Congratulations to Chitra Rajappa, winner of our Kigo section, and to Don Baird, winner of our Free Format section!
Kigo Theme:
SIGNS OF SPRING
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First Place - 37 Points
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morning walk --
my daughter counts
twelve shades of green
-- Chitra Rajappa
(0,10,17) = 37 pts
**Great scene!
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Second Place - 27 Points
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starlit morning
the voice of spring
in the waterfall
Don Baird
(2,5,11) = 27 pts
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Third Place - 15 Points
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brushing snow
off the swing
swoop of a kinglet
Alan S. Bridges
(1,2,8) = 15 pts
the silence
between horses
in spring rain
Li Ree
(1,1,10) = 15 pts
spring breakup
the fly fishermen practice
tying knots
Tom Painting
(0,3,9) = 15 pts
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14 Points
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early this year
my wife's
sunflower dress
Paul Hodder
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
**We become our own harbingers!
early spring
the idiot inside me
writes again
Jon Baldwin
(0,3,8) = 14 pts
early bud-
half in
half out
Maria Santomauro
(0,3,8) = 14 pts
**Love the simple economy of this.
climbing the hill...
sooner than me
crocuses
Dorota Pyra
(0,3,8) = 14 pts
**Nice haiku, but the ellipsis at the end of the first line would
consolidate the juxtaposition more effectively if it were used at the end of
the second line.
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13 Points
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slowly...
the snowman's strip-tease reveals...
a scarecrow
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,4,5) = 13 pts
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12 Points
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billowing dress
in a spring breeze...
remission
Svetlana Marisova
(2,2,2) = 12 pts
**Nice pairing of image and feeling.
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11 Points
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April rain
his finger wipes away
her milk moustache
--Marleen Hulst
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
**Who among us who are fathers have not shared this moment? And for some,
like me, too long ago.
**Skilful, and beautiful.
endless white:
where the snow ends
snowdrops begin
oana aurora boazu
(0,3,5) = 11 pts
**Two points for inducing a gasp.
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10 Points
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Spring under the eaves,
in a twinkling of the eye
sparrows in love
Vasile Moldovan
(2,2,0) = 10 pts
morning sun -
a butterfly circles
the yellow cap
Israel López Balan
(1,2,3) = 10 pts
summoning spring . . .
from the boatyard the whine
of a paint sander
Catherine J.S. Lee
(1,1,5) = 10 pts
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9 Points
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Sign of spring:
a blue butterfly
mad about flight
Adina Enachescu
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
long afternoon
a squirrel's leap
from tree to tree
BILL KENNEY
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
first robins . . .
dad fidgets
with his fingers
Francine Banwarth
(0,2,5) = 9 pts
**I like the unexpected imagery in Ls 1 and 3 in No. 36 but the last line
threw me and somehow I feel it does not work.
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8 Points
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signs of spring...
lawnmowers emerge
from hibernation
Cara Holman
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
signs of spring
the busker's tune
just out of key
Polona
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
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7 Points
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patchwork purple
in my sideview mirrors --
signs of spring
Steve Mitchell
(1,1,2) = 7 pts
"for sale"
garden with
crocuses
og_a
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
windy night --
Orion's on his head
in the live oak tree
Laurene
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
first flowers of spring
and yet, and yet
Johannes S. H. Bjerg
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
**This leaves such a wide open space for the yearning it evokes...
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6 Points
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Flicker
sending spring
in Morse Code
Donna Bauerly
(0,3,0) = 6 pts
**Aha, and a lovely image.
signs of spring --
a young man
whistling
John McDonald
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
sultry March-
the possibilities
in the lilac buds
sanjuktaa
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
thunder of river ice snowdrops
Ellen Compton
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
first of spring--
filling the pickle jar
with ladybugs
Christopher Pickslay
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
at the bus stop
the unexpected
flipflops
Diane Mayr
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
**Made me smile!
spring thaw
our snowman's arm
topples
~Alexander "Lex" Joy
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
**Great use of "topples" here... such an evocative verb.
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5 Points
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crow calls
in the hickory -
winter's over
Merrill Ann Gonzales
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
black snake sunning
on the warm asphalt,
a daffodil blooms
Tom Conally
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
first spring gust...
clouds clean
the sky
rob scott
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
daffodils
waving in the wind
the child waves back
Sandy Gillespie
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
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4 Points
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signs of spring -
long into the new moon night
the shaman's drum
Sonam Chhoki
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
snowdrop
the rite of spring
tolls
Ted van Zutphen
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
spring ritual
we search for mushrooms
in our secret place
carmel lively Westerman
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
spring!
