October 2014 Kukai

Free Format Theme: 

ANYTHING IN THE GOURD FAMILY 

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First Place -   42 Points

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in and out

of the pumpkin’s smile

. . .a spider

Carole MacRury

(2,8,20) = 42 pts

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Second Place -  30 Points

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watermelon ...

explaining the world 

to my son

Billy Antonio

Laoac, Philippines

(0,9,12) = 30 pts

**Nice one. I like the picture in this haiku.

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Third Place -  19 Points

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carving pumpkins

the gap-toothed grins

of the children

Bill Kenney

(1,3,10) = 19 pts

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18 Points 

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late autumn

this pumpkin still waiting

for a face

Barbara Campitelli

(0,3,12) = 18 pts

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17 Points 

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vine trellis -

the half curl of memories

in the tendrils

Arvinder Kaur

Chandigarh,India

(2,1,9) = 17 pts

pumpkin field—

the blind child searches

for one that smiles

Carl Seguiban

Canada

(1,3,8) = 17 pts 

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16 Points 

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squash blossoms-

the newborn's fingers

curled around mine

Anonymous

(0,4,8) = 16 pts

**Something about this one . . . gets to me.

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15 Points 

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empty gourd-

the rhythm of life

in her belly

Rita Odeh

Nazareth, Israel

(0,4,7) = 15 pts

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13 Points 

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moonstruck

all the watermelons

asleep in a field

Ron C. Moss

(1,3,4) = 13 pts

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12 Points 

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spilled guts

my son’s pumpkin 

coming clean

Tom Painting

(2,1,4) = 12 pts

**I can almost guess the author.

a hollow song

through the gourd shell

late autumn

Beth Powell

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

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10 Points 

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pumpkins for sale

the sun bounces off 

a fat man's belly

Samar Ghose

Australia

(1,1,5) = 10 pts

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9 Points 

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gourd nests

some wrens looking out

and some looking in

Ramesh Anand

Bangalore, India

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

cold autumn day

pickled cucumber

still full of summer

Frances O'Keeffe

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

a pile

of expressionless

pumpkins

John McDonald

Edinburgh Scotland

(0,0,9) = 9 pts

a monarch flits

from pumpkin to pumpkin

Indian summer

Alan S. Bridges

(0,0,9) = 9 pts

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8 Points 

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late afternoon...

a crow watches over

the melon seeds

Paresh Tiwari

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

All Souls’ fog

faceless pumpkins

rot in a field

LeRoy Gorman

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

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7 Points 

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gourd harvest

the old hand cart moans

inwardly

(Ramona)

(1,1,2) = 7 pts

autumn night 

hokkaido squash soup

for two

Ralf Bröker

(1,1,2) = 7 pts

on the mantle

in the safari gourd

his ashes

Bernard Gieske

(0,2,3) = 7 pts

**Better with [L2] leaving out "in", and [L3] maybe "with his ashes."

from a gourd

she makes a vase –

it's raining

Miorita

(0,1,5) = 7 pts

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6 Points 

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an unpicked pumpkin

standing alone

at the school dance

Carolyn Coit Dancy

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

the pumpkin's new look

a squirrel gives the face

a second nose

Adelaide B. Shaw

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

minus feathers

and waddle

the long necked gourd

Terra Martin

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

even the clouds

are carving a pumpkin

for tonight

Anne Zooey Lind

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

moon above the garden -

my child counts the melons

again and again

Dan Iulian

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

pumpkin patch

the toothless grins

of grade schoolers

Michele L. Harvey 

USA

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

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5 Points 

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old castle -

the tourists take pictures

of a pumpkin blossom

Radka Mindova

Bulgaria

(1,0,2) = 5 pts

first freeze

the green field

now stippled orange

Bill Hudson

(1,0,2) = 5 pts

scraping seeds

from an acorn squash-

the brains of it!

--Kirsty Karkow

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

**Ha! I had that same thought as a kid and couldn't eat squash for years!

timetable life —

how the cucumber

tastes without salt

Vinay Leo R.

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

**Better maybe with [L1/L2] = what a cucumber tastes like / without

{any) salt

orange rain

his pumpkin catapult

misfires

Edward

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

rainy season --

a watermelon hides

among maize plants

~ AUGUSTUS MUTETI

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

all the lies-

a dusting of ash

on the gourd

Shrikaanth Krishnamurthy

Birmingham, UK

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

Shadows at dusk -

a scarecrow watches

the last pumpkin

Virginia Popescu 

PHOENIX

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

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4 Points 

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first frost

once smiling pumpkin

weeps

Doris

(0,2,0) = 4 pts

wind-polished

a gourd with the face

of an Inca warrior

Michael McClintock

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

through the bus window

a vendor sells slices --

watermelons!

~ Beatrice Syombua

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

first halloween

the baby

all pumpkin

Roberta Beary

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

sun dried gourd

a new head

for the scarecrow

Binnoo

India

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

chopping vegetables 

after the fight...

bitter gourd

~Devika

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

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3 Points 

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state fair...

watermelon rind pickles

win first prize

Tom Conally

Gibsonville, NC

(1,0,0) = 3 pts

don't they grow!

nearly the same height

toddler and pumpkin

maxianne

(1,0,0) = 3 pts

Jack O'Lantern's grin -

very heavy rain crashing 

against my window

Daniela Bullas

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

all shapes and sizes

a gourd display across from

Weight Watchers

Harvey Jenkins

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

travel with the load -

all pumpkins bouncing

in the same moment

Tomislav

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

^^I decided for a long period between the load and the cargo… I was hitchhiker and a truck driver took me among his pumpkins…!

it scares my daughter

in a different way-- 

curried pumpkin

Bridget Cougar

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

**This made me smile.

the worker ants 

in their stained uniforms -- 

smashed watermelon

Jayashree Maniyil

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

slithering drool

~ the snake gourd hisses

on the griddle

Raamesh Gowri Raghavan,

Mumbai, India

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

All Saints evening-

on the old battlefield

a path of pumpkins

cFc

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

**Actually good material, but the text should be worked on, maybe

[L3] = a patch of pumpkins

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2 Points 

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Maracas sizzled

their way through blazing guitars -

Mariachi soul. 

