DNREC Haiku Poetry Contest winners named

June is Ocean Month, and to highlight the importance of preserving and protecting the ocean, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy partnered with libraries in each county and challenged Delawareans to create a haiku highlighting the theme: What I Love About the Ocean.

Sussex County residents won the top spots in the adult division.

First place, Scott Walls, Greenwood

Whale carcass plunges

Boon to the abyssal plain

Blooming reef of bones

Second place, Jo-Ann Baca, Lewes

Sparkling, spraying waves

sprinkle wingspread gulls above

kissing sand and sky

Third place, Diana Hay, Milton

Pirates buried gold

Where I now search for sea glass:

Treasure in the sand

“The range of expression captured in the entries demonstrates the many ways that Delawareans connect to the ocean, and highlights why it is so important to protect and preserve this valuable resource,” said Kristi Lieske, an ocean planner in DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy.

Selected poems will be displayed in the Lewes Public Library during June. Winning haikus will also be displayed at the Delaware State Fair.