10th Annual Poets' Choice Kukai

Kigo Category:

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First Place -  29 Points

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kite flying

the desire

to let go

Tom Painting

(2,3,17) = 29 pts

**We have all felt this.

**The kinetic sense is powerful enough to fly with this haiku and its kite!

**The human desire to fly free into the open sky

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Second Place (Tie) -  26 Points

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dry season

stones rise

in the stream bed

Michele L. Harvey

(4,1,12) = 26 pts

**When we have time to watch "stones rise," we know we are in haiku-land!

AND

origami rose . . .

his fingers gently

unfolding me

Margaret Dornaus

(2,5,10) = 26 pts

**I think it's one of the most beautiful haiku of the year. The resemblance which some colleagues discovered is just a surface resemblance, nothing else.

**The stark contrast of the rose, and then a direction to me; a romantic tinge beautifully crafted (no pun intended)

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Third Place (Tie) -  22 Points

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falling snow

even our voices

are softer

Kat Creighton

(2,4,8) = 22 pts

**Beautifully observed, and beautifully expressed.

**I love the subtle way that second line puts "us" right there, under the falling snow.

AND 

lingering cold

the long ride home

from the cemetery

Cara Holman

(0,4,14) = 22 pts

**The l's prolong the cold. Cold is truly final, and if it is not, cemetery ends it, bringing us back there from the ride home. Sound and sense work their magic here.

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17 Points

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haiku group

the discussion stops

for a robin

Adelaide B. Shaw

(1,2,10) = 17 pts

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15 Points

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roses ...

my grandmother tells me

about her first love

Cezar F. Ciobica

(2,3,3) = 15 pts

January 1st

this list written

in pencil

Maxianne

(2,1,7) = 15 pts

**Just the quirkiness of this haiku won me over! And its reality, of course.

 **Resolutions are usually hard to keep, a list written in pencil is indicative of that, and also a willingness to change.

spring thaw a river of geese

John Soules

(0,4,7) = 15 pts

spring fever

a murmuring brook

begins to babble

Michele L. Harvey

(0,4,7) = 15 pts

night vigil --

the garden's yellow roses

afloat in the dark

Maxianne

(0,3,9) = 15 pts

**The image of the floating roses is lasting, haunting.

**I had a tough time deciding between this and #2, but this had an unusual image that stuck with me.

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14 Points

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deep breaths —

the old eucalyptus

loosens its bark

Shelley Krause

(2,1,6) = 14 pts

**This is by far my favorite. I found myself more aware of my own breath and of my own sense of release after reading this one. Very nice.

**A sense of age & life other than human

Drought —

between the farmer's eyebrows

deepening lines.

Zhanna P. Rader

(1,2,7) = 14 pts

**What a resemblance to my own haiku in this contest! It’s just fantastic how we, for our differences, share same emotions!

**The notion that the weather and geography in which we live can be seen on our face, in our gait, in the way we carry ourselves, is fascinating and compelling.

lingering cold...

the sleeping cat breathes

into his tail

Elinor Pihl Huggett

(0,2,10) = 14 pts

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12 Points

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between

eucalyptus leaves

koala eyes

peter pache

(0,4,4) = 12 pts

year-end pledge

yesterday's tracks

fill with new snow

Michele L. Harvey

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

foreclosure —

the roses blossom

after they move

Bruce H. Feingold

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

lingering cold

my daughter's handprint

on the window

Bill Hudson

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

**The juxtaposition of the cold of the pane and the warmth of the daughter's hand is powerful. Almost all senses are called into recognition in this lovely image.

**Youth and warmth versus cold & lifeless

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10 Points

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resolution

refrigerator magnets

making it stick

Tom Painting

(0,0,10) = 10 pts

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9 Points

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winter dawn—

the scent of eucalyptus

filling the silence

Devika Menon

(0,1,7) = 9 pts

drought

the redness of the bougainvillea

deepness

Bill Hudson

(0,1,7) = 9 pts

**I love this because the redness intensifies the drought and vice versa. Two striking images speaking of pain and survival (or maybe hope!)]

