Congratulations to Carol Raisfeld, winner of our Kigo section and to Francine Banwarth, winner of our Free Format section!
April 2009 Results
Kigo Theme:
April Fools
First Place – Twenty-seven Points
April Fools
sending the kids to buy
elbow grease
Carol Raisfeld
(1,6,12) = 27 pts
Of all the practical-joke haiku, this one best tickled my own funny bone.
Second Place – Twenty-five Points
april fools
the sting of a prank
decades old
Roberta Beary
(3,5,6) = 25 pts
Third Place – Twenty-four Points
April Fools
the lake ice
still looks safe
Edward
(2,4,10) = 24 pts
Fourth Place – Seventeen Points
April Fools
teenagers twitter
under the cherry tree
Harvey Jenkins
(0,3,11) = 17 pts
Love the way modern life sneaks in here with a pun.
Fifth Place – Fourteen Points
sonny’s tomcat
gives birth to kittens
April fools
Gautam Nadkarni
(1,4,3) = 14 pts
Sixth Place – Thirteen Points
April Fools
caught by the forsythia
my new umbrella
j blain
(1,2,6) = 13 pts
Seventh Place – Twelve Points
April Fools
storm clouds blackening the sky
drop only their scent
Tom Genovese
(2,2,2) = 12 pts
april fools in our squabble the skylark passed by
sheila windsor
(1,3,3) = 12 pts
Eighth Place – Eleven Points
April Fools —
I peek at my
retirement portfolio
Paul David Mena
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
the crow's flight
a little sideways
April Fool
Joyce Clement
(1,1,6) = 11 pts
The crow as jester is perfect here!
April Fools . . .
my best umbrella
full of holes
Bill Pauly
(0,5,1) = 11 pts
a sudden kiss
as we walk in the rain
April Fools
ARW
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
Ninth Place – Ten Points
April fools day
the baby learns
lemon juice
Jon Baldwin
(1,3,1) = 10 pts
may I help you?
an April fool answers
the store’s parrot
Susan Constable
(0,3,4) = 10 pts
vibrating the spider's web
a leaf stem-
April Fools
Leslie Montgomery
(0,2,6) = 10 pts
Tenth Place – Nine Points
april fool
a cuckoo smuggles in
the summer
_kala
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
April Fools morning
a patient in the mirror
practices a smile
Dorota Pyra
(0,1,7) = 9 pts
Eleventh Place – Eight Points
falling
for the pick-up line
an april fool
tom painting
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
April Fools,
a whispered promise
to leave his wife
Laurene Post
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
Twelfth Place – Seven Points
April Fools —
a foot of snow
on the parked cars
Patrick M. Pilarski
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
robin's song
an April Fool awakens
with a smile
Audrey Downey
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
April fool
the lilacs covered
with frost
Earl Keener
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
April Fools —
opening day fish stories
bigger and bigger
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
April Fool's Day
an urchin in the playground
calls me father
Jacek M.
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
Thirteenth Place – Six Points
the cobra moth
folds its wings
April Fools!
Garry Eaton
(1,1,1) = 6 pts
dazzling sunshine
in cherry bloom showers
April fools
Keith A. Simmonds
(0,3,0) = 6 pts
April Fools,
he asks again
"will you marry me?"
Bre
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
April Fool’s gale...
cherry-petal pink whitecaps
on the Potomac
Janice Hornburg
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
New spring
same old truth
I'm still the April Fool
Tina
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
april fools
the dog
growls at me
polona
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
clear sky
we set out without raincoats
April Fools
Elaine Riddell
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
Fourteenth Place – Five Points
April fool —
my friend borrows money
never to return
~ Lilian Otieno
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
April Fools
the computer worm
that wasn't
Bruce Ross
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
April Fools —
the coroner's corpse
snickering
aom (tim)
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
Silk flowers
in daffodil leaves
April Fools
gourdman
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
frost
on two lips…
April Fool’s
A. Bodhi
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
April Fools
the hare
trying to recolour
Hermione
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
April Fools . . .
his shadow
makes its move
Francine Banwarth
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
April Fool's
Canada Geese on the lawn
with a decoy
andrea
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
Fifteenth Place – Four Points
April Fools —
bat making a blind date
to a mole
Virginia Popescu
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
first to sign for
tango lessons
such old April Fools
Barbara Snow
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
April Fools Day
she tells him she thinks
she's pregnant
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
breakfast
outside with the robins
April Fools
Beth Powell
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
Sixteenth Place – Three Points
being dated
by another man...
