Congratulations to Rita Odeh, winner of our Kigo section and to Susan Constable AND Roberta Beary, winners of our Free Format section!
November 2007 Results
Kigo Theme:
Turkey
First Place -- 20 points
autumn morning
strutting behind his shadow
the old turkey
Rita Odeh
(3,3,5) = 20 pts
Second Place -- 15 pts
turkey dinner
three generations
bickering
Beth Richards
(1,4,4) = 15 pts
Were you at the same family dinner I attended! This is so unpleasant and unfortunate, but also so true.
Alas!
awkwardly
I carve the turkey
in dad's place
Karen Briggs
(1,4,4) = 15 pts
Effectively delivers the emotion of the scene, which I think might make it a popular submission for many. But it's a sentence, not a haiku. Drop the 'ly' of 'awkwardly' and add a kireji mark, I think.
Third Place -- 14 pts
late november —
the turkey's shadow
suddenly shorter
Mary Davila
(0,4,6) = 14 pts
The countdown to the celebration day! This haiku captures both the shortened days of daylight and the fewer and fewer days of life left for the turkey. This haiku effectively selects images that serve double duty.
nap time —
hand print turkeys
line the classroom window
tim
(2,0,8) = 14 pts
This one was "show" compared to #39's "tell".
Evocative and seasonal.
late Autumn sun —
a turkey
tries to fly
Paul Hodder
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
the first snow...
dad and the butcher
talk turkey
Dejan Pavlinovic
(0,3,8) = 14 pts
turkey calls
the urge
to reply
Audrey Downey
(0,1,12) = 14 pts
I've called my turkeys like this on the farm many times, but in the woods it could get me shot! Very compactly written to describe a second-guess.
12 points
call of wild turkeys . . .
i move my finger closer
to his house of cards
Francine Banwarth
(2,1,4) = 12 pts
autumn dawn
the gobble of a wild turkey
through the fog
---Jacek M.
(0,4,4) = 12 pts
Sensual and nicely done.
11 points
Thanksgiving gossip
picking over
the turkey carcass
w. f. owen
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
10 points
thanksgiving turkey —
farmer's smallest daughter
cries by the table
Gosia Zamorska
(1,3,1) = 10 pts
limping
one turkey has become
an individual
max verhart
(1,1,5) = 10 pts
9 points
son is overseas
quiet surrounds our table
turkey in deep freeze
Harvey Jenkins
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
kindergarten turkey —
the crayon outline
of each child's hand
Cherie Hunter Day
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
Utterly charming and nostalgic for us older parents.
turkey overdose
even the dog
won't bite
Roberta Beary
(0,3,3) = 9 pts
8 points
Thanksgiving turkey
my least favorite relative
sits down beside me
-- Karen Cesar
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
muffled clucking
in the stubble field mist —
wild turkeys
Barbara Snow
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
Lovely sound.
7 points
autumn feast...
days later the turkey
still giving
--Irene Golas
(2,0,1) = 7 pts
cold turkey —
a tsunami
in his teacup
Earl Keener
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
woods edge —
a wild turkey checks
the feeder
Mary Lee McClure
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
rainy afternoon —
turkeys wander in the town's
playground
Tom Maretic
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
herb-roasted turkey —
last year's tablecloth stain
noticed during grace
- Deborah P Kolodji
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
Election day...
a few wild turkeys
gobbling for attention
Deb Bauer
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
Laughed out loud at this one.
Thanksgiving Dinner —
the men squabble over
who shot the turkey
Nancy Nitrio
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
6 points
turkey legs
in a row
grandpa's missing teeth
Raquel D. Bailey
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
cleaning the attic
mom's turkey napkin holder
as if nothing changed
tish davis
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
The poet gave up
November's melancholy
Cold turkey
Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
the next hole
in my old leather belt —
turkey stuffing
DeVar
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
5 points
farm turkey
the flip-flapping
of double chin
kala ramesh
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
Vegetarians
toss their leftover food
to the turkey
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
turkey carving -
my little grandson's mouth
already open
Zhanna P. Rader
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
4 points
cold turkey —
a starving junkie begs
for a slice
Gautam Nadkarni
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
blood moon
the wild turkeys feast
on bonfire night
Janice
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
Spooky!
what we know —
the weight of white turkeys
in afternoon light
Joyce Clement
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
I love the subtle peacefulness of them eyeing up the flock for market with the turkeys in blissful ignorance. Almost overlooked on first reading.
Turkey Day —
the poor person eats
a croissant
miorita
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
old diary
a turkey feather
for Nov. 24
Petar Tchouhov
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
seed-scratching turkeys
Black Friday shoppers
scour the sale racks
Sherry Weaver Smith
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
Thanksgiving turkey,
after hours in the oven,
kidnapped by our dog
Rey Barreto
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
between gravestones
a wild turkey wanders
thanksgiving ghost
-Neil Muscott
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
3 points
after dad's death
old hunting gear still packed
his gun and turkey caller
bre
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
indian corn —
a flock of plastic turkeys
on the neighbor's lawn
Laurene
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
young wild turkeys
come out to browse
first autumn
Bruce Ross
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
family reunion
over turkey dinner
comfortable conflict
Bill Hudson
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
again and again
dialing his wife's number —
cold turkey
Lech Szeglowski
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
rustling leaves
a wild turkey darts
between birches
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
candlelit kitchen —
the turkey's final hour
in the barbecue
Susan Constable
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
A memorable power failure that makes a great funny story, in retrospect. Nice show without tell in the first line, a set up for romance and then down to earth with emergency measures.
