Congratulations to Tim Singleton, winner of our Kigo section and to Edward, winner of our Free Format section!
April 2010 Results
Kigo Theme:
Emerging Animals
First Place — 33 Points
dusk —
the geese
just darker than the sky
aom (tim)
(3,6,12) = 33 pts
Graceful and evocative.
A lovely observation.
I've always liked grisaille.
Second Place — 26 Points
night watch
opening the window
to spring peepers
Michele L. Harvey
(3,4,9) = 26 pts
Third Place — 20 Points
cherry blossom —
in my kitchen
the first ants
Gryta Wansdronk
(1,6,5) = 20 pts
Fourth Place — 18 Points
early morning
near the pond a toad
on a toad
Carol Raisfeld
(0,6,6) = 18 pts
Fifth Place — 16 Points
night class —
a bat drops from shadow
into flight
Laurene
(1,4,5) = 16 pts
I'd never thought of a baby bat's first flight! Thank you!
Sixth Place — 15 Points
finally from the folded
and folded paper
an origami crane
Ellen Romano
(1,4,4) = 15 pts
I love the 'f' alliteration here; it resonates well with the repetition theme.
Seventh Place — 13 Points
red squirrel
still scolding
last year's enemies
Kurt R. W.
(2,0,7) = 13 pts
That's a long story - told in a few words.
Eighth Place — 12 Points
windy summit
a whistling marmot
courts a mate
Tom Painting
(1,1,7) = 12 pts
Nature wants to make its way. And makes me smile.
Ninth Place — 11 Points
night rain —
frogs croaking
louder
Peter Kalivo
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
I like the plainness of this, and the statement as fact of what may be merely an impression.
Tenth Place — 9 Points
grain by grain
the fire ant mound
begins to grow
Rose Marie Stutts
(1,1,4) = 9 pts
again the woodpecker
second thoughts
at twilight
maxianne berger
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
out of the blue
robins on their nests Earl Randal Keener
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
Eleventh Place — 8 Points
Dew head over heels —
the manuscript about flowers
read by the ants
Oprica Padeanu
(1,2,1) = 8 pts
first breath —
a tadpole dreams
of leaping
Carole MacRury
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
a fawn's pose
in daffodil light
held for a breath
Francine Banwarth
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
Too poetical for my taste, but there is a moment there.
I love "daffodil light."
a butterfly
no, a blossom
no, a butterfly!
rob scott
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
in the snowmelt
an earthworm stretching
to full length
Michael Baribeau
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
It would be stronger without "in the."
winter rains have
filled the pond again-
ducklings
Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
This says spring without saying "spring."
Twelfth Place — 7 Points
just at our first kiss,
a curious butterfly
above us
Adina Enachescu
(1,0,4) = 7 pts
between the rocks
sparkling for a moment —
a baby lizard
Manuela Dragomirescu
(1,0,4) = 7 pts
long night
come on out mouse
we're alone
Bill Kenney
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't "disturbed" by little critters in the house!
house finch —
first concert
of the season
Barbara Campitelli
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
out of the tulip
a bumblebee pollinates
the gardener
Bill Pauly
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
bright morning
hedgehog blinks away
his winter sleep
Frances McCarthy
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
Thirteenth Place — 6 Points
so many fence posts
and no
Meadowlarks
Donna Bauerly
(1,1,1) = 6 pts
Fourteenth Place — 5 Points
termites —
a fallen post across
the path
Faith Atieno
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
howling wolves —
the moon from the frosted pond
starts splinting
kaiser
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
Nice, except shouldn't the “from” be ”on”?
spring thaw
a puppy’s paw print
in relief
Elizabeth Warren
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
All of my senses were stretched in this haiku.