Robert C. Howard

Belleville, Illinois

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

Jack's lantern

wears a foolish grin

first November dawn

assu

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

waxing 

with the gourds - 

the moon stops

Ajaya Mahala 

Pune, India

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

evening cool --

withered pumpkin leaves

regain their shape

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

^^Melons, pumpkins and gourds are plentiful in Kenya

raining -

a seller gives to the old man

the squash he can't afford

Steliana Cristina Voicu

(Romania)

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

a monster

lurking in the shadows

Zucchini patch

Barbara Snow

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

the widower

picks the greenest

bitter gourd...

autumn drizzle

Alegria Imperial

(0,1,0) = 2 pts

terror in the night...

the hollow and twisted face

of a huge pumpkin

Keith A. SIMMONDS

Rodez, FRANCE

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

tying a knot

in the neck of a long handle

dipper gourd

gourdman

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

warm soup

served in a brown gourd --

party time

~ Synaidah Kal

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

the gourd family

lines up for a photograph

smile, it's Hallowe'en!

Garry Eaton

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

farmstand pumpkins

now with a removable

warning label

--Diane Mayr

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

long night --

we bring home a growler

of pumpkin ale

Angie Werren

Amelia, Ohio

USA

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

baking the squash

cut side down

like her mother

Ruth Powell

(0,0,2) = 2 pts

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1 Point

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autumn wind in the squash patch

green pattypan saucers

ready for liftoff

F.J. Bergmann

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

Jack -o'- lantern

who is in there peeps

the kid

Kumarendra Mallick

Hyderabad India

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

sun sets on trees...

while drums beat gourd rattles shake

and spirits dance

Pat

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

"pumpkin!?"

"sorry, jack, busy

carving"

dust

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

not smiling…

a gourd similar

in shape

D W Skrivseth

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

breakfast time--

bittergourd juice and

her glucometer

Yesha Shah

Surat, India

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

the first frost

kills leaves and vines

but not the pumpkins

DeVar

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

in Xanth* a hypnogourd

leads to the dream realm--

I carve a pumpkin

Brenda Roberts

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

^^Xanth, popular fiction series by Piers Anthony

dad at work in Spain -

the little girl is playing

with a smiley gourd

Cristina Oprea

(0,0,1) = 1 pts

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No Points This Time, Sorry. 

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dark jack o’ lantern

on the hardwood floor

discarded ghosts

Ignatius Fay

Finally googled:

Zucchini - all that you want -

and even healthy

Horst Ludwig

ecstatic dancing

to the rhythm

of the gourds

Barbara A. Taylor

Australia

the Perfect Pumpkin:

angled arms struggling

with its roundness

Sheila K.Barksdale

 zucchini flowers

in sunlight or batter

nourishing needs

Gerry Bravi (Canada)

Jack-o-lantern--

the flame won't catch until

you help me shade the wind

Anonymous

new collection-

full moon on a pumpkin

on the hay stack

Lavana kray

Romania

pumpkin cider, Ella,

pumpkin diamonds

midnight

Petya Gleridis

interior design -

in the bathroom she uses a

dishcloth gourd

Anonymous

on a porch bench

a Halloween pumpkin waits

trick or treat

RD McManes

deserted landscape

a weary wheelbarrow

full of rotten watermelons

Oddbjørn Aardalen

cucumber pickles

crunchy and crispy

Dad's flavor

Yukiko Yamada

a pile of pumpkins

awaiting the carver’s knife

to become fearsome

Deirdre Godwin

the full moon

over my fathers bald head

over his prize pumpkin

Jon Espen Vassbotn

the cabbage moth

surrenders

to the pumpkin

Bill Gottlieb

making soup

out of his eyes

- pumpkin head

Paul Hodder

more overtime...

warty gourds where the sweet corn once was

Laurene

curiosity and wonder

odd shapes and colors . . .

a gourd-piled puzzle

ewp

piccolino a gourd? a gourd!

Donna Bauerly,

Dubuque, IA

^^piccolinos are a small tasty gourd! I love them!

aroma of spices

half dozen zucchini

breads baking

Jane DeJonghe

scraping seeds

from the gourd . . .

drums across the hollow

Bill Pauly

polynesian art

intricate carvings

on the calabash

Elaine Riddell

magical pumpkin--

four mice assemble

at one side

James Dobson,

Prudhoe, UK.

Hunters Moon...

Sarge sips white lightning

from a hollow gourd

Anonymous 

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General Comments:

**GOOD GOURD! :) (should have entered this one!) [the free format kukai]

**I could easily have voted for more. Thanks for your time and the opportunity.

**Quite a few good ones on a theme that was not so poetic ! Difficult choices !

**Thanks again for the invitation to participate in this kukai, and the opportunity to read and vote for one among the entries.

**General comment : It was hard for me to find haiku to vote for, as I could not understand the cultural references in most of them -- probably related to the way Hallowe'en is celebrated in some countries. I did, however, appreciate those I selected.

** It seems so strange to me to see pumpkins as objects, rather than food...

**Thank you for the insight this theme brought!

**Lower than average quantity and, I believe, quality in this category. That's why I may seem stingy in assigning points this month.

**General comment (and excuse the pun): slim pickings

**Finally googled:

Zucchini - all that you want -

and even healthy

Did you know they can even grow to baseball bat length?

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