Renaissance faire
the old jouster
gnaws a turkey leg
Agnes Eva Savich
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
The robust humour of seeing this old geezer chewing on a turkey leg captures a familiar moment at our modern re-enactments of Renaissance events.
Staying in character, even though turkey has to substitute for some other medieval European bird.
Thanksgiving...
a turkey feather
in grandpa's cap
Carole
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Free Format Theme:
Marker
First Place -- 26 pts
new moon
the distant curve
of highway markers
Susan Constable
(2,3,14) = 26 pts
civil war marker
a tour bus
re-loads
Roberta Beary
(1,5,13) = 26 pts
The levity of visiting of civil war graves is suddenly brought into sharp present time focus with the image of "re-loads" in line 3. The past and the present meet. This haiku has a kind of sardonic, almost black comedy humor that makes me smile when I read it.
Ok, I laughed at 'reloads' versus ‘re-loads’.
Second Place -- 18 pts
scattering ashes
only this granite ledge
as a marker
Cherie Hunter Day
(1,4,7) = 18 pts
Stark and sensual!
Third Place -- 13 pts
back-country road
the stone mile marker
splotched with lichen
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,4,5) = 13 pts
autumn rain —
a tattooed man sells
permanent markers
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,3,7) = 13 pts
12 points
grave markers...
how much
does anyone need
--Irene Golas
(2,2,2) = 12 pts
grandma's Bible
the silk bookmark ribbon still
in the same place
Dorota Pyra
(1,3,3) = 12 pts
winter light on the kitchen floor
the cat
a sundial marker
April Serock
(1,2,5) = 12 pts
Nice, even if it is a cat-ku.
Lovely images and "catness".
10 points
night classes
her long slender fingers
around the marker
Petar Tchouhov
(2,0,4) = 10 pts
open road
a red-tail perched
on a mileage marker
tom painting
(0,2,6) = 10 pts
line markers etched
into the old closet door —
the inches we grew
Francine Banwarth
(0,1,8) = 10 pts
9 points
lonely journey
counting the mile markers
on the way home
RaV
(2,0,3) = 9 pts
8 points
passed down
the highway of life
genetic markers
Bill Hudson
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
spider web
between grave markers —
a fly's last flight, too
Deborah P Kolodji
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
old cemetery
Grandpa's grave marker
so hard to read
Jeanne Jorgensen
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
The dual meaning associated with attempting to read Grandpa's grave is moving. It is difficult to read the legends on the marker because they are old and weathered, but it is also difficult to read because the emotions being experienced obscure the markings. Nice layers of meaning here.
7 points
after the hurricane
a boat on the highway
high tide marker
-Neil Muscott
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
Magic Markers —
the child's trees and cows
are all bright pink
Zhanna P. Rader
(0,1,5) = 7 pts
The smile in this haiku will not stop beaming! I remember so well our children's bright color scenes proudly posted on our refrigerator door. It was a real competition for each of them.
6 points
mile marker —
we calculate the distance
left to travel
Karen Cesar
(1,0,3) = 6 pts
...and who has not traveled over this or any other holiday. The endless weary miles roll past and we count, count, count them by noting the mile markers. This mind numbing experience is well captured in simple language.
on the marker
where her ashes lie
—dewdrops
Paul Hodder
(1,0,3) = 6 pts
spring green —
still looking for the magic
in the markers
Carolyn Hall
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
treeless tundra
inuksuk casts
the only shadow
Beth Powell
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
path markers lost,
but my basket is filled
with mushrooms
Tom Maretic
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
his grave marker
3 months later
still no name
bre
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
living room artwork
he hides his magic markers
under the couch
Edward
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
5 points
the stain
of a permanent marker
lipstick on his shirt
Raquel Bailey
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
on his tombstone
I leave a pebble marker . . .
will he know?
Carol Raisfeld
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
marker
a faded teddy bear
laid on the roadside
Sherry Weaver Smith
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
Tenderly depicts so much sadness and loss.
the new editor —
circles with green marker
all the male pronouns
jill
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
4 points
girl in the mirror…
with a green marker pen
colouring hair
Daniela Bullas
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
a small beginning
under these big carrot tops —
the old row marker
P. Williams
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
Graffiti artist
Choosing each of his markers
with the utmost care
Rey Barreto
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
snow in the air
counting the pole markers
for my curved drive
Audrey Downey
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
mile marker —
a couple hugs
in my shadow
Rita Odeh
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
rainy day
the smiling toddler's
fistful of markers
Agnes Eva Savich
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
art therapy...
a gray marker mist
across the sun
Carole MacRury
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
grave marker —
on each letter
the leaves
Lech Szeglowski
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
empty saddlebags —
a felt marker line
across the map
DeVar
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
I felt the journey with this one.
another dead bee
the channel marker
obscured by fog
josh
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
3 points
magic marker…
fireflies flow
into sprites
Nancy Smith
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
early darkness —
the page marker in my second-hand book
is a love note
andrea
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
holy man
a morning glory vine
climbs his marker
erk
(0,1,1) = 3pts
pencil lines
etched in the door frame
mark our lives
Ruth Powell
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
dry clover leaf
still a marker between
my "Leaves of Grass"
Boris Nazansky
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
snow storm —
no route markers
by the highway
Jacek M.
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Nicely made haiku—a scary situation!
last marker buoy
may the Lord watch
between you and me
George Hawkins
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
fall foliage —
the white dog's marker
on every tree
Leslie Montgomery
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
coming home
to a new address . . .
grave marker
Mary Davila
(0,0,3) = 3 pts