January 2012 Kukai

Free Format Theme:

Shelter

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First Place - 29 Points

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refugee huts

ravens rest  inside

the shadows

Ron C. Moss

(3,3,14) = 29 pts

** A disturbing image and a superbly constructed haiku. I'm glad this one made it in in spite of arriving late.

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Second Place - 19 Points

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snow in the city

the homeless man

deep in a doorway

BILL KENNEY

(2,2,9) = 19 pts

AND

fireworks

my guard dog cowers

beneath the bed

Liz Rule

(0,4,11) = 19 pts

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Third Place  - 18 Points

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dog house --

I show the dog

what it's for

--Michael McClintock

(1,4,7) = 18 pts

** This is funny at a number of levels, but I like best its direct image of the absurd, wonderful relationship of dog and human.

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14 Points

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storm shelter the unseen stars that steer me

Michele L. Harvey

(1,1,9) = 14 pts

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13  Points

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winter storm

the soup

simmering

Jeff Hanson

(1,3,4) = 13 pts

**If that's not shelter, what is?

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 12 Points

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Soweto market --

a red umbrella

sheltering plums

~ synaidah kalahi

(1,2,5) = 12 pts

in a hole

prepared for the new rose --

a family of toads

Sonam Chhoki

(0,2,8) = 12 pts

**Faint echoes of Burns in this one, but with that haiku economy.

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 11 Points

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January wind

tinsel blows off

the cardboard shelter

Paul Hodder

(1,1,6) = 11 pts

a neon glow

on snow-capped cars

NO VACANCY

Barbara Snow

(0,1,9) = 11 pts

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 10 Points

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a new season

the hermit crab squeezes into

a second hand shell

Kat Creighton

(1,2,3) = 10 pts

sudden downpour

the cafe fills

as the streets empty

Meredith Stern Cavalieri

(1,1,5) = 10 pts

abandoned house --

a tomato plant thrives

in the rubble

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

(0,2,6) = 10 pts

homeless shelter~

an old friend pretends

he doesn't see me

S.E. Buffington

(0,0,10) = 10 pts

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 9 Points

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sheltered

under a thin ice —

flood

Juhani Tikkanen

(1,2,2) = 9 pts

summer's end —

the beggar browsing

a home catalogue

Cezar F. Ciobîcă

(1,1,4) = 9 pts

appliance box his dream of adding on

Alan S. Bridges

(0,3,3) = 9 pts

cold dawn . . .

buried in my quilts

I feel my own warmth

Marylouise Knight

(0,3,3) = 9 pts

**Is there a better feeling?

orphanage —

on the windowsill

a faded picture

Ailoaei Cristina

(0,3,3) = 9 pts

**I really like the mystery that this one stirs up … and sticks?

in the dog house

light from the living room

reaches two paws

Harvey Jenkins

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

homeless shelter

the kitchen help gets a call

from home

--Marleen Hulst

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

drizzle —

a homeless man finds shelter

in a song

Bouwe

(0,1,7) = 9 pts

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8  Points

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golf umbrella--

he shields his child

from the sun

James Dobson

(1,2,1) = 8 pts

both seeking shelter

under the eave

spider and me

Angela Terry

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

thatched hut...

the smell of boiling rice

from the bowl

Ramesh Anand

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

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 7 Points

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The full moon

through the broken window—

abandoned shelter

Constantin Stroe

(1,1,2) = 7 pts

love-at-first-sight

a dilapidated house

with lilacs in bloom

Carolyn Coit Dancy

(0,3,1) = 7 pts

animal shelter—

droopy eyes and tail wags

settle the deal

--Kirsty Karkow

(0,1,5) = 7 pts

chickadees call

from the sheltering pine --

morning flurry

Catherine J.S. Lee

(0,1,5) = 7 pts

new year's cleaning

a house spider takes shelter

in the Buddha's palm

Tore Sverredal

(0,0,7) = 7 pts

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 6 Points

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koi pond

leaves scattered

across the roof

Gregory Longenecker

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

homeless man

under the bridge

he has no dreams

Beth Powell

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

winter rain

the shelter is called

you and me

helge t.

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

zen garden —

a dogwood tree sheltered

by a giant oak

Carmel Lively Westerman

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

mom's house—

the kitchen aroma

remains

Barbara Campitelli

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

winter light

through the mailbox holes

blue jay’s song

martin gottlieb cohen

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

warm shelter —

a homeless man asks

what day is today?

Israel López Balan

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

booming bass

I retreat into the shelter

of silence

Elaine Riddell

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

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 5 Points

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summer starry night  —

the ideal shelter

for two lovers

Virginia Popescu

(1,0,2) = 5 pts

air raid shelter

love in a time of war

their carved initials

André Surridge

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

a bee in the flower

still doesn't note

the raindrops

Tom&slav

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

A leaking dream

I put a blue pot

under the sleep

Oddbjørn Aardalen

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

rain again —

a restless cat jumps

in and out the window

Johannes S. H. Bjerg

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

signs of spring

a fresh mud nest

under the eaves

Tom Painting

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

abandoned house—

stirring up dusty memories

a whistling wind

Adelaide B. Shaw

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

Christmas toy abandoned

the empty  box

becomes a fort 

Bill Hudson

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

Christmas holidays

the women’s refuge overflows

Barbara A Taylor

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

** Almost too stark, but the power with which it engages the reader is undeniable.

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 4 Points

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winter's blue-black sky

only the sound of wild geese

honking their way home

Donna Bauerly

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

cold and homesick...

