influenced by the works of Matsuo Basho, especially Narrow Road to the Deep North. Gay began writing his haiku in 1975, and he has written in continuously since then. He co-founded the Haiku Poets of Northern California in 1989. He served as the group’s first president for one year. In 1991, Gay was elected the president of the Haiku Society of America. While this was a great honor, Gay is more widely known for his creation of a new poetic form. The "Rengay," a linked haiku that is usually written trough collaborative exchange, was influenced by the "Renku." This form was greatly explored by Basho throughout his life. Gay is currently living in California with his wife, Melinda, and his daughter, Alissa. Along the way an old oak branch becomes a walking stick Garry Gay concentrates on bringing about a feeling in his haiku. He often pairs the poem with a photograph to lend the image that he desires to the reader’s mind. This image is not the only one that Gay wants the reader to see, but rather it is the first one that he wants to appear. From the poem, Gay is able to invoke an image and feeling that the reader might have forgotten from long ago. His standard in poems is to bring in nature and let the reader digress to a place of less frustration. His collections of poems become a journey for the reader to take. It is not a difficult one, but rather it is a journey that allows the reader to become everything possible. It aids the reader in escaping times of trouble for a more suitable place. The poems are merely a walking stick on the journey through life. The trail forks . . . taking the one with wildflowers This haiku is one that enables the reader to take the trip that they have always wanted to. It also serves as an important reminder. Although the road may seem obvious, one should not rush through it. The reader should instead take a brief pause to enjoy the little things in life. Gay uses a photograph of a field of bright orange wildflowers to aid in the image of this poem. The reader is immediately pulled into a place where wildflowers are the only option on the trip. It seems that the reader must explore everything that the world has to offer to them. This poem lets them see the way in which they should relax about life and how much they put into it. Gay’s poetry is often viewed as something that encourages a more peaceful life. Serenade harvesting pears from my backyard I feel wealthy glowing gold the sun hangs in the branches turning from its bowl the cat licks its paws and yawns— cool evening breeze the potter’s wheel turns slowly under the old leaves— shadows changing shapes a game of catch extends into moonlight back and forth a slow exchange between crickets This rengay was written by John Thompson and Garry Gay. The rengay is a poem in which the authors take turns writing haiku for the piece. It can be complicated to carry on a meaning that is suitable to all of the haiku. This rengay is full of images that may bring the reader back to a time that was simpler for them. The images seem to be reminiscent ones of a youth gone by. The photograph that accompanies this piece is simply one of wilderness. Thompson and Gay left the piece open more for interpretation by adding many different activities. The reader my not be able to associate with all of the images, but it is possible to find one that is fitting. The rengay seems to bring the reader into the world of the authors gently so that they are able to enjoy the journey. The parallelism in the poem also contributes the way the readers feel after reading it. There is a constant image of relaxation and laziness that reminds the reader of a youthful environment. Mad rushing river; nothing able to cross it except this rainbow Gay utilizes a photograph of a rainbow to go along with this haiku. In this way, he does not limit the way the reader will view any other aspect of the poem. The river is able to be anything, as well as the setting being anytime. The only part of the poem that is fixed in the mind of Gay is the rainbow itself. The poem is one that allows the reader to see a great paradox of life. The reader naturally sees that the rainbow is something that is greatly peaceful, while the river is the difficulties of life. The peaceful times transcend the wild ones. A light mist we skip to the playground my daughter and I This poem conveys a very strong emotion that the reader may not quite identify with, but he would be able to feel the emotion that it presents. The reader is able to feel the cool mist and know what it feels like to be carefree. The young age and the adult playing with the child both lend to a great amount of playfulness to the poem. The reader can feel as if they are with the two, or remember doing something similar. The mist of the day gives the reader a way to feel the actual day. It also allows the reader to imagine the warmth of the exercise with the coolness of the weather. Sudden wind and the seed tufts drift away across the meadow This haiku seems to take all of the natural beauty and combine it one poem. The meadow is a place of great relaxation, and the ability to just watch the seeds float away is something that should be treasured. The leisure time is worshipped by this poem. The images in it are really strong, and it is important to realize how much of the world is the peacefulness of the poem. This haiku makes the reader see the quality spent in the self-reflection. The time spent reflecting is, in Gay’s opinion, more valuable than time spent in living the busy life. The meadow blossoming with bird song Antique map an ant travels the old spice route This haiku contains an image that the reader can not help but laugh at. The ant that travels along the old route is something of a paradox to the observer, and it seems appropriate that the ant is traveling along an antique route. The reader is able to see the ant moving, along with imagining what could have happened along that route. The double image seems to absorb the reader more quickly as well as give him something to contemplate. Garry Gay utilizes a lot of techniques that a reader may see in Basho’s works as well. It is important to see the images of nature that play such a key role in the two poets’ works. Garry Gay has published several collections of his photography and haiku. Some of these works include: The Billboard Cowboy, The Silent Garden, Wings of Moonlight, River Stones, and The Long Way Home. —Eddie Morosini