7th Annual Poet's Choice Kukai 2009

Kigo Poems

First Place -- 66 points

autumn fog . . .

the river knows

the way

Francine Banwarth

(11,9,15) = 66 pts

This says nothing about family but its family that comes to mind, those here with us and those who've gone on.

Second Place -- 54 pts

evening stillness

the fog creeps in

pine by pine

Catherine J.S. Lee

(4,9,24) = 54 pts

Third Place -- 37 pts

acorn cap

sometimes all I know

is emptiness

John Thompson

(6,7,5) = 37 pts

With every reading the sensation is undiminished. Of all the final entries, this one speaks to a universal human condition--a child would understand this, an adult will find layers. It's a fine haiku.

and…

late summer

corn stalks closing in

on the scarecrow

Melissa Spurr

(3,9,10) = 37 pts

Fourth Place -- 31 points

raspberry patch

the neighbor boy

red-handed

tom painting

(2,8,9) = 31 pts

I like the double meaning of red-handed.

Fifth Place -- 30 points

graduation day

dandelion seeds

on the wind

frederick c gier

(3,5,11) = 30 pts

Sixth Place -- 25 points

somewhere in the fog

of my mother's memory

my name

Tom Genovese

(2,6,7) = 25 pts

I like the whole big sad picture it presents of this elderly lady suffering from loss of memory or fuzzy memory. This makes me think of the sadness of Alzheimer's disease and stays with me long after reading it.

Seventh Place -- 21 points

no one called

she gently dusts

her porcelain rabbits

Elena Naskova

(1,3,12) = 21 pts

This is so poignant. I can feel the loneliness and resignation.

Eighth Place -- 17 points

wet snow

another year weighs

on the century oak

tom painting

(0,4,9) = 17 pts

See a century tree and take heart, eh? There may be an equal blend of luck and toughness in getting old.

lightning

an owl in the elm

...not in the elm

Melissa Spurr

(0,4,9) = 17 pts

A flash of lightning portrayed so well!

Ninth Place -- 16 points

April Fools

the lake ice

still looks safe

Edward

(2,2,6) = 16 pts

Tenth Place -- 15 points

the taste of the dewdrop

before I bite

blueberry

Dorota Pyra

(1,4,4) = 15 pts

an owl's feather

marks the hare's last track —

midwinter night

Janice Hornburg

(1,3,6) = 15 pts

a gray cat glides

in and out of the fog...

autumn stillness

Janice Hornburg

(1,2,8) = 15 pts

winter garden —

among the beets a quiver

of rabbit ears

Nancy Smith

(0,5,5) = 15 pts

summer house—

the calligraphy

of mildew

j cully

(0,2,11) = 15 pts

Eleventh Place -- 14 points

dawn

a jackrabbit springs

from stillness

Melissa

(1,2,7) = 14 pts

Twelfth Place -- 13 points

corn silk--

the baby's hair

holds a spit curl

DeVar

(0,4,5) = 13 pts

Thirteenth Place -- 12 points

graduation day

her mother and I

test our civility

tom painting

(1,1,7) = 12 pts

Fourteenth Place -- 11 points

touring the farms

the sun sets in a glass

of elderberry wine

Garry Eaton

(2,1,3) = 11 pts

april fools

the sting of a prank

decades old

Roberta Beary

(2,1,3) = 11 pts

Fifteenth Place -- 10 points

graduation cheer

a flock of starlings

takes the sky

Terry O'Connor

(0,2,6) = 10 pts

Sixteenth Place -- 9 points

April Fools

sending the kids to buy

elbow grease

Carol Raisfeld

(1,0,6) = 9 pts

a harvest moon

the rabbit nibbles a new path

through the garden

Edward

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

thrift store painting

a pony dappled

with mildew

Melissa Spurr

(0,1,7) = 9 pts

Reading this and holding the image in my mind's eye, the layers of time and it's markings shift in and out of consciousness: dappled horse, paint on canvas, a representation of nature consumed once again by nature itself. Then, the preciousness of this image still being found valuable enough to put in a thrift store. There is wabi-sabi feeling of haiku, without pretentiousness.

Seventeenth Place -- 8 points

garden path

the old-forest fragrance

of leaf mold

Catherine J.S. Lee

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

abandoned house

mold adds its pattern

to the wallpaper

Rafal Zabratynski

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

Eighteenth Place -- 7 points

thunderhead moon

shucking dry corn

in the porch light

Ron Moss

(0,1,5) = 7 pts

Nineteenth Place -- 4 points

in the glow

of the red maple

autumn's end

Roberta Beary

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

Sometimes the commonplace is remarkable after all.

Twentieth Place -- 2 points

warm December day

the cottontail feasts

on the snowman's fallen nose

Terri L. French

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

Free Format Poems

First Place -- 60 points

sleepless night —

the moon shifts

from pane to pane

Janice Hornburg

(5,15,15) = 60 pts

This is all of a piece, fitting beautifully together. Very memorable.

Second Place -- 38 points

boatshop

bending the fir

to fit the waves

Beth Powell

(3,10,9) = 38 pts

I love the concept of bending wood to the shape of the waves.

Third Place -- 34 points

the night splits

into before and after

the phone call

Barbara Snow

(1,9,13) = 34 pts

Powerful. I doubt there is anyone over age twenty who hasn't lived through a night when they wished a certain call had not come.

