September 2007 Kukai

Kigo Theme: 

Morning Glories

First Place -- 28 points

new neighbors —

blue morning glories

in the weed pile

Laurene

(1,5,15) = 28 pts

An effective, simple way to show how people differ.

First impressions. And, if I think of the morning glories as the neighbors, what's the weed pile?

Second Place -- 26 points

summer's end

the morning glories

enter the mailbox

RaV

(1,6,11) = 26 pts

Third Place -- 24 points

morning glories

in the chain link fence

an inmate's finger

Josh Wikoff

(0,5,14) = 24 pts

Unusual image and it conveys the isolation nicely.

Fourth Place -- 17 points

leaning together

beside her grave

morning glories

Neil Muscott

(2,2,7) = 17 pts

monastery ruins

an old trellis supports

morning glories

tom painting

(1,4,6) = 17 pts

The things that last . . .

I liked this poem’s richness of texture. On one level, the phrases “monastery ruins” and “old trellis” evoke a sense of rustic beauty. On another level, the contrast of a monastery’s weighty stonework against the light frame of a trellis makes the image of trellis and morning glories seem all the more delicate. On a deeper level, the old trellis supporting morning glories can be seen as a metaphor for how a monastery supports spiritual growth. On yet another level, the poem speaks of how something old and abandoned, such as an ancient ruins, can still support life and still have aesthetic value for those sensitive and poetic enough to see it.

Reymond B.

Fifth Place -- 14 points

hunting cabin —

morning glories cover

the outhouse

-- LGD

(0,4,6) = 14 pts

A bow to Basho's contrast of high and low.

Sixth Place -- 12 points

morning glories

closed tightly

against the night

Beth Powell

(0,5,2) = 12 pts

wind tunnel . . .

a hummingbird fans

the morning glory

Kala Ramesh

(0,3,6) = 12 pts

wild morning glory

binds a thistle

to a thistle

Mark Hollingsworth

(0,2,8) = 12 pts

Seventh Place -- 11 points

morning glories

continue to climb

toward the full moon

Harvey Jenkins

(1,0,8) = 11 pts

again I survive

dying in a dream . . .

morning glories

Collin Barber

(0,3,5) = 11 pts

Eighth Place -- 10 points

the last guest —

morning glories fading

to almost white

Cherie Hunter Day

(1,2,3) = 10 pts

Ninth Place -- 9 points

the old wall —

hiding its holes

morning glory

Maria

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

I know how the old wall feels, and I envy the quality of its cover. The dash at the end of line 1 could be dispensed with.

garden wedding —

morning glories trumpet

the bride's arrival

Tristan Coleridge

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

children laughing

near the school entrance

morning glories

gillena

(0,0,9) = 9 pts

Tenth Place -- 8 points

morning glories —

what can I say of them

that Issa hasn't

Mary Lee McClure

(1,0,5) = 8 pts

stillborn

morning glories taken

by an early frost

Karen Briggs

(1,0,5) = 8 pts

shaking moth balls

from our frayed blue quilt —

morning glories

Beverley George

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

outside pre-school —

morning glories

all lined up

Paul Hodder

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

I enjoyed the comparison of the children to the flowers.

morning glories

last night’s jazz

blares in my mind

eddybacher

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

I like the way the flare and the blare of these two are juxtaposed.

Eleventh Place -- 7 points

immigration raid

kudzu and morning glories

strangle their garden

Carmel Lively Westerman

(1,1,2) = 7 pts

morning glories

the bone trees twined

with stars

Laura Orabone

(1,1,2) = 7 pts

another day

with no dog barking —

morning glories

Israel Lopez Balan

(0,2,3) = 7 pts

just five seeds

and the morning glories

rule the garden

Glen Keener

(0,2,3) = 7 pts

coastal fog —

the morning glories

unopened

Dejah Leger

(0,0,7) = 7 pts

A nice observation.

Twelfth Place -- 6 pts

morning glories

stone still and deadly

the mantis waits

Edward

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

This juxtaposition of one of nature’s most efficient killers (the praying mantis) against delicate flowers effectively summaries the dichotomy of nature, for that is what nature is - something beautiful and deadly, something to be admired and respected. We think of ourselves as being separate from nature, but in fact mankind too is a living expression of nature; mankind too is capable of creating great beauty and great destruction. We are, perhaps, the most glorious and most terrible manifestation of nature’s dichotomy.

