The Shiki 11th Annual Poets' Choice Kukai Results
Congratulations to *** S.M. ABELES ***, winner of our Kigo section,
*** BETH POWELL ***, winner of our Free Format section, and to all the authors of these wonderful haiku!
Kigo Category:
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First Place - 35 Points
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pressed flower
I remember
being beautiful
S.M. Abeles
USA
(2,9,11) = 35 pts
**It's not easy to earn a second point in this company, but this one says so much about being human that I can't resist it.
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Second Place - 30 Points
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the mist creeps in
erasing sheep
one by one
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(3,5,11) = 30 pts
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Third Place - 26 Points
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hanging on
to a withered branch ...
a sparrow's song
A. Amin
Singapore
(0,11,4) = 26 pts
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25 - Points
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morning mist...
the tattered blanket
on a park bench
Vinay Leo R.
(3,3,10) = 25 pts
** I loved this image of the tattered blanket emerging through the mist. So glad this haiku came back, as to my shame I cannot remember it from the first time it appeared here...
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23 - Points
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Buddha's birthday
more shoes than spaces
on the temple steps
Paul Hodder
(3,4,6) = 23 pts
empty chrysalis –
I always knew
about her wings
Eduard TARA
(2,6,5) = 23 pts
a crow’s call grows longer winter solstice
martin gottlieb cohen
(2,3,11) = 23 pts
long rains
I give a name
to the stray dog
Dorota Pyra
(0,7,9) = 23 pts
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22 - Points
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miscarriage
our foot prints
erased by waves
Allison Millcock
(1,7,5) = 22 pts
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21 - Points
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clouds at sunset . . .
the things we promise
to remember
Bill Kenney
(1,4,10) = 21 pts
long rains
the monk adjusts
his posture
Paul Hodder
(0,5,11) = 21 pts
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19 - Points
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calm waters-
a duck glides
over the morning star
sanjuktaa
(0,6,7) = 19 pts
irst cricket
I slow my pace
to listen
Bill Hudson
(0,5,9) = 19 pts
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18 - Points
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morphine drip
a fine web of mist
on the window
Ron C. Moss
(1,3,9) = 18 pts
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17 - Points
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apricot sky
my horse turns pink
as we amble home
Marie Stutts
(3,3,2) = 17 pts
**The humor and pathos of this one strengthens over time.
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16 - Points
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winter grasses -
the space between
your footprints
Sandi Pray
Robbinsville, NC
USA
(1,4,5) = 16 pts
ghost town
a street dog laps
the Milky Way
S.M. Abeles
Washington, DC USA
(1,4,5) = 16 pts
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14 - Points
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white moth
the quiet
I continue to seek
Dawn Apanius
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
first calm
the newborn babe
finds his thumb
doris kasson
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
winter solstice
the widow tightens
her braids
Alegria Imperial
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
days of rain...
beginning a chapter
i've already read
polona
(0,4,6) = 14 pts
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13 - Points
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Milky way...
a billion reasons
to love him
Sanjuktaa
(1,4,2) = 13 pts
another visit
to the hospital...
unending rain
Gregory Longenecker
(1,2,6) = 13 pts
winter solstice
the weight
of old arguments
gogatsu
(0,2,9) = 13 pts
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12 - Points
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stars adrift--
the loved ones who left
one by one
Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh,India
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
first calm
carefully raking
the zen garden
Eduard TARA
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
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11 - Points
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solstice
his scent more woodsmoke
than aftershave
Michele L. Harvey
New York, USA
(1,0,8) = 11 pts
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8 - Points
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before it's gone
a swallow's wings
chasing the light
Michael McClintock
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
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7 - Points
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Milky Way
my baby sucks
his toes
Dorota Pyra
(0,3,1) = 7 pts
first calm -
shoveling the snowdrifts
by starlight
Ruth Powell
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
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6 - Points
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mating firebugs -
a little girl hides
her polished nails
Cristina-Monica Moldoveanu
(1,1,1) = 6 pts
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4 - Points
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down time . . .
a caterpillar
changes direction
BILL KENNEY
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
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Comments
**All are evocative, how can one be better than the others. Thank you for this opportunity.
**It has been a great pleasure for me to read so many lovely haiku poems. Thank you, yours sincerely
**Thank you so much--always a joy to read these
**There are really many good haiku and it was a problem to choose the best.
**Thank you for the opportunity to vote for the 11th Poets Choice Kukai.
**It was a treat to revisit all these winners, and a difficult task to select just a few when I could give points to at least half of the list. Eventually I voted the way I did.
