The Faith-Tinged Haiku of Johnny Baranski

Johnny Baranski (May 1, 1948 - Jan. 24, 2018) and I had been following each other on Twitter for a while. I always appreciated his haiku, and had a sense of his spirituality and commitment to social justice. But, to be honest, I did not know a great about him personally.

Sadly, he died in January after a battle with cancer.

I learned he was indeed Catholic - I saw him described at "devout." I learned about his long career of opposing war and nuclear weapons, and supporting social ministry. I learned he had spent time in jail for his opposition to war and weapons - something I respect and which I consider honorable.

I wish I had known him better when he was alive. We could have talked about faith, helping the poor, protesting, and more.

Below are some of his haiku related to his faith and time in prison.

winter moon
the A-bomb dome
casting a shadow

our time together
short but sweet
prison yard snow

in ten summers
the convict’s first visit
dragonfly

in the prison graveyard
just as he was in life—
convict 14302

a walk-off home run
up and over
the prison wall

for a moment
the war be damned
cherry blossoms

prison lights out
drifting off to distant places
a train whistle

road to freedom
just a stone’s throw beyond
the prison yard

 

Nagasaki sunrise
their shadows tell
the story    

 

predator drone the butterfly is yellow  

 

off prison barbed wire
snow taking
the edge

 

prison lights out
drifting off to distant places
a train whistle

 

           moonlit spider
web weaving
          cell bar to cell bar

 

chrysanthemum garden
in this world too
bomb makers

 

basketball stops
in the exercise yard–
convicts shoot the breeze

 

jail visitor:
the warmth of her eyes
through bulletproof glass

 

amber wheat fields —
no one talks about
the missile silos

 

far from the mainland
reaching through the fog–
prison lights

 

                 In my jail cell
a shrinking pencil point
      grows many flowers
                                                           

Here is his "death" poem, written two days before he died:

one last breath
before dying—
plum blossom

Pray for us, Johnny.

Pax et bonum