Reymond B.

the shadow

of a late bee

sunlit morning glory

Carole

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

the old shed —

don't let it fall

morning glories

Ann K. Schwader

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

too late

for the morning glories —

autumn wedding

Carol Pearce-Worthington

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

Having been married a couple times I know what it's like trying to find in season flowers you like for the bridal bouquet.

Thirteenth Place -- 5 points

sunrise —

the morning glories and I

wake up together

Betty

(1,1,0) = 5 pts

in the park —

morning glories idling

on a mango tree

~ Bilha Wanjiko

(1,0,2) = 5 pts

I just love "idling".

a damselfly

in the morning glories

dying breeze

Susan Constable

(1,0,2) = 5 pts

blue morning glories

bask in the remaining heat —

with them my old cat

jill

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

Sensual images; nice juxtaposition of the flowers and cat; effective use of "remaining heat" to suggest the change of season.

mourning doves

among the morning glories —

infinite blues

--Lorene

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

neighbours

peep through the fence

morning glories

Tanya Dikova

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

I couldn't resist the potential cheekiness.

last date —

morning glories

in his eyes

Ivana Vanja Nikovic

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

camouflaged

in the morning glories

Bindweed

gourdman

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

indian summer

morning glories twine

'round the pumpkin patch

~fedelmia

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

Good seasonal images.

dewdrops

on the morning glory

scattered sun

Tom Maretic

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

steel town dawn . . .

a glow of morning glories

through the smog

Nancy Smith

(0,1,3) = 5 pts

morning glories —

no space for me to

jump over the fence

~ Catherine Maina

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

This echoes the essence of a classic.

Fourteenth Place -- 4 points

Grampa disapproved

of Gramma’s morning glories

they wasted water

Deirdre Godwin

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

She brushes the hair

from her eyes

trails of morning glories

Glenn Laundre

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

morning glory

on the old paling —

the smile of grandma

miorita

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

A lovely metaphor.

A break in the clouds;

suddenly in the spotlight:

morning glories

Rey Barreto

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

colonial town

on a simple white fence

morning glories

Bruce Ross

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

windy evening —

morning glories

curve inwards

~ Anne Wairimu

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

Seeing what's there, and letting it speak.

war telegram —

morning glories

in cold glass

Ron Moss

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

old garden

the hoe's handle

winded with morning glories

Dorota Pyra

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

first kiss

morning glories

by the door

Meredith Stern Cavalieri

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

A perfectly captured moment.

Fifteenth Place -- 3 pts

sunlit

morning glories

traffic slows

Allen McGill

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

first sunbeam

through the knothole

bud of a morning glory

---Jacek M.

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

first frost

tangle of morning glory vines

still green

Jeanne Jorgensen

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Grandma's house —

Morning glories twine

over faded paint

-- Leena Halych

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Heavenly Blue —

flashbacks

of morning glories

--Autumn Moon

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

school bus coming

on a cloudless day

morning glories

Bill Kenney

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

chanting our prayers

in vacation bible school

morning glory

Pris Campbell

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

morning glories

my granny replays

a Satchmo record

Petar Tchouhov

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

morning glories —

the seed of yet

another haiku

-- Richard Kay

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

summer's end —

sapphire morning glories

curl around bronze mums

Hazel A. Witherspoon

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

General Comments:

There are getting to be so many poems each month that it is quite a task to sort them out. Lots of good morning glory poems, though.

Free Format Theme:

Rainbow

First Place -- 21 pts

sudden downpour

bleeding on a concrete sky

the chalk rainbow

Laura Orabone

(3,1,10) = 21 pts

rainbow's end. . .

the trawler's gillnet

drawn tight

Carole MacRury

(2,3,9) = 21 pts

Second Place -- 19 pts

the arc

of his line at sunrise

rainbow trout

Susan Constable

(2,3,7) = 19 pts

The peacefulness of early morning fishing well-depicted.

Almost too poetic but firmly grounded in the real.

after a storm

the rainbow bending over

what's left

Bill Kenney

(1,4,8) = 19 pts

Third Place -- 16 pts

double rainbow

her second wish

a small one

--Irene Golas

(2,2,6) = 16 pts

Were it in my power, I'd grant her a big one. She sounds like the sort of person who ought to write haiku.

autumn stillness —

rainbow trout

bump my waders

John Healey

(0,5,6) = 16 pts

For me, the bump only deepens the stillness.