**Thanks for the opportunity of reading these amazing haiku again.
**So many beautiful images as usual, but for me, these four went deeper, suggesting entire stories left open for interpretation.
**Needless to say, choosing for me, proved difficult given the excellence of each haiku.
**Enjoyed reading the list.Lovely one !
Free Format Results:
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First Place - 48 Points
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shelling peas—
the idle chit chat
of sisters
Beth Powell
(2,15,12) = 48 pts
**Even this haiku spreads a deep silence. I feel grateful.
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Second Place - 37 Points
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departing birds
the solitary tree
voiceless again
Eduard TARA
(3,9,10) = 37 pts
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Third Place - 36 Points
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night snow
the white sound
of silence
Oddbjørn Aardalen
(2,9,12) = 36 pts
AND
churchyard . . .
knowing the names
covered in snow
Michael McClintock
(2,6,18) = 36 pts
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31 - Points
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first dawn alone—
the widow eats his half
of the orange
Alegria Imperial
Canada
(0,8,15) = 31 pts
**So poignant and penetrating.
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26 - Points
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first raindrops –
the fragrance
of dust
Tomislav
(1,4,15) = 26 pts
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24 - Points
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the part of me
you took with you
fractured moonlight
-- Cara Holman
(2,6,6) = 24 pts
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20 - Points
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seashells -
I wish I could hear
her voice again
Cezar-Florin Ciobîcă
(0,6,8) = 20 pts
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19 - Points
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evensong
the sheep on the field
turn red
Johannes S. H. Bjerg
(0,5,9) = 19 pts
**This took me back to the Cheviots between England and Scotland. It’s almost a prayer.
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18 - Points
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back to school
the smoothness of a shell
in her pocket
Paul Hodder
(1,4,7) = 18 pts
lost for words
she unfolds and folds
her napkin
Tom Painting
(0,5,8) = 18 pts
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17 - Points
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out of the blue
a day moon spills
into my cup
Ted van Zutphen
(0,7,3) = 17 pts
filling the space
between my thoughts
the sound of crickets
Cara Holman
(0,5,7) = 17 pts
orange peels
never quite comfortable
in my own skin
Ron C. Moss
(0,4,9) = 17 pts
dusty attic -
a one-eyed doll
still smiling
Virginia Popescu
PHOENIX
(0,3,11) = 17 pts
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16 - Points
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onions...
I feel her absence
cutting through
Vinay Leo R.
(0,4,8) = 16 pts
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15 - Points
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tomato soup
we compare
our accents
Michele L. Harvey
(1,4,4) = 15 pts
zen garden
covered with snow:
zen garden
John McDonald
Edinburgh Scotland
(1,2,8) = 15 pts
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13 - Points
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art therapy
rendering the sky
different blues
Tom Painting
(0,5,3) = 13 pts
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12 - Points
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within the crow’s caw the coming night
martin gottlieb cohen
(1,1,7) = 12 pts
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11 - Points
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sea shell--
opening another
universe
gogatsu
(1,3,2) = 11 pts
reading issa
on the train ...
the landscape
gogatsu
(1,1,6) = 11 pts
nightshift
the squeak
of her soles
Tom Painting
(0,1,9) = 11 pts
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10 - Points
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second marriage
I remove the dust
from my dress shoes
Harvey Jenkins
(1,1,5) = 10 pts
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9 - Points
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orange peel-
the wrinkles and folds
I never noticed
Sanjuktaa
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
a perfect nautilus
the twists and turns
of my long life
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
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7 - Points
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ripe orchard -
my hand meets yours
on the same orange...
Lavana Kray
Iasi-Romania
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
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6 - Points
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window mannequin
her party dress
20% off
Tom Painting
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
the distance between
then and now --
tangerine moon
Angela Terry
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
store window
my daughter’s posture
mimics my own
–Ignatius Fay–
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
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Comments
**I find the images stunning. So happy for this opportunity.
**Thank you for giving me a chance to go through lovely haiku and give my voting points.
**If I could vote for all, it would be a perfect world!
**I let these sit for a while...but still can’t decide to delete any of them. I wish I could give each one 6 or even 3 votes. Good stuff here.
**Thank you ! totally enjoyed reading all over again.
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Thank you for participating in the 11th Annual Poets' Choice Kukai!
With much appreciation,
The Shiki Monthly Kukai Team