Goodbye, Rengé

David Priebe (Rengé), 1937-2006

David Priebe died on Friday, September 15, 2006, after a long illness. Even with his weakening condition, he would drive to the monthly meetings of the Southern California Haiku Study Group. He was on a waiting list for a kidney that never arrived. Each time we saw David he seemed to be more pallid.

David had been the publisher of the international magazine, Haiku Headlines, founded in April, 1988. In the last issue of February, 2006, he apologized for its late publication. (It appeared in April)

In that issue he wrote, “Since the first of the year, I have been hospitalized seven times, including a bout with pneumonia, twice hemodialysis shunt repairs, 12 days in a convalescent home, and subsequent days of weakness after dialysis 3 times a week . . . 38 days away from my computer... But I’m feeling stronger every day and once again feel motivated to resume the Headlines where I left off. . .” Sadly, David did not produce any more issues. He included this haiku from his last publication:

Instead of quitting
because of my failing health:
Rage on, Haiku-san!

And others from his published works:

Another sky bird
Lights atop the deodar
And one flies away

Cemetery pond
Lilies of the Nile blaring
their purple trumpets

David starting writing haiku when he was 20, accounting for 86 volumes, 14,495 haiku and 5 published books. The last SCHSG meeting he attended was in April, 2006, at the Food Court next to Borders Book Store in Cerritos.

David’s wife, Maria, to whom he had been married since 1960, died in 1997. This union propagated five children––Aida, Rosemary, Holly, Marshall and Todd––thirteen grandchildren and one great grandchild. David was buried on his 69th birthday.

- Margaret Hehman-Smith

Tribute Haiku for David by SCHSG Members:

the last of the ink
from his "Haiku Headlines" pen
news of his passing

- Victor Ortiz

cemetery pond
a family’s tears pooling
together

- Deborah P Kolodji

on a summer breeze
goes a message of love
for David

- Margaret Hehman-Smith

the hummingbird flies
with a falling leaf
news of his passing

- Vic Gendrano

cool hotel lobby
I watch the traffic passing
and remember you

- Tom Bilicke