Fourth Place -- 15 pts

tisk tisk of sprinklers —

over suburban lawns

look-a-like rainbows

Neil Muscott

(3,2,2) = 15 pts

Nice use of sound in this one.

Reminds me of that old song about ticky-tacky. Light satirical touch.

greens and browns —

the painted rainbow

of the bullied child

Paul Hodder

(2,3,3) = 15 pts

Very astute and tender observation.

Fifth Place -- 14 pts

fast train...

trying to catch

the rainbow

Carol Pearce-Worthington

(0,2,10) = 14 pts

Sixth Place -- 13 pts

rainbow

a dragonfly visits

the lily

Earl Keener

(1,2,6) = 13 pts

in a dew drop

on the white rose

a rainbow

Peter Macrow

(0,3,7) = 13 pts

A white rose is a lovely, romantic image all by itself. Add to it a rainbow in a dew drop and it becomes all the more enchanting. An exquisite demonstration of poetic alchemy.

Seventh Place -- 11 pts

salmon run

just where they must leap

rainbow

Bruce Ross

(1,3,2) = 11 pts

The imagery of this dynamic haiku is so vivid; I could clearly see the salmon leaping across the rainbow created by sunlight hitting the spray of water. So much action packed in so few words – well done!

sudden rainbow —

the bus arrives

almost empty

Israel Lopez Balan

(1,1,6) = 11 pts

I wanted to give this one a point because of the two mysteries: the 'sudden' rainbow and the 'almost empty' bus and how they interact. Together they help build a sense of waiting and the boredom and entertainment that gets noticed therein. Something exciting in the rainbow unexpected, something disappointing in the bus, probably empty of the one waited for.

Eighth Place -- 10 pts

brief rainbow

a dragonfly

lingers

Ann K. Schwader

(0,3,4) = 10 pts

A nice haiku moment of transition.

sunny morning —

a new spider web shines

with rainbow colors

Zhanna P. Rader

(0,3,4) = 10 pts

double rainbow

the unopened letter

on her desk

Sjs (Stevie)

(0,0,10) = 10 pts

Ninth Place -- 9 pts

on the wall

of her doll house

she paints a rainbow

Betty

(1,2,2) = 9 pts

A tender moment of a child's rendering of the reality.

an old printer

all colours of the rainbow

on his hands

--Jacek M

(0,2,5) = 9 pts

Tenth Place -- 8 pts

a rainbow arcs

the summer sky —

blunted crayons

Collin Barber

(1,1,3) = 8 pts

I love this image!! The description is exactly like it always feels for me, now painted in words.

tracing a rainbow

across the sand

a peacock

Pris Campbell

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

water sprinkler

counting the splashes

to the next rainbow

Juliusz Wnorowski

(0,2,4) = 8 pts

urban day camp

a rainbow of children

spill down the hill

Elizabeth Fanto

(0,1,6) = 8 pts

Eleventh Place -- 7 pts

sleet on the window —

my niece's rainbow

on the fridge

Keith Heiberg

(1,0,4) = 7 pts

lollipop

her rainbow

tongue

Beverley George

(0,1,5) = 7 pts

rainbow —

somehow the magic

still there

Mary Lee McClure

(0,0,7) = 7 pts

Twelfth Place -- 6 pts

rainbow . . .

Dad's fish

a 'catch and release'

Alice Frampton

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

such a long journey

from the primordial ooze

to the rainbow’s end

Deirdre Godwin

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

long rainy day ~

he depicts a rainbow

I don't see

Ana Cadarin

(1,1,1) = 6 pts

this rainbow

like me . . .

just dust in the wind

-- Richard Kay

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

for a moment —

painting the sky

...rainbow

maria

(1,0,3) = 6 pts

It is the line “for a moment” that makes this poem resonate, for it is the transient nature of rainbows that makes their beauty poignant and magical. If they lasted years they would not be so special. But no, rainbows in the sky appear infrequently and disappear too quickly. The lives of great men and woman are the same. Princess Diana, Marilyn Monroe, Luciano Pavarotti, and Martin Luther King, Jr., they came and went, painting our world with their glorious colorful lives and dis appeared too quickly from our sight. But, just as rainbows are unforgettable, so are they. “For a moment” we see rainbows but for a lifetime we remember them. Of course some rainbows, like Martin Luther King, Jr., never truly disappear because of how profoundly they touched our lives.

