April 2010 Kukai

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.