Congratulations to Paul Hodder, winner of our Kigo section and to Carolyn Coit Dancy AND Melissa Spurr, winners of our Free Format section!
August 2008 Results
Kigo Theme:
Spiders
First Place – Twenty-three Points
widow's cottage ~
every spider
has a name
Paul Hodder
(2,4,9) = 23 Pts
Fortunate spiders! This is lovely.
An amusing observation of how loneliness may be kept at bay.
Second Place – Twenty-two Points
old farmhouse
the weaving loom filled
with spider silk
Melissa Spurr
(1,5,9) = 22 Pts
on the front porch
knitting beside grandmother
the spider
Bill Hudson
(1,3,13) = 22 Pts
receding clouds
a spider mends
its net
polona
(0,7,8) = 22 Pts
So simple and beautiful. Can a spider catch a cloud? Maybe when I wasn’t watching. Every day we miss something.
Third Place – Twenty Points
attic window
a spider spreads his web
on the moon
Jacek M.
(1,6,5) = 20 Pts
Fourth Place – Nineteen Points
house guest
a spider unfolds
with the blinds
Susan Constable
(1,2,12) = 19 Pts
Fifth Place – Sixteen Points
empty
spider's web
first frost
php
(2,2,6) = 16 Pts
Empty with transparent nothing in. Thin, white threads and my foggy breath. Not even a spider.
This made me want to try to see this in my own yard this year!
old easel -
in the spider's web
a still life
Dorota Pyra
(0,4,8) = 16 Pts
Sixth Place – Fifteen Points
dockside
a spider web nets
the setting sun
tom painting
(2,1,7) = 15 Pts
I appreciate the skillful weaving and word choice here.
Seventh Place – Fourteen Points
on my computer,
a spider
viewing the web
Jyothirmai Gubili
(1,4,3) = 14 Pts
A great dual use of spider as literal and also as a bot churning across the internet.
Eighth Place – Thirteen Points
summer cleaning
a spider takes shelter
under the buddha
Tore Sverredal
(0,4,5) = 13 Pts
The perfect place to seek refuge. This is delightful.
Ninth Place – Twelve Points
twilight --
a spider's shadow
climbs the screen
Ann K. Schwader
(0,3,6) = 12 Pts
Twilight and a shadow on a screen. I love how everything in this haiku is on the edge of something else.
Tenth Place – Eleven Points
starry night
the spider's web
studded with moths
ed markowski
(1,2,4) = 11 Pts
I love this image - to me, it's a really 'living' haiku.
As with several of the submissions, I get a déjà vu feeling that something like this has been offered in the kukai before. But I like it. I like "Starry Night," too.
spider web
the sunrise caught
in its dew
N. C. Whitehead
(1,2,4) = 11 Pts
a spider
diligently repairs
the hole in my shed
Frederick C. Gier
(0,4,3) = 11 Pts
Eleventh Place – Ten Points
garden spider
a ripe plum tomato
just beyond its web
jt
(1,2,3) = 10 Pts
again
in the spider's web
that useless moon
Beth Powell
(1,1,5) = 10 Pts
I like the idea of all the web's unintended "catches"
Twelfth Place – Nine Points
new house...
a spider comes out of
the book carton
K. Ramesh
(0,2,5) = 9 Pts
Cue the music from Jaws.
every night somehow
the front door spider and I
forget each other
Shelley Krause
(0,1,7) = 9 Pts
Thirteenth Place – Eighth Points
spring cleaning
moving the spider web
to another corner
TV
(1,1,3) = 8 Pts
flat calm
a spider climbs
the rigging
Josh Wikoff
(1,1,3) = 8 Pts
house spider
in our corners we wait
for each other
jblain
(0,3,2) = 8 Pts
Fourteenth Place – Seven Points
web compass
a spider points out
eight directions
john tiong chunghoo
(0,1,5) = 7 Pts
Spiderweb as alternative aid to wayfinding... I like it.
