An Occidental Tourist's One Hundred Haiku & Other Poems

An Occidental Tourist's One Hundred Haiku & Other Poems represents over nine decades of a life well-lived. Born in 1929 and raised in a small town on the high plains of Nebraska, Ernest met and married his first love. Together they launched an eventful journey of adventure and exceptional accomplishments. He joined the US Air Force and worked as an intelligence officer during the Korean War. But it was the science of the mind that attracted him into a career in clinical psychology. There he discovered the healing qualities of creativity for his clients and began to write his own poetry. In November 2022, his cancer doctor sent him home to, "enjoy what time you have left," because chemo was no longer a viable option for him. He felt like he was just "waiting around to die." He needed a project. Thus, this book was born. His themes touch on the beauty and poignance of love, death, loss, and growing old, but also gratitude and the essence of that soul force that drives us all to keep on living our best life every single second we have left. This volume not only offers his passionate revelations about life and love but also a brief history of haiku and a primer for other occidental tourists who want to try their hand at this exquisite Japanese art form.