April fool
Patrick Wafula
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
leader has
fulfilled his assurance —
april fool
Sunil Uniyal
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
April's first gust
swirls white —
the blown plum shakes
Don Holt
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
told that Jesus
had arrived at Mount Kenya —
April fool
~ Nelius Wangari
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
snowflakes
dot the shovel’s dust
April Fools
Ann Schwader
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
April Fool’s Day
he proposes
marriage
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
April fool —
a fake invitation
for lunch
~ Peter Nguribu
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
the fifteenth
post office, long lines
of April fools
Frederick Gier
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
April fools
an empty whiskey bottle
under her bed
Elena Naskova
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
laughing old monk
re-enlightened
as aprils fool
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
April Fools
my grandma was too heavy
for the trampoline
selwyn
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
local zoo —
Mr. Lion receives calls
from April Fools
Origa
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Participants’ General Comments:
How few were those who read or followed the instructions about the subject line.
After reading all of these, I concluded that having a term like "april fool" for a kigo doesn't work very well.
Some of the submissions lack the full kigo (#37, 90,92) or don’t use it as required (#22).
The kigo seems to have baffled our poets. So many variations (and not so varied as all that) on a few themes. I'm not excluding myself from this judgment, but I decided not to submit in this category.
As it turned out the poem I submitted was turned in with slight variations by 8 of us. Ooops. Cliche, cliche.
Very entertaining!
Free Format Theme:
Fence/Wall
First Place – Twenty-six Points
garden wall —
enough moon
to go around
Francine Banwarth
(2,5,10) = 26 pts
Elegant in its simplicity!
Second Place – Twenty Points
picket fence
she repaints his dream
each spring
Terra Martin
(2,4,6) = 20 pts
Third Place – Eighteen Points
between the fog
and the fence
daffodils
Kate Creighton
(1,3,9) = 18 pts
The problem with perfection in haiku is that it's very hard to talk about. But the consonance here is beautifully controlled, and the splash of bright color introduced by the daffodils brings the poem to a refreshing and satisfying finish.
I like the simplicity of this one; also that, for me at least, it illustrates a feeling of finding a bit of gladness between anxiety and limitation. Wish there was a good way to format it pictographically; it would sort of break up the one-sentence effect: between fog and fence daffodils
Fourth Place – Seventeen Points
rickety fence
held together
by jasmine
Andre Surridge
(0,6,5) = 17 pts
Fifth Place – Sixteen Points
checkpoint ...
fireflies, back and forth
through the fence
Carol Raisfeld
(1,2,9) = 16 pts
Sixth Place – Fourteen Points
No fence —
Just an open
gate
helge t.
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
This says so much in so few words. It's the one that makes me stop and think, and stop and think again.
stone wall
the glimmer of snail trail
crossing over
polona
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
Origami-
the shadow of a butterfly
flickering on the wall
Vasile Moldovan
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
I find the uncertain relationship between the two parts of this intriguing. The poem does not leave me satisfied, but, in this case, that's not a bad thing.
dark horizon...
a sea eagle climbing
a wall of wind
Li Ree
(0,5,4) = 14 pts
Seventh Place – Thirteen Points
graveyard wall —
on the street side
cherry blossoms
Gautam Nadkarni
(0,3,7) = 13 pts
Eighth Place – Twelve Points
monastery wall
a monk strolls
the quiet side
tom painting
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
Simple and effective.
moonlit prison
the clematis quietly climbs
over the wall
Tore Sverredal
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
Ninth Place – Eleven Points
old fence
apricot blossoms fall
on both sides
Ella Wagemakers
(1,2,4) = 11 pts
Simple, effective and a nice twist on “the grass is always greener on the other side.”
a row of sparrows
white-washing
the picket fence
Terri French
(1,2,4) = 11 pts
Interesting though perhaps a little…ah, earth (which certainly never stopped the Japanese masters.
border town
a tumbleweed escapes
over a rusty fence
Garry Eaton
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
a neighborhood
of high fences —
the scent of lilac
Bill Kenney
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
Tenth Place – Ten Points
across the grass
and up the wall
a swallow's shadow
Paul Hodder
(0,3,4) = 10 pts
seawall
thoughts drifting
along
Roberta Beary
(0,1,8) = 10 pts
An effective juxtaposition.