only a speckled
spider for company
harvest moon
sheila windsor
(0,1,5) = 7 Pts
bomb shelter —
devastated by a broom
the spider's web
Gautam Nadkarni
(1,1,2) = 7 Pts
Broom/boom/bomb brilliant!
traveling spider
a bit of the summer cabin
comes home with me
Audrey Downey
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
Spider webs and summer cabins are absolutely synonymous, aren't they? This has a light yet wistful undertone for me.
dusk lightning
a spider brings out
the killer in me
Collin Barber
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
school holidays --
another spider caged
in a milk bottle
David Caleb Mutua
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
shower stall--
no room for me
and the spider
LGD
(0,0,7) = 7 Pts
first night without him-
a daddy long- legs
shares her bedroom
Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,5) = 7 Pts
This refers to a spider where I come from; maybe not to everyone.
typhoon debris
a spider
starts over
Jan O'Loughlin
(0,0,7) = 7 Pts
abandoned hut -
a little spider
close to the moon
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
Fifteenth Place – Six Points
baby spiders
balloon to safety
the market falls
Jo McInerney
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts
one spiderweb
followed by another
how the years go by
Ella Wagemakers
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts
Our years do seem to unfold like a continuous strand of spider silk, and this haiku phrases the notion so very well. This is sublime.
spider silk —
what's spun
out of ourselves
Bill Pauly
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts
red light
noticing the spider is
on my side of the glass
Laurene
(0,0,6) = 6 Pts
Sixteenth Place – Five Points
packing day
the wolf spider in my box
--can't take everything!
bre
(0,2,1) = 5 Pts
tiny ripples on
still water...
a raft spider runs across
Rose Marie Stutts
(0,2,1) = 5 Pts
It could have been written better, but I like the essence. A raft spider running through the water circles.
hens fighting
over a dead spider --
windy evening
Mary Kaleche
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
rainy day –
in the spider's cobweb
only a petal
Miorita
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
a spider webs
my bike to the house
day old bread
DeVar
(1,1,0) = 5 Pts
Seventeenth Place – Four Points
a gingerbread horse
on an old cupboard
ridden by a spider
Zeljka Vucinic Jambresic
(0,2,0) = 4 Pts
What a surrealistic scene, a great one. The one from the flashing kind seen in the childhood and forgotten.
destroying
the spider's home
to keep mine clean
Shernaz Wadia
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
leg missing a spider completes the web
w. f. owen
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
stuck ...
and the spider
dancing
carol pearce-worthington
(1,0,1) = 4 Pts
spider's sticky trap
clings as I walk through:
I perform web dance
Penelope Sargent
(0,2,0) = 4 Pts
Heralding the autumn,
in a spider's web
the first leaf
Vasile Moldovan
(1,0,1) = 4 Pts
cricket call caught
in a silken scaffold
summer's end
Marilyn Hazelton
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
garden gate
I walk through the spiderweb
woven last night
Sherry Weaver Smith
(1,0,1) = 4 Pts
august moonlight...
a spider walking
on a pond
Li Ree
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
summer's end
the spider's shadow
from here to there
Sjs (Stevie)
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
summerhouse
the spiders death
page three
mare
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
Eighteenth Place – Three Points
little black spider
fragile life literally
hanging by a thread
if
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
early morning
walk , dodging
spider webs
terrytip
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
heat fatigue
the spider and I
laid out flat
andrea
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
Nice bit of equality and humor.
Does the spider conserve body moisture this way? Both being laid out adds to the heat effect for the reader, anyway.
spider's maze -
little suns glow
in the breeze
Narayanan Raghunathan
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
i spied her first
hidden in the fretwork
-- the spider
miriam chaikin
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
I like the unnamed person in this.
a small spider
tethering the tropic palm
to the evening heat
Michael McClintock
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
A cemetery –
a spider wove a web
on the fallen cross.
Zoran Antonic
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
home invasion
the spider's web
captures a fly
Meggy
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
still waiting...
full moon fills
spider's web
Gosia Zamorska
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
April morning jog
pair of dew drops shivering
in a spider's web
Ben Gieske
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
space walker
just that spider
spinning in the moonlight
Barbara Snow
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
spider,
in a snore
you were gone
1bodhisattva
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
This one has 8 little feet tickling in my trachea.