among bare branches

a deserted nest

natalia kuznetsova

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

abandoned farm house

all the cows stare

that vacant look

Ben Gieske

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

snow storm

"Gimme Shelter"

on the radio

Mike Montreuil

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

sheltering

under stars long gone —

homeless monk

Hansha Teki

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

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 3 Points

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 broke it off...

overly dramatic, these

raindrops on the roof

Páll Ingi Kvaran

(1,0,0) = 3 pts

rays of sun

as rain drips off the awning

a cupped hand turns

- Leena Luther

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

climbing

the carport's frame

grape vines

Maxianne

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

** The basic haiku theme of the interaction of the human and the natural, nicely caught.

My miracle wife —

my soul's sanctuary and

shelter from all storms

Robert C. Howard

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

orphanage

something strikes

against the wall

Ralf Bröker

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

lovers tryst

just an umbrella

to shield them

Frances O'Keeffe

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

**Nice use of the umbrella symbolism

Castle hounded by ghosts—

a certain shelter

for spiders

Vasile Moldovan

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Naivasha camp --

refugees queuing

for Christmas gifts

~ Elijah Juma

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

raising our tent

as the raindrops

fall faster

Ruth Powell

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

ambient light

her old furniture

in her new digs

Cara Holman

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

coffin lid closing--

Mother, all those times

you gave me shelter

Bill Pauly

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

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2  Points

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refrigerator box

covered in plastic

his home under the bridge

Rose Marie Stutts

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

Warmed by his feathers

snug under snow-laden boughs

sheltered by softness

Rey Barreto

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

a puppy sheltering

under a church tent --

Christmas rain

~ Andrew Otinga

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

a bluebird pair

returning to the dogwood hollow

sunbeams through the mist

Anonymous

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

freezing rain

the dead air sound

of the empty house

if

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

a red umbrella

between me and the rain —

I march through puddles

Anonymous

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

A slight noise

in a tall bare tree —

robin's nest.

Trevor Camp

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

the bare trees in winter . . .

my grandmother's kitchen

had a dirt floor

Francine Banwarth

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

wild roses

beneath the deep snow

watched by a cactus

peter o. silvani

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

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 1 Point

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though warm and dry

even at home 

i am not at home

miriam chaikin

first rain drop—

for cover

snail's hurry

Vishnu P Kapoor

sudden storm –

the wooden crosses

shelter for swallows

Patricia Lidia

leaky trailer

filled with memories

the wind comes through

~~~ Merrill Ann Gonzales

 ** There is the temptation to refer to my trailer as a "hut" or some such gentler image...but perhaps true words speak with  greater resonance?

no news good news —

the first snow sheltered

by the mail box

GHEORGHE POSTELNICU STOPS

suitcases packed

the adopted dog's

huge round eyes

Anonymous

coloured catalogues

as cold rain lashes windows

I plan my garden

Deirdre Godwin

wet early snow

tsunami shelter roofs

glisten at dawn

Anonymous

the crowd —

a child's crying

in motherly arms

Orbi

covering the smile

of our sleeping child

moonlight through the blinds

Boris Nazansky

 wedding day...

guests cramped

in the bomb- shelter

Tanya Dikova

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No Points This Time, but thank you for sharing your haiku with us.

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twilight siren

ants march towards their

invisible shelter

Narayanan Raghunathan

people sleep

in tin cans—

a shanty town

Maria Santomauro

One-room country school —

a half-century dust takes in

the fresh raindrops.

Anonymous

Daddy don't

die — I'm still

delicate

Petya Gleridis

 southside quonset

giving a cold shoulder

to lake effect snow

-me-

approaching births —

the parents weave worms

into the nest

Anonymous

a vagrant

atop his tree house

greeting the sunrise

Keith A. Simmonds

Bullfrog hunched

underneath the bean-vines --

sun so loud on the leaves.

mechaieh

thumping winter rain ~

steaming oatmeal,

brown sugar and raisins

John Hubbard

city clean-up

the open space

becomes his bed

Nana Fredua-Agyeman

Home again,

relaxed in my own armchair,

celebrations over.

Jean Lewis

first snow

a leafing bush? ahh but

sheltering starlings

Alegria

not ready for parenthood —

provides a shelter

for stray cats

Anonymous

January warmth

Potluck snoring

in his box

Earl Keener

a storm rages overhead

yet there is a peace

in the green-leafed clemency

Anonymouse

tsunami —

needless refuge

lighthouse tower

Petru-Ioan Garda

In mind's summers

may I take refuge

in your calming eyes

Vinay Leo Ravindranath

 reds in the viburnum

cardinals await their turn

sunflower feeder

gourdman

 frozen feathers and

icicles line a blue bird’s nest

near the porch light

Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black

holiday lights removed

the brightness of dry season

fills the house

-- gillena cox

once shelter

the old oak

lies in rotting sawdust

John McDonald

cold morning fog drifts

to find a warming shelter

and stumbles on sun

dragonfly

under the tent --

a dog looking

for shelter

~ caxton okoth

 squall line

the old trailer creaks and groans

loses a few screws

Edward

a student moves

with the tent's shadow --

breaktime busk

~ ceciliah wambui

old vets home

by the fire out back

most of the time

--Peter Newton

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General Comments:

**There were a lot of good [Free Format] haiku here that I had to leave behind due to the 6 point limit.

**Refreshing to see a couple of good one-liners in the free format offerings...

**It seems to rain very often in haijins' countries. 

**An observation, not a criticism: many of the poems (and this is not the first time) do not adhere to the directive. Perhaps not including them would strengthen the competition. Of course, inform the poets so they could re-submit. Not that some aren't good poems, but it certainly wouldn't be fair for an off-topic poem to gain the most votes.