Fourth Place -- 26 points

moonless night

the wind whistles into

an empty bottle

Tanya Dikova

(2,5,10) = 26 pts

I can hear the haunting sound and feel the emptiness of a moonless night.

garden wall —

enough moon

to go around

Francine Banwarth

(1,7,9) = 26 pts

sudden rain —

umbrellas mushroom

on the street

Gautam Nadkarni

(0,8,10) = 26 pts

Can't you just see umbrellas springing up like mushrooms?

Fifth Place -- 25 points

night

settles on the city

starling by starling

Kilah C

(1,6,10) = 25 pts

I’ve had this impression and it exactly captures it.

Sixth Place -- 22 points

homeless man

the postman delivers

a smile

Elena Naskova

(2,4,8) = 22 pts

September wind

a school bus pulls away

from summer

Melissa Spurr

(2,3,10) = 22 pts

Seventh Place -- 21 points

evening walk —

two fasting monks debate

the color of hunger

Edward

(0,6,9) = 21 pts

This one is nearly too slick but I chose it because “…the color of hunger” stays with me.

Eighth Place -- 20 points

in the shipwreck

a china doll

with open eyes

Karen J. McClintock

(2,2,10) = 20 pts

family day —

my house too small

for their voices

Gryta Wansdronk

(1,3,11) = 20 pts

winter sunset

the beggar's shadow

grows thinner

Melissa Spurr

(0,4,12) = 20 pts

The light and the beggar both getting thinner.

“beggar” is sometimes done unto death and many haiku using that theme will earn only a passing glance. Not this one. There’s no overt emotionalism, no bejeweled finger. It’s simply put, open to interpretation within its framework, each word on equal footing and strong taken all together.

Ninth Place -- 17 points

first day of school

his backpack

filled with summer

David Grayson

(3,1,6) = 17 pts

hunger pangs

the vending machine

eats a dollar

Collin Barber

(0,3,11) = 17 pts

Tenth Place -- 16 points

crowdedtrainpressedbetweenstrangerswarmbacks

Jan O'Loughlin

(1,3,7) = 16 pts

This poem takes the form of a crowded train.

Eleventh Place -- 15 points

spring fog

only the rhythm of wooden boats

knocking together

Kate Creighton

(1,2,8) = 15 pts

Twelfth Place -- 13 points

picket fence

she repaints his dream

each spring

Terra Martin

(2,2,3) = 13 pts

paper parasol

a soft rain

of cherry blossoms

Nancy Nitrio

(1,1,8) = 13 pts

short days

the old woodcarver

goes with the grain

tom painting

(0,3,7) = 13 pts

And what else should we do with what we can’t change and what we can. Is there a name for haiku that also act as maxim?

between the fog

and the fence

daffodils

Kate Creighton

(0,2,9) = 13 pts

Thirteenth Place -- 12 points

early darkness

the warmth

of her kiln

tom painting

(2,1,4) = 12 pts

combat medals

the times he never

talks about

Catherine J.S. Lee

(0,2,8) = 12 pts

Fourteenth Place -- 10 points

hauling firewood—

the wheelbarrow and I

both wobbly

Terri L. French

(0,3,4) = 10 pts

morning mist

the milkman's voice

from door to door

Jacek M.

(0,2,6) = 10 pts

Fifteenth Place -- 8 points

evening hush

a kayak parts

the duckweed

Susan Constable

(0,3,2) = 8 pts

same gum

under the same desk

repeating the class

Warren Gossett

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

turning cold

an old man asks

what day it is

Bill Kenney

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

I love the disjunction here, the subtle awareness of season and day that both the poet and old man hold, even without being able to pin them down in exactness.

homeless guy

the santa hat finally

in season

Roberta Beary

(0,0,8) = 8 pts

Sixteenth Place -- 6 points

dusting off

his baby picture —

the convict's mother

John Thompson

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

Seventeenth Place -- 4 points

lightning —

her grip on his umbrella

tightens

Zhanna P. Rader

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

show and tell

for the AA meeting —

ship in a bottle

andrea

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

Eighteenth Place -- 2 points

the magic of rain

under one large umbrella

three strangers

gerry bravi

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

Nineteenth Place -- 1 point

the old man

watching his cat watch the mouse

falls asleep

Bill Hudson

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

joint custody

trying to figure out

the bus schedule

Diane Mayr

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

COMMENTS:

The kigo "fog" produced the haiku I liked best this year -- full of simple observation that speaks to me deeply.

Thanks to all who keep making the Shiki Kukai possible!

Great bunch - very hard to choose!

Thanks for the opportunity of reading the fine poetry!

What a wonderful exhibition of moments. Very hard to judge, very good to get involved with.

Thank you Kukai Team for another challenging and successful year of Kigo poems!

What a great read. I remember many of these great images and clear sense of seasons. Loved them.

(Kigo Poems) 5, 16, 17, 18, 22. Each of these is unique yet very natural, not at all forced. It may be my mood, but each seems to evoke a feeling of melancholy.

Great batch of Kigo poems to choose from. Very inspiring!

I wish I had more Free Format votes to distribute! Very enjoyable process, as ever.

At this level of excellence, choosing between "best" and "second best" is an indulgence in personal taste, not excluding personal quirks and personal prejudices. So here's an objective pat on the back to all the poets in both categories.

The number of outstanding Free Format poems made it nearly impossible to narrow it down to just my 6 favorites!

This collection of winning haiku in the free format shows a tendency to sadness. It is - indeed - a mirror of our time.

Thanks for keeping the kukai alive.

Thank you again, Team, for the year-long inspiration. The monthly Kukai has helped me become a better writer.

No. 22, 29, and 34 Free Format; The starlings, the daffodils and the moon against night sky and fog, all soft light images that captured and drew me in.