Startling! I can see somebody’s open mouth. Somebody who doesn’t even has a name, just like earthquake. Poor spider, finished with such an unnecessary death!
a dead fly stuck
in a dewy spider's web --
sunny morning
James Bundi
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
honeysuckle moon
a spider finds its
point of rest
Francine Banwarth
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
ballooning
in the morning updraft
tiny spiders
Bridget Cougar
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
grey mandala
between the holly-hocks--
orb-weaver
Gene Doty
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
new curtains
on the future window -
the spider's creation
Mirko Varga
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
weaving
summer into fall . . .
wandering spider
Mary Davila
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
General Comments:
There was so much lovely poetry but I chose the three that painted the most vivid picture in my mind's eye.
Free Format Theme:
Home Improvement
First Place – Twenty-six Points
our marriage
falling apart
he patches the roof
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(1,6,11) = 26 Pts
I really love the irony in this one with its allusion to the uselessness of linear logic in feeling situations!
new moon
filling a crack
in the skylight
Melissa Spurr
(1,6,11) = 26 Pts
Fine double resonance on "filling a crack"
Second Place – Twenty-Three Points
new sunroom
the dog
claims his spot
Frances McCarthy
(0,5,13) = 23 Pts
Of course. The most important entities get first choice.
Third Place – Nineteen Points
a cold night —
stuffing the gap between
the walls and the roof
David Caleb Mutua
(2,5,3) = 19 Pts
new design
the moon rises
in an antique mirror
ed markowski
(2,4,5) = 19 Pts
Fourth Place – Seventeen Points
for the leaky roof
finally
a new bucket
Beth Powell
(1,3,8) = 17 Pts
I love the ironic humor here! The author seems to have known my father.
LOL! Nice turn-around on the theme.
porch paint
the dog next door
licks his paws
DeVar
(0,2,13) = 17 Pts
It reads either for the porch owner or dog owner.
Echo of ‘fresh varnished floor’ and a different approach too.
Fifth Place – Fourteen Points
carpet selection
we find the perfect color
in a blade of grass
Susan Constable
(1,3,5) = 14 Pts
newly
painted walls
— silence
Tina
(1,3,5) = 14 Pts
I like the starkness of this haiku, whose silence has voice. Very meditative. A haiku that will stay with me for some time.
autumn cleaning —
a desk drawer
full of dry pens
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,5,4) = 14 Pts
Waiting —
the crack in the ceiling
widens
Elena Naskova
(0,5,4) 14 Pts
Sixth Place – Thirteen Points
home improvements
the cat unclutters
the highest shelf
jblain
(2,1,5) = 13 Pts
I like that we side with the cat here.
spring warmth
we paint the baby's room
robin's egg blue
Collin Barber
(1,2,6) = 13 Pts
Seventh Place – Twelve Points
fixer upper —
happily ever after
one nail at a time
Bridget Cougar
(0,3,6) = 12 Pts
Ain't that just the way of it.
Eighth Place – Ten Points
spring cleaning
moving the spider web
to another corner
TV
(0,3,4) = 10 Pts
blue tarps
on the roof
cherry petals too
Barbara Snow
(0,2,6) = 10 Pts
The awareness of the petals seems to flutter down at the end, petal-like.
tearing down the deck,
I find a small handprint —
Tommy 1968
Jeff Hanson
(0,2,6) = 10 Pts
Ninth Place – Eight Points
home improvement —
my son asks his dad
for advice
max verhart
(1,2,1) = 8 Pts
Two very different kinds of improvement nicely brought together here.
heat wave done
she opens her window
for the western wind
Bill Pauly
(1,2,1) = 8 Pts
replacing the door —
across the home's threshold
a snail trail
Dorota Pyra
(1,1,3) = 8 Pts
Tenth Place – Seven Points
home improvement
touching up the paintwork
in Photoshop
Allison Millcock
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
home improvement
my brother's new room
in the attic
tom painting
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
Nice double-meaning here.
more water stains:
I have the plumber
on speed dial
LGD
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
A long-standing frustration.
new windows
a hummingbird watches me
re-hang the feeders
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
finishing touch
she blows out the renovation dust
from my temple
Juliusz Wnorowski
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
Simply wonderful. I love the resonance of 'temple' here.