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8 Points

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first taste

of ice cream

- her eyes

Paul Hodder

(0,3,2) = 8 pts

**I saw this haiku when it first appeared and widened my own eyes. I did it again! What a remembering. Sight is strongest in this haiku.

**What a wonderful and joyous image.

war talk—

the two roosters eye

each other

Rita Odeh

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

**This poem sits atop the haiku/senryu fence: a familiar barnyard scene typical of roosters, and a metaphorical treatment of mankind's predilections toward war, bravado, and futile conflict.

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7 Points

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cigarette ash

other resolutions

he didn't keep

~Alexander "Lex" Joy

(0,0,7) = 7 pts

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6 Points

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rain all night

the scent of eucalyptus

in my dreams

Stevie Strang

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

**The other-wordly quality of the eucalyptus scent is well-captured here.

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5 Points

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ice cream

on the patio—

strawberry moon

sanuktaa asopa

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

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4 Points

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ice cream

again, we debate

our choices

Michele L. Harvey

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

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3 Points

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unpacking grandma’s

patchwork quilt

rose scented dusk

Angela Terry

(0,0,3) = 3 pts 

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General Comments:

**Thank you for running this contest!

**Thanks for this chance to read these excellent haiku again.

**Congratulations to all winners and all the rest of us because there are no losers in this inspiring and challenging year-long competition!

**I have enjoyed reading these all again, and enjoy the regular challenge of kukai.

**Voting for Kigo poems was more difficult than voting for the Free Format poems.

**How humbled I am by these superb haiku. I wish I could give 3's to all. But, acknowledging....

Thanks to all and to many more who deserved individual recognition.

**There all are winning haiku, and to pick the Best of these was difficult. I chose 6 for which I felt a connection. Since I could not decide which I liked the best, I gave each 1 point. They all deserve to win.

**A comment in general: It would've been good to have 9 points instead of 6 for this kukai, since we're picking from the best of the best. I ran out of points, and felt giving 1 point to one worth 3 points was impossible :)

Free Format Results:

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First Place  -  51 Points

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all the blues

I ever knew --

mountain lake

Michael McClintock

(9,7,10) = 51 pts

**Easy to get distracted by the first 2 lines, that its emotions; then the last line turns it around, and can visualize the sky and its reflection in the lake! Brilliant.

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Second Place  -  23 Points

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faded wallpaper —

those dreams

we shared

Angela Terry

(0,5,13) = 23 pts

**It takes a long time for wallpaper to fade, so this must cover quite a few years.

 **So poignant and so well expressed.

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Third Place  -  19 Points

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morning--

stretching

with the cat

gogatsu

(2,2,9) = 19 pts

**The cat and morning are ONE: natural Zen!

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18 Points

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refugee huts

ravens rest inside

the shadows

Ron C. Moss

(0,4,10) = 18 pts

**It’s easy to transpose the meaning of rest and shadows as it applies to the refugees. They cannot rest without worry and their future lives are clouded with the prospect of soon lying under those final words – May they rest in peace.

** I recall this chilling haiku from its first appearance. It has only grown more haunting in this re-reading. Birds of prey go for the eyes first. Their waiting is ominous. All words in this haiku make me shiver. And, of course, the total effect of the image--shadows and black ravens. The r's of refugee and ravens clash and unite in a fearful way.

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17 Points

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first bath

the mother crying

with her child

bre

(1,3,8) = 17 pts

prairie sunrise...

wagon wheels

part the bluestem

Michele L. Harvey

(0,3,11) = 17 pts

**Powerful evocation and language.

** I take this to be memory, but it is a powerful recall of the past. "Wagon wheels" just rolls along. And I love the word "bluestem."

