Haiku Selection, August 2010

The quality of haiku submissions for this issue was mixed. My advice to you is to try to feel relaxed, free, natural and spontaneous when you write haiku. I have been suffering from my neck pain, which I have managed to ease with the help of exercises instructed by my physiotherapist, self-massage, ibuprofen, heat and above all RELAXATION. This last item seems to have eased my tension (a significant cause of neck pain, and of all pains!) so much that I am now feeling nice and free around my neck, without the tensed muscles or oppressed joints. There were quite a few haiku poems submitted which seemed to suffer from “haiku neck pain”. The six haiku poems winning the first, second and third places under Neo-Classic and Shintai for example are all free from haiku neck pain and we all want to emulate them!

Neo-Classic Haiku

First Place & also Editor’s Choice

crescent moon

the turning point

of my mind

Barbara A Taylor, Australia

Second Place

autumn mist

one day we too

will disappear

André Surridge, New Zealand

Third Place

early dusk

fireflies

light the silence

Anne LB Davidson

Seven Honourable Mentions

(in no particular order)

life

renews itself...

yellow crocus

Anne LB Davidson

idle swing set

on the winter beach—

thirty-third birthday

Ignatius Fay

morning frost

the street performer

juggles his breath

André Surridge, New Zealand

a friend's death...

the maple leaves are falling

too early this year

Naomi Beth Wakan

through half-open

blinds—slices

of the full wolf moon

Cathy Drinkwater Better

solder’s new bride

a brisk wind blasts open

her empty mailbox

Victor P. Gendrano, USA

weathered old man

gnarled as his walking stick—

handful of daisies

Ignatius Fay

Haiku of Merit

autumn glory

in my hand

one small red leaf

Anne LB Davidson

weathered old man

gnarled as his walking stick—

handful of daisies

Ignatius Fay

spring day

the vacant house

fills with sunshine

Lynette Arden

I pause in wrapping

the Christmas gifts—

sun on snow

Cathy Drinkwater Better

tulip poplar blossoms

butter-yellow in the grass

last night’s storm

Cathy Drinkwater Better

(Afrikaans)

die streepkoppie

wip net om die bossie

en is skoonveld

the striped bunting

just hops around the shrub

and is clean gone

Izak Bouwer

songbird hatchling

dead on the sidewalk

but Spring does not pause

Sue Burke

west side of the shed—

tiger lilies bow

to the south wind

Ignatius Fay

freak May blizzard

garden resets to zero

except the weeds

Ignatius Fay

stone bench -

the snail gives up for me

the other half

Damien Gabriels, France

spring cleanup

my sister’s last letter

before her death

Victor P. Gendrano, USA

mild April day

barefoot along the frilled edge

of the ocean

Peggy Heinrich

telephone call

she needs more surgery

September chill

Peggy Heinrich

summer morning

my 84 year old aunt and I

sing duets on the phone

Howard Lee Kilby, USA

first snow

a westie’s eyes deeper

in her shaggy hair

Anthony Anatoly Kudryavitsky, Ireland

a spider and I

come out from under the weight

of the paperwork

Priscilla Lignori, USA

stuck inside itself

until it’s cut open -

the watermelon

Priscilla Lignori, USA

whispering softly

as if a child is sleeping -

autumn wind at night

Priscilla Lignori, USA

young grasses in

velvet breeze ~ a little girl

dances in light

Narayanan Raghunathan, India

a cool breeze ~

coconut leaves sway

against fluffy clouds

Narayanan Raghunathan, India

River bath

chilled evening breeze

chattering teeth

Karthik Rajamani

lone autumn leaf

awaits

to descend

Geethanjali Rajan

mountain lake

each splash from the oar

shakes the moon

Geethanjali Rajan

remote railroad tracks

snow-dusted on a line

homeless laundry

Bruce Ross, USA

Spring morning

through the open door

a sea of scents

Riitta Rossilahti

In autumn sunshine

blue patches of sky framed

by golden birch leaves

Riitta Rossilahti

interrupting

the autumn mist

grackles

Ann K. Schwader, U.S.A.

hunger moon --

the echoes between

my dreams

Ann K. Schwader, U.S.A.

