(For more of Sean
Williams' haiku, see Daikaiju! Giant
Monster Tales.)
(and his LiveJournal,
here)
The following haiku was one of three winners of the
inaugural Sydney Writers' Festival haiku competition in 2000. Displayed on giant banners across the city of
eternity
is
the
fading smell of cologne
in
an empty room

This haiku was one of many submitted to the competition. The others are printed here for the first
time:
eternity is
a drop of water, trickling
down a window pane
eternity is
the time it takes for a child
to say: "i love you"
eternity is
the final stroke of midnight
on all hallow's eve
eternity is
precisely how long it takes
to catch someone's eye
eternity is
the sight of autumn, falling
like tears, brown and gold
eternity is
a note explaining nothing,
a sad heart at night
eternity is
in the tiny, the fragile,
in life's smallest things
eternity is
waiting for a bus to come
on a rainy day
eternity is
summer, autumn, winter, spring
(repeat until done)
eternity is
tripping on the final step
with nowhere to fall
eternity is,
against all expectations,
nothing but itself