mulch by the bag
at Qwik King
timothy russell
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
snowdrops
and this memory of snowdrops
still cool
Terry O'Connor
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
signs of spring
buried
in the fresh snowbank
Juhani Tikkanen
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
spring
the mockingbird
sings throughout the night
Bill Hudson
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
feeling spring-
leaner by the day
snowman
Vishnu P Kapoor
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
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3 Points
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signs of spring
I listen to Mendelssohn
and relive old dreams
Margaret Dornaus
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
floozy days
snow melt scented
with magnolia
Maxianne
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
crocus shoots
through frosted fallen
maple leaves
gourdman
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
spring clean up---
neighbours raking
each others leaves
John Soules
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
on the river bank -
pussy willows fluffing
the Pleiades
Kaiser Kahn
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
Camus abandoned
around the campus
barefoot students
Barbara Snow
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
late winter morning -
she feels something
inside her tummy
Quamrul Hassan
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
wind and rain
forsythia bush
tipped in yellow
Mary E. Gray
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
first chipmunk
the steady ping...ping...ping...ping
in the sap buckets
Edward
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
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2 Points
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budding forsythia
a jar of daffodils graces
a new grave
Pat Oliffe
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
colourless land
rising through bare branches
a green infusion
Elaine Riddell
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
signs of spring
the thrill of a song
never heard before
Michele L. Harvey
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
the plums in front
of the Egyptian consulate
not yet in bloom
Michael Dylan Welch
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
scent of cherry blooms
hover on the morning wind...
a new beginning
Keith A. SIMMONDS
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
spring signature
dusk inching through
later each day
Frances O'Keeffe
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
squatters next door --
a cuckoo usurps
its first nest
James Dobson
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
two doves
on the garden wall
spring
Stevie
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
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1 Point
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the edge of the roof
the drop leaves the icicle -
the splash of spring
Erik Boye
spring roundup
cheeks turning again
to leather
Garry
wriggling up
a blade of grass
cracks the earth
miriam chaikin
March wind sharp
as a kitchen knife
slashing at silk fish
mechaieh
First robin,
the sound of water,
early spring.
Trevor Camp
sodden clouds lurch
across the sky
another gust...and spring!
Angela Terry
tulip sprouts
through the pines
where the sun hits
carol pearce-worthington
carpet of blooms -
cutting through the mist
the first sunbeams
Gautam Nadkarni
spring forest skirts --
lighter pressure
under my feet
Cristina-Monica Moldoveanu
a season of heavy snow--
I count the occasions
someone mentions snow drops
jill
swallowed
along with homes and lives --
signs of spring
anonymous
**This drew out of my being a prayer, which has the value of more votes.
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No Points This Time, Sorry
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still life: cardinal in the snow--
fire
in the frozen shroud.
Bob Sauerbrey
A brave crocus bud
trapped beneath a veil of ice
spring's cruel perfidy
Robert C. Howard
Clouds covering
Hidden blue
...wishing you sunshine
James Sawers
My Stonehenge
Spring sky paired
with mountain peaks
Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
brief spring
cabin's screen door hinge
still needing oil
if
old grizzly bear
waking up to sunshine...
time to rise.
Jill Campbell
river trees budding
on the dock a heron waits
silence unbroken
Tony Nasuta
signs of spring --
wisdom says few things equal
new clothes for the wife
Michael McClintock
on the old icon
the wicker's buds expecting
REVIVAL ... vainly
GH.POSTELNICU STOPS
This year has not snowed -
Spring must be near,
I melt myself waiting for it
Petru-Ioan Garda
wind chimes
my friends abroad hanker
for Spring's coming
-gillena cox
exam fever starts
...the beach springing
into emptiness
Ramesh Anand
the farmer
dances around
springtime harvest
Judi Honiker
catkin
shadows on the grass
summon spring
Giselle Maya
buds and blossoms
redbud, pink cherry, dogwood
nature's awakening
Dorothy K.
fresh buckrams
a boy does not want
his mates to come
Ralf Bröker
snow melt-
she sets up a screen between
cat tree and bird feeder
Alegria
a lad
playing on his willow flute
old spring sound
Svein Lie
barnacles aside
herring boat captain's ready
for another run
Harvey Jenkins
Stars twinkle beyond-
Swimming in god's endless sea
They live; they die; unseen, free
Shawn Edward Ward
summoning spring,
black-robed monk spilling
syllables & rice everywhere!
Kurt W.
faint voices, a mourning dove
speaks of spring
frost on the grass
Christine Howard
nearly dinnertime
my husband still weeding-
longer days herald spring
Leslie Montgomery
soft breeze
dry spot with a little beak
under the nest
Boris Nazansky
my snow angel
evolving today - into...?
a tawny bird!
