When I searched for haiku inspiration, I thought of a place unique to Central New York. Earlier, my boyfriend showed me the canal park near Camillus, where a viaduct carries the Erie Canal over Nine Mile Creek. The place is beautiful and feels very rural, though it is just outside Syracuse. You can barely tell a highway is nearby. The place has many of the natural elements associated with haiku, and it is a gorgeous area.

In addition to the natural beauty of the place, there is a sadness. If you think about it: the canal is flowing toward the creek and the creek toward the canal. You are ready for the two waters to meet and become one. Instead, they are carried separately, one over the other, so very close, but forever apart.

Before I entered the haiku in the contest, I read it to my boyfriend for his input and comments. He replied, “It's beautiful, I like it, but it fills me with sadness.”