dawn bird song —
sudden memory
of last night's rain
Shelley Krause
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
sudden squall
the pavement slick
with worms
NHyde
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
Fifteenth Place — 4 Points
breathe in breathe out
dampness at the tip
of a drab cocoon
Barbara Snow
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
ouzel and I
boulder hop up the creek
to its meadow roots
John Thompson
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
a romping dog pees
on every tree in the park
spring at last
Garry Eaton
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
chasing squirrels
blossoms shake another
and another
martin
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
darkening sky —
a cluster of caterpillars
on a swaying leaf
Patrick Wafula
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
tired of crawling
the caterpillar
leaves the cocoon with wings
Edward
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
Sunday morning
the bunny sniffs the air —
a lone daffodil
Marylouise Knight
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
behind the barn
blinded by sunlight
kittens
Amicus
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
horns emerge
in our bucket of snails —
baby song thrush
andrea
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
car commuting
I and a ladybird
speeding
Rafal Zabratynski
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
Valentine's dusk
the smell
of skunk
LeRoy Gorman
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
Sixteenth Place — 3 Points
croaking bullfrogs —
another sleepless
night
Charles Mbindyo
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
ten years old his dad
has him pull the calving rope
first hard birth
gourdman
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
upturned earth
an echidna's night
of ecstasy
Barb Taylor
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
out from the pond
a frog
...silently
John McDonald
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
yellow butterflies and turtles
sharing sun
on the same log
Terri L. French
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
silent pond
first to emerge
the frog
Cara Holman
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
mom and the woodchuck
both preoccupied with
spring cleaning
Diane Mayr
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
my father advising
on tax savings —
evening cicadas
Kameshwar Rao
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Seventeenth Place — 2 Points
wild-life crossing
a cat here, a monkey there
going slow
R.K. Singh
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
first hot day
a noise a lake
duck holler
carol pearce-worthington
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
the puppy sniffs
at a piece of pizzle
and whines
Ralf Bröker
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
rising sun —
termites busy working on
their damaged anthill
Winslause Yamame
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
swelling creek —
a butterflies rainbow
on the opposite shore
Jacek M
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
The idea of distance is well crafted in each line yet the two parts of the poem remain clearly delineated.
a reindeer takes the train
in blood
and midnight sun
victoria oswald
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
fewer tulips than yesterday
motionless rabbit
eyes me through the fence
deanna tief
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
tree-frogs
out of the imagination
of the great tree
Michael McClintock
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
From the tree ducklings
emerge, fly, tumble and bounce
Mother Wood Duck quacks
Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
sunny skies
the molehill explodes
into life
Gautam Nadkarni
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
transit landing —
a swarm of mosquitoes
invades the plane
Isabelle Prondzynski
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
breaking for
a squirrel -------- missing
the next generation
Ben Gieske
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
Golden flecks glimmer
Peering from portals of stone
Coy koi, racoon waits
Pat Lammers
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
box elder bugs
crawl on worn wood —
the sun's heat
Canticle
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
bellow
of the old bull frog
echoing
Beth Powell
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
leaving the ark
baboons complain
about the mud
soji
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
april wind —
a small white eggshell
yellow puddle
anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
a snake appears —
the young asparagus is
no longer attractive
Tomislav
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
Eighteenth Place — 1 Point
back yard chit-chat
a clucking fowl leads the chicks
to the water trough
gillena cox
damp and drowsy chicks
scattered bits of shell
slow tears on my face
mechaieh
the groundhog
blinded by flash bulbs
—toast and cocoa
if
withering maize —
a cutworm peeps
from a hole
Emmanuel Mutati
stagnant water —
a chicken chasing
a one-legged frog
Musa Salim
the black grouse
outside the cabin window
raises April fool doubt
Erik Boye
nest robber
blue jay bursts from bush
damage done
anonymous
a new skunk path
from under the porch
spring migration
Catherine J.S. Lee
a rabbit
pants in the shade...
deepening drought
Keith A. Simmonds
tyger tyger
from the woods a different tigress
for each stripe
anonymous
Reads raw due to the omission of the rhyming word bright, painful like a shattered idealization.
with a zing of wings
the returning hummingbird
demands fresh syrup
Deirdre Godwin
cloudy —
only the cacophony
of Canada geese
Carolyn Coit Dancy
mother thrasher's eyes
searching out safe nesting place —
rose arbor it is
John Hubbard
summer sun
just outside his door
the sand crab freezes
C.P. Harrison
the dawn chorus
calls from the riverside —
bullfrogs
Barrack Elungata
spring fling
two frogs croak
in unison
Meredith Stern Cavalieri
chasing after
a vanishing firefly
into a ricefield
Stella
my cry
on a hedgehog's spines
across our lawn
Dejan Pavlinovic
still some snow
on the north side of the fence
gophers on the road
DeVar
cul-de-sac street —
gopher snakes slither down from
a grassy hillock
ito
pulling weeds
a lizard sheds his tail
spring chill
Stevie Strang
in the glacier cave
drip ... drop ...
echoes of time
Li Ree
sound;
two oystercatchers
in
og_a
No points this time, sorry.