Anne Zooey Lind
a whiff of spring.
weeds sprouting in cracks
in the path
Liz Rule
sprung into action
the bees in and out
of the lilac bush
Meredith Cavalieri
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General Comments:
** I omitted from consideration all entries that failed to observe the
guideline laid down by Bill Higginson and included in the instructions. That
meant I was choosing from among a minority of the entries.
**I have to tell you, I haven't had any signs of spring until today when I
found the crocus that bloomed yesterday!
And now, our Free Format Results!
Free Format Theme:
CROW(S)
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First Place - 21 Points
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darkening sky
the crow disappears
into a cloud
Don Baird
(1,4,10) = 21 pts
**Like many of the better entries, essentially pure picture, while
suggesting just a bit more.
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Second Place - 18 Points
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evening sunlight
crows wade
into their reflection
Judi Honiker
(1,6,3) = 18 pts
gunshot --
a rush of crows
peppers the sky
~ Isabelle Prondzynski
(1,5,5) = 18 pts
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Third Place - 17 Points
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tax day--
even the crows
bicker
C.P. Harrison
(1,3,8) = 17 pts
first light --
spider silk on the wing
of the crow
Michael McClintock
(0,4,9) = 17 pts
**A real delicacy of observation to this one.
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15 Points
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a crow calls into dusk
I make the most
of my worries
Francine Banwarth
(1,1,10) = 15 pts
**Love the juxtaposition here.
last day of winter...
a crow struts
on the ice
rob scott
(0,4,7) = 15 pts
**"struts" makes it.
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13 Points
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a watermelon moon
over deep snow--
the silence of crows
jill
(1,3,4) = 13 pts
rust belt
a muster of crows
on the factory gate
Tom Painting
(1,1,8) = 13 pts
**"muster" is a bit forced, but an evocative image, especially resonant in
this union-busting age.
moonrise ~
sudden silver
on the crow's wing
Paul Hodder
(0,2,9) = 13 pts
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11 Points
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spring morning
the landing crow's
shrinking shadow
Polona
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
**"shrinking shadow" is a nice observation.
connecting winter night
to winter night...
flying crows
Li Ree
(0,1,9) = 11 pts
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10 Points
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how many crows
it takes to fill an orchard?
just one
Garry Eaton
(1,1,5) = 10 pts
4 am:
fresh morning air
peppered with crow talk
-- Chitra Rajappa
(0,2,6) = 10 pts
from a spire
glazed by mist
a crow's caw
Giselle Maya
(0,2,6) = 10 pts
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9 Points
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crows call and answer
across the sky
the distance between us
John Soules
(0,1,7) = 9 pts
**This is the haiku I wish I had written.
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8 Points
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the crow
bringing day
with him
Michele L. Harvey
(1,1,3) = 8 pts
crow against the sun
only the sound
flying
Donna Bauerly
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
counting crows
in the back field
another long day
Mary E. Gray
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
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7 Points
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Autumn twilight-
with each crow croaking
another leaf falls
Vasile Moldovan
(1,1,2) = 7 pts
crows skimming
the unbroken snow
nothing more
BILL KENNEY
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
Crows!
first smoke
of the day
Terry O'Connor
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
outfield fence
a crow closely watches
the parking lot
Alan S. Bridges
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
first snow--
a crow's distant caw
carries me home
Michael Dylan Welch
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
**"carries me home" says many things.
summer party blues
the crow and I
leftovers
Cyprian
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
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6 Points
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Crows everywhere -
I hope they have not seen
Hitchcock's film
Petru-Ioan Garda
(1,1,1) = 6 pts
gleaning
but leaving a little
for the crows
Ellen Compton
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
row of daffodils
a fat crow feeding
on a happy meal
Stevie
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
spring sun-
the crow's wings
suddenly brighter
oana aurora Boazu
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
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5 Points
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ink black crows
tossing their calls back and forth
over puddles
Shelley Krause
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
stiff March wind.
elm tree trying to shake
the crows free
if
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
umpteen ways
of looking at a crow
pen in hand
Maxianne
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
**Nice nod to Wallace Stevens!
two crows scold...
the urge to scratch
my new tattoo
--Diane Mayr
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
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4 Points
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rush hour ...
a crow picks the universe
from roadkill eyes
Svetlana Marisova
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
a crow
in the tree of heaven ::
again
timothy russell
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
sudden wind -
a flock of crows land
on the leafless tree
Israel López Balan
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
slender shadows
sailing across the cornfield...
a flock of crows
Keith A. SIMMONDS
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
mid-winter thunder...
where do the crows
sleep at night?
Cara Holman
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
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3 Points
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only witness,
crow takes his darkness
due north
Kurt W.
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
Death
Always remembers
The crows...