falling leaves

each tree sheds

a rainbow

Karen Briggs

(0,2,2) = 6 pts

Indian summer —

faded into the rocks,

the rainbow trout

Dejah Leger

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

posing

just under

the rainbow

Beth Powell

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

afternoon showers —

a plane droning

across the rainbow

~ Vivian Adhiambo

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

special child . . .

a rainbow breaks open

her smile

Ron Moss

(0,1,4) = 6 pts

Misty September

a rainbow connects

the two islands

Angelika Coloma Bygott

(0,0,6) = 6 pts

Thirteenth Place -- 5 pts

rainbow arching

above the mud

where soldiers lie

Leslie Montgomery

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

fading rainbow

pouring all of its colors

into hot air balloon

Kurt R. W.

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

fading rainbow

nobody touches

her wet hair

Petar Tchouhov

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

last farewell

the highway's end turns up

into a rainbow

Lech Szeglowski

(0,2,1) = 5 pts

night rainbow

far away on a hill

the temple lamps

Kala Ramesh

(0,1,3) = 5pts

kindergarten

a student paints a rainbow

on her dress

Carmel Lively Westerman

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

rusty Ford

in a puddle

rainbow

gourdman

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

anniversary

crystal necklace

a rainbow on her chin

andrea

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

in the splash

from the car wheel,

a little rainbow

Tom Maretic

(0,0,5) = 5 pts

Fourteenth Place -- 4 pts

rainbow haiku —

I earnestly gaze

at the sky

~ Catherine Maina

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

deep into summer

storm clouds pause for the rainbow

a dance with no lead

Harvey Jenkins

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

prism's rainbow —

classroom eyes

on the bright playground

- Munzar

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

see the rainbow

all the colors of the crayons —

daughter tells us

jill

(1,0,1) = 4 pts

Yes, kids do say the darnedest things, don’t they? That was a dandy.

oil slick

children stare at

the rainbow

Allen McGill

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

double rainbow ...

I need a new pair

of lenses

Ella W.

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

wet shoes —

street musician is looking

at the rainbow

Ivana Vanja Nikovic

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

violent prairie storm

he tells his little sister

it leaves rainbows too

Edward

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

I find kiddie ku ludicrously easy to resist, but this one tells its story elegantly and economically.

harbor seal —

motor oil rainbows spin

in the boat's wake

aom (tim)

(0,1,2) = 4 pts

Rainbow Bridge...

even this river

not filling the sea

George Hawkins

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

thruway north —

a mile of apple trees

before the rainbow

Ami

(0,0,4) = 4 pts

Fifteenth Place -- 3 pts

gay pride —

a parade of rainbow flags

dancing past

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

(1,0,0) = 3 pts

Of the two parade poems in the list, I like this one because of the exuberance it shows, a real celebration of identity comes out in the word 'dancing'.

summer cleaning

a rainbow above

the manure spreader

Janice

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Her scarf —

a rainbow of flowers

moving in the sky

--R.K.SINGH

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

deep hammock

complete

with a rainbow

Scott Mason

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Beneath the rainbow

lost in morning fog drifts

ghost trees walking

LaVerna B. Johnson

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

love parade —

everywhere

colors of the rainbow

-- Derwisz

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

'Love parade' is a little abstract, but I like the sense of feeling that saturates the poem with the word 'everywhere', it seems to instantly cause the mind to look around and confirm that all around happiness that might occur at such a parade.

acrobatic feats —

the kitten wildly pouncing

sun-catcher rainbows

~fedelmia

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

now running free

beyond the Rainbow Bridge

the dog I put to sleep yesterday

angelee deodhar

(0,1,1) = 3 pts

in the fountain

on the hand organ's music

rainbows dance

max verhart

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

horizon

and rainbow

in the mist

Cornelia

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

a rainbow

splashes the seawall

yawning seals

eddybacher

(0,0,3) = 3 pts

General Comments:

Once again it's quite difficult to cut out haiku that I like.

Somehow I didn't respond to most of the rainbow poems--even mine deserved only 4 or 5 points :)