Red evening sun.
On the county road squashed flat
clearly the first skunk.
Horst Ludwig
Rabbit chomps clover
Wary eye to the road
Spring sighting
Mary E. Gray
they lived happily...
two furry bodies
on the roadside
Ghost Cat
muddy soil —
a wriggling earthworm
on the hen's beak
Anne Mbula
fiery lion's mane
rose sun color slaughtered lambs
sacrificial gain
Keith Moser
cool mountain stream
rainbow trout breaks the surface...
good bye poor mayfly
Tom Conally
a dazzling morning —
I brake just in time
for a dashing rabbit
anonymous
a possum shows up —
my loud "scram! go-go-go!"
doesn't impress him
anonymous
he slithers away —
leaving a slough
in the grasss
James Dobson
a rock moved
from under the shed —
groundhog hole
Merrill Ann Gonzales
spring cleaning
scorpion on the
window screen
Bill Hudson
who on earth
needs all these animals —
mosquitoes, people
Juhani Tikkanen
no frost
on the windshield —
first skunk
John Soules
Two bright eyes
in the river bank.
Which animal?
Trevor Camp
moving by torchlight
silently up the forest track —
kiwi-spotting
Elaine Riddell
waked up early
near the snow patch
amazed hedgehog
Radu Ignatescu
marmots from deep holes
bask in another Spring's sun
aware of wolves
old pajamas
Molehills
on the field of trefoil —
the angry peasant
Miorita
mayday-
a mole pops up
has a sniff at the view
Jon Espen Vassbotn
up from his den
hungry and grumpy
boy or bear?
Ruth Powell
General Comments:
Lots of good ones this time.
Free Format Theme: Time
First Place — 25 Points
railroad crossing
their goodnight kiss
one hundred boxcars long
Edward
(2,3,13) = 25 pts
My memory of a kiss as high as the Empire State Building.
This is delightful.
'one hundred boxcars long', nice emphasis.
Second Place — 20 Points
still no word...
a piece of sky
left by the clouds
Rob Scott
(1,6,5) = 20 pts
Third Place — 18 Points
whistling across fields
the boy
your father was
carol pearce-worthington
(0,4,10) = 18 pts
Fourth Place — 16 Points
shadows slipping
down the mountain's face —
another day
Terri L. French
(0,5,6) = 16 pts
Fifth Place — 15 Points
the long pause
after you said
cancer
Stevie Strang
(0,2,11) = 15 pts
Sixth Place — 14 Points
only five stops
and forty-five years
from home
kami haiku
(0,3,8) = 14 pts
A graceful entry.
Seventh Place — 13 Points
graveyard shift —
the coke machine
keeps the change
DeVar
(1,1,8) = 13 pts
You could have the event at a different time, but how different the effect would be.
a sundial
hidden by weeds
house for sale
Carole MacRury
(0,2,9) = 13 pts
Eighth Place — 12 Points
prayer candle
shadows pass through
each other
martin
(1,1,7) = 12 pts
From the visual to the visionary, and it's made to look effortless. For me, the best of the month in either category. But, to be honest, the connection to the assigned topic seems rather tenuous.
Ninth Place — 11 Points
Broken hourglass —
the time bursting in
a thousand bits
Vasile Moldovan
(2,1,3) = 11 pts
supper on the stove
I watch the sun slide
down the pine
Diane Mayr
(0,3,5) = 11 pts
slip of the knife
the time before
the cut starts bleeding
polona
(0,1,9) = 11 pts
Ooo, I can feel it!