I like the use of "temple" here.
Eleventh Place – Six Points
spring dream —
building a tree house
to commune with the birds
Barbara Campitelli
(0,3,0) = 6 Pts
after the squall:
a new twig
in bird's beak
vishnu kapoor
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts
cleaning the closet —
a seashell
listening to the ocean
Deborah Finkelstein
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts
finally the fence!
now my house is ready
for morning glories
Tom M.
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts
This made me think about how individual all our ideas of the ideal home improvement are.
home improvement
an abusive husband
loses his key
shanna
(0,1,4) = 6 Pts
Improvement indeed! Very clever!
window enlargement
the sun bursts
through the wall
Tore Sverredal
(0,0,6) = 6 Pts
Twelfth Place – Five Points
global warming
the realtor tells me
I'll have sea views
Jo McInerney
(1,0,2) = 5 Pts
hammer
thumb
ouch
Deirdre Godwin
(1,0,2) = 5 Pts
Here's my thought process in the voting: Yes no yes.
bedroom improvement —
the silence when our eyes meet
across the old double bed
Li Ree
(0,2,1) = 5 Pts
house on the stock —
a hoarse cricket is
the sole owner
Constantin Stroe
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
from one side
to the other —
porch chairs
ARW
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
Thirteenth Place – Four Points
daisies
by the crumbling fence
the neighbor nails a new board
Bre
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
in my backyard —
a hummock of
red sand
gillena
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
tree house repairs
a nest of squirrels
complain
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
A charming selection of events.
crossing the grey street
all of a sudden
our whitewashed house
Adina Enachescu
(1,0,1) = 4 Pts
after the hail storm
every house
a blue bonnet
Ben Gieske
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
Didn't get this one at first until a later haiku indicated that blue tarps might be frequently used in roof repair. Couldn't see why the flower 'blue bonnet' would spring up singly after a hail storm as they may en masse after a rain on the dry prairies of Texas.
upstairs downstairs —
the new wallpaper
starts to curl
Roberta Beary
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
And they thought they were finished!
Love it! Whether it's Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy, that's a classic home renovation image.
acorn woodpecker
drilling holes in the tree —
more storage space
Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
man of the house
raising the bedroom ceiling
plastered
Francine Banwarth
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
our hut's rough floor
being smeared with cow dung —
mooing cows
Paul Omondi
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
house-painter
scrapes the shady side first
ladder among phlox
Gene Doty
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
the almost music
of kids hammering together
a tree fort
John Thompson
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
leaky roof . . .
playing with his boats
in the puddle
Mary Davila
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
Look to a kid for examples of 'If it rains lemons, make lemonade' ... at least when it ain't Their lemons!
Fourteenth Place – Three Points
once again
a hammer in my hand
lord help us all
todd eddy
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
painting the old house
but stopping at the eaves,
cobwebbed and beautiful
Michael McClintock
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
housekeeper's day off,
the flies and I
humming in the room
Gryta Wansdronk
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
unwanted construction
on the side of my house
woodpeckers
Bill Hudson
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
One more honey-do
dammit, — hoping doing it
for some Xmas peace.
Horst Ludwig
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
room addition
loan process slows
as swallows build their nest
Harvey Jenkins
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
spring clearing...
while I repair my house
the cherry tree shades me
Vasile Moldovan
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
a red power washer —
the hummingbird defends
his petunias
jt
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
wet paint --
the old building shines
from a distance
kelvin mukoselo
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
in the attic
a swarm of termites
redecorating
Sjs (Stevie)
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
General Comments:
I was initially a little annoyed with what felt like an unusually high senryu-like quotient here. Then I reminded myself that I hadn't been able to even write one haiku on this subject that I felt was worthy of sharing!