James Sawers
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
gathering storm --
crows squabble over the gold
of the wheat field
Liz Rule
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
roadkill
a murder of crows
dancing
Ted van Zutphen
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
**Chilling. In a good way.
stars glaze the water
a solitary crow
sentinel guarding secrets
Christine Howard
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
a crow took it:
my lost silver chain
in the maple's fork
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
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2 Points
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in the park
crows spiking fallen apples
...junkies huddle
John McDonald
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
a murder of crows
circle our freshly seeded
garden
Anonymous
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
He steps outside
into retreating caws
gourdman
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
caw
caw
crows
Johannes S. H. Bjerg
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
in the road
two crows pull
at dead flesh
Pat Oliffe
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
crows' beaks
in blackened leaves
late flurry
Ann K. Schwader
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
grape harvest
and shots explode from gas guns -
the new scarecrows
Elaine Riddell
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
taking his just caws
to the evening debate
in studio tree
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
**I couldn't resist this play on words in each line, and the tapping into
"crow nature" . . . a senryu, I'm thinking, and delightful at that!
eggs in her nest
the crow's call
a warning
Meredith Cavalieri
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
caw-caw caw-caw
repeating his mantra
buddha in a tree
todd eddy
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
the colour of crows-
i fold a pair of freshly
laundered jeans
--gillena cox
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
standing
in a shadow of crows,
rush hour
Chandra Bales
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
morning pushes away
the shadows...
exposing a crow
Angela Terry
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
make-up room
one crow
grooming another
Barbara Snow
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
under a grey, inert sky -
the crows aren't talking
Steve Mitchell
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
crow calls-
knowing when
to call it a day
Anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
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1 Point
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ebb-
shape of a crow
cawing
og_a
lazy movement
crows flying
north
Bill Hudson
the crow
spans the shape
of revolution
Jon Baldwin
sunrise warms
...the waves rolling
towards her crow pose
Ramesh Anand
pot-luck dinner --
the crows only look
at the birdfeeder
Laurene
our old neighbors
fiercely bickering outside
two crows join in
natalia kuznetsova
picnic together
crows try to shoulder into
our nature scene
Harvey Jenkins
strayed --
crows pile together
in hospital's yard
Cristina-Monica Moldoveanu
snowfall --
a singing
crow
Juhani Tikkanen
crows flying
for a while it gets
dark before eyes
Małgorzata Miksiewicz
wolf kill...
crows wait to squabble
over the scraps
Edward
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No points this time, sorry.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
before the rainstorm
a flock of avant-garde crows
gone with the warm gusts
Erik Boye
Crows and seagulls
vie for air space
bird wars
Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
silence-crusher
the caw caw
of the crow
miriam chaikin
expectations...
two crows build their nest
in fresh spruce boughs
Tony Nasuta
silent tower clock
mechanism out of order -
crows' croak clock-like yet
GH.POSTELNICU STOPS
a cordon of crows
all following the same caws,
made in America
Tom Conally
break of day-
chirping chorus
butts in a crow
Vishnu P Kapoor
in the still of the night,
a pair of crows,
flapping their wings happily,
over my head.
daniel ronald bogogolela
two crows mirth --
feathers tickle
my niece's toes
~mechaieh
the first zephyr
causes stirrings
my dream world
Merrill Ann Gonzales
Three black crows
walking up the street
neighbours watch.
Trevor Camp
mist rolls off mountain
cover the greening
new sprouts in field
Jim Applegate
no crows in roadkill
black crow on tree top
warning --- caa, caa, caa
Dorothy K.
caw, caw...
the solitary black crow
voices his concern
Jill Campbell
rearview mirror
again these crows
peck the magpie
Ralf Bröker
crows squabbling--
deaf to your excuses
in the pouring rain
Alegria
crooked birch
broken up clouds
resting crows
Svein Lie
hooded crows watch
waiting for
the trash truck
Frances O'Keeffe
picking at
a chip packet
the carrion bird
Emma Pageot
spring in the air --
above the bazaar racket
cawing crows
Gautam Nadkarni
lunch at noon --
a carrion crow
dodges the wheels
James Dobson
Crow on high branch
Balances then disappears
in flight again
Philip Mizener
a chorus of crows
sounds the alarm
the silent hawk waits
Sandy Gillespie
the bus stop
a ring on the ground, awaiting
the crow express
Anne Zooey Lind
tolls -
crows on wires changing
the musical range
Kaiser Kahn
-----------------------------------------------------------
General Comments:
**I thought crows would be an easy topic as I wrote a few dozen crow haiku
(many of them not exactly top notch, though) as a fun challenge this winter.
Not so...
**I enjoyed this collection. In Ireland, I suspect that crows would be kigo
for late autumn / early winter.
**There is something about crows. I'm always impressed by their feistiness,
but their connotations go well beyond that.
**A lot of good ones here...had to leave off some of the good ones too...
such is the world of boundaries...