Tenth Place — 10 Points
for a second
he strokes the back
of the dragonfly
Anne Curran
(0,3,4) = 10 pts
my notebook —
I sit with eyes closed
to see yesterday
Marylouise Knight
(0,1,8) = 10 pts
Eleventh Place — 8 Points
surf-tossed bottle
years ago, the words
I should have written
Michele L. Harvey
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
I like the hankering for a past time absorbed into the mood of the theme.
missing button
another winter
gone
Bill Kenney
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
home video
the voice of my mother
belongs to the young girl
Boris Nazansky
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
slow dance . . .
the scent
of wallflowers
Francine Banwarth
(1,0,5) = 8 pts
shoe rack
move boots back
bring sandals forward
miriam chaikin
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
how long
this wave
travels
Ralf Bröker
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
wall clock —
though its hands have stopped
my beard keeps growing
Walter Franceschi
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
almost two weeks
sooner than last year —
dogwood blossoms
Shelley Krause
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
Twelfth Place — 7 Points
slow afternoon
a sunbeam lingers
on the inkstone
Catherine J.S. Lee
(1,0,4) = 7 pts
A beauty. Every word is just right. And the picture is lovely.
"inkstone" always strikes me as affected, but the quiet simplicity of this overcomes my prejudice. I like a picture painted; striking the balance of light and shadows the moment in this haiku.
overcast...
and all at once
the downpour starts
Gautam Nadkarni
(0,3,1) = 7 pts
Easter morning
the broken watch chimes
in the cupboard
Earl Randal Keener
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
the time it takes
to make up my mind —
spotted banana
Susan Constable
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
Thirteenth Place — 6 Points
lovers for a day
already we have memories
and a past
Michael McClintock
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
on the porch
lingering
milk moon
NHyde
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
old fountain pen —
fresh ink connects
mother and son
John Hubbard
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
first spring
without your father
dripping icicles
Erik Boye
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
moonless night —
the traffic light turns green
again
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
Fourteenth Place — 5 Points
sun shadows . . .
a nurse closes the blinds
at dusk
Carol Raisfeld
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
meadow . . .
the time our footprints
leave in the dew
Bill Pauly
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
but today
the grass is pink
cherry petals
Carlos Gesmundo
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
trumpet vine
she times the fall
of a blossom
Tom Painting
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
window moon
the doctor murmurs
not long now
Roberta Beary
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
Fifteenth Place — 4 Points
Friday night
waiting for
the phone to ring
Cara Holman
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
...and after light-years:
this sunlight
splashing on the ground
John McDonald
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
days expire
along the hospital window
a raging fly
Gryta Wansdronk
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
This seems to me a brilliant juxtaposition. It reminds me of Dylan Thomas's "Go not gently into that good night."
starlight —
her letters
from so long ago
Paul Hodder
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
Sixteenth Place — 3 Points
Oh, cherry blossom
time cannot make me forget
your fragrance
Manuela Dragomirescu
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
first light..
the semblance of your
smile
Terra Martin
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
Chirp, buzz, whoosh, tinkle
Warm, bright, loamy perfumed air
Crank up the mower
Pat Lammers
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
late for work —
dissipating warmth
from your side of the bed
aom (tim)
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
clock tower midnight
both hands point
at moon glow
Garry Eaton
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
daffodils in bloom —
the time with you
only a memory
Barbara Campitelli
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
school year
my children's clothes
always getting smaller
Meredith Stern Cavalieri
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Daylight Savings Time
the cuckoo calls an hour
too early
ito
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Seventeenth Place — 2 Points
sunrise
water hens
softly lapping water
mark lonergan
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
this time
high on my wish list
acceptance
Barbara A Taylor
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
rummaging through my drawer —
Mom's obituary already
twelve years old
Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
shreds of fog
push through the pines
lambing time
Barbara Snow
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
the fire now
all but ashes
oh! the weary years
maxianne berger
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
outside the mall;
two little girls looking
at each other
og_a
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
springtime
this time more spring
& less cleaning
Elsa Colligan
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
processional —
father-of-the-bride
squeezes her hand
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
global warming
water from before time
was important
Laurene
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
she's late
the churchbells play
que sera sera
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
"only time will tell" how many time in life have we spoken these words which resonates so well in this haiku.
Eighteenth Place — 1 Point
haiku
only a moment
etched in memory
Mary E. Gray
spring
quick
morning love
Sand Rector
deja vu
I pick up a goose egg
from my front lawn
anonymous
the sunset melting —
into the tide of time
----------- moonrise
Ben Gieske
wisps above the candles —
the darker colors
of dusk
jennie townsend
unable to read music
or keep time,
the meadowlark still sings
Canticle
three hour service —
a heavy downpour meets
our final hymn
Isabelle Prondzynski
Hours spent together
hurtling past like minutes
intoxicating
J Abruzi
she watches him leave
gloom after sweetness
of stolen time
Frances McCarthy
Three seconds
behind car ahead.
