This week we are pleased to present the haiku of D. Gale, one of our regular commenters at Haiku By Two.So much have we enjoyed his haiku and musings at this site, it is a real treat to have him as our guest.

D. Gale is a pseudonym and homage to the anonymous writer B. Traven, creator of the novel, The Death Ship.

And as an avid cyclist, a world traveler and a merchant marine, he has the life material for poetry. His work will appear here over the next seven days.

Let’s give a big welcome to D. Gale as  he tells us a bit about life off the beaten path and his approach to haiku:

I’ve lived in NYC, Switzerland, Tucson and Chapel Hill and I’ve visited over 30 countries, including an ESL stint in Buenos Aires. Additionally, over five years of my life has been spent toiling away on tankers and freighters as an Able-Bodied Seaman; hence the sailing literary reference.

Currently I live in Seattle and I am between ships or “on the beach” as they say in the merchant marine. Meanwhile I keep busy indexing articles on PTSD for a government agency, a freelance position which should qualify me for some sort of psychological disability.

As an avid cyclist, my mind clears when racing down hills. I’ve been in two serious bike accidents in the past year and discovered Haiku By Two while recovering from collarbone surgery—there are two types of cyclists, those who have broken their collarbones and those who haven’t . . .yet.  I began keeping a haiku journal to supplement my free prose diary.  Now that I’m back on a bike, I find myself thinking in 5-7-5 while dodging traffic thanks to Alison and Kelly.

The haiku submitted reflect an acknowledgment of insignificance gained through intuition, a love of literature, dietary supplements, and time spent staring at a gray horizon for a pittance.