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16 Points

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and you

so far away

day moon

Paul Hodder

(1,3,7) = 16 pts

**I like the way this one resonates. The two parts of this haiku compliment each other perfectly.

kids all grown

a cloud

is a cloud

BILL KENNEY

(1,3,7) = 16 pts

coffee house

the morning regulars

all have names

Gregory Longenecker

(0,1,14) = 16 pts

**A poem about human nature; ergo, a senryu.

**This sounds like a friendly place to stop by and make friends. A marvelous way to picture camaraderie.

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15 Points

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snow in the city

the homeless man

deep in a doorway

BILL KENNEY

(1,2,8) = 15 pts

**Something tells me this is not just about trying to keep warm.

**It is very clear that you observed this man and that your heart went out to him.

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13 Points

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day moon

the tethered weight

of father's watch

Roberta Beary

(1,3,4) = 13 pts

cloudless night --

only the frozen moon

in the birdbath

--Jacek M.

(0,0,13) = 13 pts

** Assonance in the phrase "only the frozen moon" is powerful. Who knew cloud shapes could be an emptiness?

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12 Points

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a warm bed

all that remains

of my dream

John McManus

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

Northern Lights the bar empties

Alan S. Bridges

(0,1,10) = 12 pts

**Having lived in Alaska, I get this one. There is no contest; the Aurora takes precedence over whatever else is going on.

** I am learning to love and write one-line haiku. And I have even seen the Northern Lights once in my lifetime! I can believe even a bar would empty for that glory! Fun.

**Unfortunate that this is all on one line with no punctuation; this interferes with the reading, or I would have scored it much higher.

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11 Points

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morning paper

reaching into the fog

for news

Deb Koen

(0,1,9) = 11 pts

** The Kire (cut--a concept I am assimilating) is powerful from line one with the simplicity of a morning paper to that unexpected clouded atmosphere of fog and news--too much cloudiness these days!

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10 Points

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undecided

whether to leave or linger—

day moon

sanjuktaa

(2,0,4) = 10 pts

fishing ...

the mackerel

sky

gogatsu

(1,1,5) = 10 pts

**I like this because everything is tied together so cleverly and results in two images.

dark clouds

the shape of things

to come

John Soules

(0,2,6) = 10 pts

dream flight...

the sudden loss

of my feathers

Barbara Snow

(0,2,6) = 10 pts

**This reminds me of the turbulence on flights that I dread! Or even the sudden knock on my head to stop day dreaming.

dog house --

I show the dog

what it's for

--Michael McClintock

(0,1,8) = 10 pts

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9 Points

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day moon...

i continue last night's

conversation

Jayashree Maniyil

(1,1,4) = 9 pts

**How delightful is this; the moon is the same, and the conversation, just the time has changed. Eloquent & elegant.

morning thoughts

a patch of blue

in the puddle

BILL KENNEY

(0,3,3) = 9 pts

day moon the dreams that linger

John Soules

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

bath-time

father scrubs away

my sins

Roberta Beary

(0,1,7) = 9 pts

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7 Points

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full moon --

cumulus clouds slowly

form a wolf

~ Patrick Wafula

(0,2,3) = 7 pts

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6 Points

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fireworks

my guard dog cowers

beneath the bed

Liz Rule

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

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5 Points

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shooting stars...

the fizz of champagne

on my tongue

Stella Pierides

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

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4 Points

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tired of half truths--

the blurred edges of a

haloed moon

Terri L. French

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

**Each line has an adjective that embellishes the principle word in each line.

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3 Points

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windswept clouds

the water in the birdbath

changes shape

Bouwe Brouwer

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

**A total visual delight. I have three birdbaths and can go to my own experiences!

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General Comments:

**Thanks for this opportunity to reread these haiku that I must have voted for once for their excellence.

**I found it difficult to make choices, but really enjoyed reading over the year's winners again. All stars here I reckon.

**Here are my votes. Wish i had 2 or 3 more points to give...

** Looking forward to another year and more challenges!

**Again, so many haiku to admire and envy!

**This was difficult!

**Firstly, I am grateful to the panel for letting me share a spot among the chosen list of poems for this Tenth Annual Poet's Choice 2012 Kukai. My sincere thanks for the consideration.

**Can't miss any of them out…