Rene Matousek (1958-1991)
Dalmatia, Croatia
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We wish to introduce in a relatively brief format
various haiku poets, past and present, who are good but not so
well-known. Called "Mini Haiku Treasure Trove" to distinguish it from
the usual fuler size, the new format will seek to make as many of these hidden
poets known to the reader as possible. We take up a tragic poet from
Croatia who met a lamentable but heroic death in 1991 while
executing his duties as a medical doctor in the war-torn country. His name is
Rene Matousek.
Tomislav Maretić, a fellow countryman and a
haiku poet himself, has written a short but moving introduction:
Rene Matousek worked as a stomatologist (dentist) in a small town in
Dalmatia. In his spare time, he wrote poetry, haiku, short stories and other
prose works. His other interests included Esperanto, working on
the radio and writing his columns in various newspapers.
He was born in 1958 in a place called Vukovar. The
war broke out in Croatia in 1991. When Vukovar came under attack,
Matousek returned there from Dalmatia to work as a doctor in a
hospital. Vukovar fell. The day after its fall he was arrested at
his family house. It was the 19th of November. He was tortured and
killed on the 20th.
His elder brother who had also been
arrested with him survived all this hell to tell us the sad story. Matousek
was a real humanist, creative writer and a fine poet. He
was, above all, very nice, tolerant and interesting as a person. His
courage was genuine and much to be commended.
20th of November was the 12th anniversary of his death. It would perhaps
not go amiss if we spent few moments to read some of Rene Matousek's haiku
poems in order for us to share his sensibility and sense of life's joy despite
his tragedy. (Notes on localities below.)
heavy autumn rain—
a dog and cat without hostility
under Vukovar's arches
Danube dripping
from a housewife's bag
the tail of a carp
boating at dawn—
an abandoned sandal floats
down the Danube
chestnuts cannonade
in the Castle garden
students, full speed
blue butterfly—
lulled to sleep by Zrmanja
in a ram's horn
leap of a trout—
fleeing, a goat springs
to the freezing shepherd
a crow shivers
on cypress branches
caws from the wind
the fresh smile of a girl
stretching out in the sun
Zegar after rain
the ring of Vuka—
sea and skating rink
to Luzac children
Borovo chimney
surrounded by crows
the day blacker still
a foreigner in awe
in the middle of Vukovar
a nesting stork
a cloudburst—
the vineyard of Vucedol
plucked by the hail
winter poplar
the old man underneath
recognises names
children still asleep—
gently, with a baker's peel
mother pulls out bread
in the middle of Vukovar
I sit at the mouth of the Vuka
writing haiku
Notes:
Borovo - locality in Vukovár where is the
factory of shoes.
Danube River - the second longest river in Europe (2860 km).
Luzac - locality in Vukovar near Vuka
river.
Vucedol - a well-known locality near Vukovar
in which an archaological
discovery of prehistoric
culture was discovered (Vucedol's culture 3000 - 2200 B.C.).
Vukovar -
a city located at the confluence of the Valkó
(Vuka) and Danube rivers.
Vuka - river which runs into Dunav in Vucovar.
Zegar - a little village in Dalmatia.
Zrmanja - a river in Dalmatia.