Eleventh Place – Nine Points
new neighbor
he adds another row
to the wall
Ben Gieske
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
memorial wall
echoes of soldiers
dying
Don Baird
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
Poignant and thought-provoking.
Twelfth Place – Eight Points
neighborhood gossip
another patch of couch grass
creeps under the fence
Susan Constable
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
spring moss —
a hole in the wall
between us
Nelson
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
old stone fence
deep in the woods —
a trace of snow
Joyce Clement
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
dry-stone walls...
the signature of ancestors
across the valley
Dejan Pavlinovic
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
The use of 'signature' and the link between L1&3 make this special.
Thirteenth Place – Seven Points
barbed wire fence
the cows have all summer
to find its weakness
Harvey Jenkins
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
library wall ... I leave a pseudonym
Helen Buckingham
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
Fourteenth Place – Six Points
chain link fence —
a hog nose snake
weaving himself in
Barbara Campitelli
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
April morning —
dew hangs on the
barbed wire fence
~ Malombe Johnson
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
coming home
a row of schoolboys
on the orchard wall
Terry O'Connor
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
Fifteenth Place – Five Points
anniversary —
flowers
for the sea wall
aom (tim)
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
morning glories
flying off the fence —
two butterflies!
Tomislav
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
I think the kire would work better, placed after glories in Line 1
roofless house —
walls between the tree
and its apples
Gosia Zamorska
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
longer, the rains
shorter
the fence
Barbara Snow
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
spring cleaning
he throws his voice
over the fence
Mary Davila
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
Sixteenth Place – Four Points
beyond the fence
ranks of gravestones
dad among them
if
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
link by link
the snow peas climb the fence
headed for the sun
jeff hanson
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
cooky-baking
the wall between us
crumbles
Ellen Compton
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
old battlefield...
rooted in the crumbling wall
a bleeding heart
Janice Hornburg
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
grandma's last photo
strings hold the hollyhocks
against the fence
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
prisoners
from morning till evening —
the school fence
~ Lucy Nyambura
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
Effective in the way it mirrors how some kids feel. I was (and had) one.
wind gust —
the rusty fence hooks
a white shirt
Caleb David Mutua
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
lowing calf
the moon is caught
in the barbed wire fence
Earl Keener
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
Seventeenth Place – Three Points
behind the fence…
the two sways settle down
separated
Rita Odeh
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
posts with barbed wire
now and then
still above the snow
Horst Ludwig
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
moonlit night...
illicit lovers sharing a kiss
over the fence
Patrick Wafula
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
a drip of coffee
blurring the silky napkin
cat - behind the fence
oana posnaies
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
Graveyard —
high wall separating
the quick from the dead
Virginia Popescu
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
new neighbors
a straight line of foliage
where the fence was
j blain
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
lizards sheltering
under the block wall —
hot afternoon
~ Abraham Muuo
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
hot afternoon —
a green lizard peeps through
cracks on a rusty wall
~ Otinga
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
realtor’s office
with the image of a door
painted on the wall
ARW
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
open sky
the sun climbs
over the privacy fence
Beth Powell
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
knotted rope
behind the sea wall
memories of winter
Patrick M. Pilarski
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
split-rail fence —
a billy goat and
the greener grass
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
pile of bricks
in the shadows
Berlin Wall
Susan Sanchez-Barnett
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
more stones
to add to the pasture wall
spring thaw
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Participants’ General Comments:
While kigo section left something to be desired (for my taste at least), free format section offered quite a few strong haiku, which made the decision much more difficult. On a different day I might have decided differently.
Other points given back. I've only done that once before (comment on free format votes)