sky deeper

than yesterday

crabapple blooms

Ann K. Schwader, U.S.A.

deep autumn

my view through the trees

returns

Ann K. Schwader, U.S.A.

summer retreat -

each crocus returns

to its corm

Nancy Stewart Smith, USA

first cold night -

a glimpse of the world

without me

Nancy Stewart Smith, USA

morning fog

yet the goldfinch flock still

darts in trees

Sherry Weaver Smith, USA

birdsong

then my ear returns

to bee hum

André Surridge, New Zealand

new coolness

the drapes are drawn

by sunset

Barbara A Taylor, Australia

rippling skyscrapers

between the moon

and the fountain

Barbara A Taylor, Australia

Bulgarian village

the church cross becomes

a part of a stork's nest

Zinovy Vayman, Russia

the sheen

of a reservoir, dulled

by thick pollen

Zinovy Vayman, Russia

I linger transfixed

by a blue jay wobbling

on the sunflower

Naomi Beth Wakan

breakfast dishes

we pick hibiscus blooms

for the tortoise

Carmel Lively Westerman, USA

Shintai Haiku

First Place

caught by the sunlight

an invisible juggler

juggling tiny gnats

Priscilla Lignori, USA

Second Place

autumn sunset ~

curling into their own shadows

ocean waves

André Surridge, New Zealand

Third Place

beach umbrella

tying down

the wind

Lynette Arden

Seven Honourable Mentions

(in no particular order)

under the bed

his shoelaces

tangling with mine

Lynette Arden

antiques shop

an old couple check furniture

for wear

Lynette Arden

tornado warning---

we learn

what really matters

Anne LB Davidson

so much to be said

too much left unsaid—

shared bran muffin

Ignatius Fay

watching wildflowers

my wayward daughter

and her capricious mother

Victor P. Gendrano, USA

a lazy button

pops off my shorts

and runs away

William Hart

restless as the wind

the shirt hanging on the line

by a mere clothespin

Priscilla Lignori, USA

Haiku of Merit

commuter bus

the guide dog’s eyes catch

early morning light

Lynette Arden

glass tower

each pane holds

a different piece of sky

Lynette Arden

through earthquake cracks

incense rises to heaven

in this old cathedral

Sue Burke

idling tour bus

the driver alone with

stock market quotes

Ignatius Fay

sea spray -

a taste of salt

on her lips

Damien Gabriels, France

unhurried walk

the smell of clean earth

after the rain

Victor P. Gendrano, USA

somewhere in the rain

somebody's pounding

on something

William Hart

Census worker

retreats from a house

man with a gun

Howard Lee Kilby, USA

To the Neanderthals

I feel an apology

is in order

Howard Lee Kilby, USA

divorce papers

rain washing the desolate

hotel terrace

Anthony Anatoly Kudryavitsky

black-necked crane

stands on one leg; does it know

endangered?

Aju Mukhopadhyay, India

elderflowers

blossom in the moonlight

this whiteness

Andy Pomphrey, UK

beneath the cliffs

silent seas rise and fall

echo of gulls

Andy Pomphrey, UK

her soft hair

he runs his fingers through

the scent of spring

Andy Pomphrey, UK

Shadow of my pen

follows my words–

candle flickers on a rainy night.

Karthik Rajamani

spring in her step -

she skips

to the next sunspot

Geethanjali Rajan

I wipe my tears

as her tiny fingers unclasp

- first separation.

Geethanjali Rajan

Jack Kerouac Alley

someone had slept near

his poem to stars

Bruce Ross, USA

Willow in the wind

Can't find words

of farewell.

Igor Shugan, Taiwan

Clings to the body

her wet red sari--

waving wrinkles

R.K.Singh, India

Her gaze

stirs the soul--

clay in void

R.K.Singh, India

gadabout parent

their child's first sentence is

bye bye love you

Nancy Stewart Smith, USA

forest path

a song

I have heard before

Sherry Weaver Smith, USA

after the stroke

learning to cast a fly

with his good arm

André Surridge, New Zealand

divorce settlement

the winner

gets their friends.

Carmel Lively Westerman, USA

Vanguard Haiku

First Place