Peace of mind.
Trevor Camp
living by the tide
and the rise and set of sun —
beachside camping
Elaine Riddell
on the abattoir roof spring rain
anonymous
poplar's shadow
daily measuring the time —
the cocks, in the night
Radu Ignatescu
skype line stays
open-ended
with sister's passing away
Stella
poking
his yesterday's fly
a little finger
Dejan Pavlinovic
We really are children standing before the vastness of universe and unanswered questions, this haiku is our metaphor.
time out —
adirondack chair
in the garden
anonymous
a moment
you need to read
this haiku moment
Rafal Zabratynski
No points this time, sorry.
in each swatch
terrestrial presence —
nude waves
R.K. Singh
pruned and constrained
the bougainvillea bush blooms
just before Easter
gillena cox
at long last love —
in the autumn of my years
spring blossoms
if
how slowly flows,
how swiftly flies...
tic-tac, tic-tac
Ghost Cat
qualifying time
lapse around the universe
spatial pantomime
Keith Moser
procrastination
serves a tardy master...
sorry this is late
Tom Conally
Stealing Heaven’s light
Nature’s gentle touch in sync
Sentient timepiece
Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
the twilight zone —
my old man spends his time
listening to crickets
Kaiser
hot April week
cherry buds break at dawn
show color by dusk
gourdman
midnight — an instance
between past and future...
timelessness above
natalia kuznetsova
three months since you're gone —
vainly, the spring's lush blossoms
calling you back...
anonymous
mid-term exams
the semester drags on
anonymous
waste of time —
all those wintry snows
now melted away
Juhani Tikkanen
arrow of time
lived only forward
a paradox?
anonymous
old beauty queen
struggling with her make-up:
time the nemesis
Keith A. Simmonds
the clock
loosing its moment to a breeze —
dandelion
anonymous
gently she blows
dandelion seeds —
one o'clock, two ...
James Dobson
hummingbird hurry
the belled nectar
is timed
Donna Bauerly
Triduum pilgrimage.
Maybe it's the last time
for us together.
Horst Ludwig
forsythia blossoms
fading with spring —
time for pruning
Merrill Ann Gonzales
our flag comes
slowly down
day is done
Rose Marie Stutts
sixty-five this year —
thoughts of retirement
still over the hill
John Soules
idle summer time
steamy cast-mosaic floor
in Turkish bath
oana posnaies
spring dawn
the sun now lights
my way
Michael Baribeau
sakura in bloom
just the right time
to fall in love
Kalina
another cycle
blossom, leaf, abscission, bare
one year of a tree
Deirdre Godwin
spring forward —
the daylight much more
persistent
C.P. Harrison
April holidays —
six boys lift their only dog
over the fence
Caleb David Mutua
minute of silence...
my little parrot
sleeps on a perch
Jacek M
as long as it takes
the frog
hole-in-one
rurik
a spider
spinning time, fat flies
buzzing
Beth Powell
withdrawing
some time I've saved...
"AM or PM, Sir?"
soji
On the photo
a rugged face smiles…
Is my mother?
Miorita
a child trying to catch
the hands of the clock moving
days gone by
Ellen Romano
only seconds
for a tiny spider —
annoyed tabby cat
Kurt R. W.
quick as it hits
in the endless war
snow melts
LeRoy Gorman
chimes the hour
of evensong
she hurries by
Ruth Powell
the mosquito buzzes
till the first cicada’s song -
o my sleeplessness!
Tomislav
General Comments: Wonderful what great haiku this monthly contest can produce! This was a real delight to read.
This one was so difficult, with 12 poems on my short list.
Such a delightful topic...so many ways to measure time!
This was probably the hardest vote I remember casting. I read and re-read many exceptional haiku --probably about 20--that deserved points, and maybe 5-7 that deserved more votes than I could give them. Bravo! to the fine work here that encapsulated the essence of time in true, authentic haiku fashion.