Best Ten Haiku, January 2010
BEST TEN AND HAIKU OF MERIT (Zatsuei)
BEST TEN FROM ALL THREE CATEGORIES (Neo-classical, Shintai and Vanguard)
In this issue, the usual classification of the above three categories is dropped.
First Place
Winter chill
telephone wire
40 birds wing to wing
Leslie Anders
Second Place
Locked between
my bed and quilt
December chill
R.K.Singh, India
Third Place
cold breeze
the willow swings
to broken shadows
Alexander Ask, Australia
Seven Honourable Mentions
(in no particular order)
silence
darkness breaks
the galah’s cry
Alexander Ask, Australia
He stepped
on the shadow of his boss
at the farewell party
Kai Falkman, Sweden
sudden rain
her umbrella widens
to take her lover in
Victor P. Gendrano, U. S. A.
rush hour
a street evangelist
upbraids traffic
William Hart
coperti d’erba
i corpi dei soldati
sognano fiori
covered by grass
the soldiers’ bodies
dream of flowers
Moussia Fantoli, Italy
earth and water bound-
my freedom is
sky
Aju Mukhopadhyay, India
arthritis
the dog chews
an old bone
André Surridge
Other Haiku of Merit
(Zatsu-ei, in no particular order)
notte d'autunno
entro nel buio e trovo
un altro buio
Autumn night
I go in the darkness and find
another darkness
Shadow, Italy
the sting of tears…
braiding
fresh garlic
Linda Pilarski
spreading sunscreen
on face, arms, legs…this year
who will do my back?
Peggy Heinrich, U. S. A.
ceppo nel fuoco
diventano faville
tutti i suoi anni
log in the fire
all its years
become sparks
Moussia Fantoli, Italy
The horizon of the sea
is cut in pieces
by the wing beats of the gull
Kai Falkman, Sweden
frozen morning
the wire fence
barbed with frost
André Surridge
luci di notte
miraggi nel buio di un
deserto urbano
lights in the night
mirages in the darkness
of an urban desert
HAIKU DI BRANDO – WHCITALIAN
sidewalk frenzy
the homeless boys fight
for a tossed quarter
Victor P. Gendrano, U. S. A.
bright winter morning
I ask the spider to move
before raising the slats
Peggy Heinrich, U. S. A.
the cold moon wanes
a piece of the sky
looms larger
William Sorlien, U. S. A.
Cars skid on ice
near miss squeal
then drive on
Leslie Anders
kangaroo carcass
a murder of crows
at the crime scene
Alexander Ask, Australia
Along the shady trail
sun splashes browned leaves
to gold.
Jerry Bolick
Pulling out his map
the bicycle rider stands
still in the cross roads.
Jerry Bolick
the morning glares
on the windowsill --
the Koran on the lap
Gerd Boerner, Germany
giorno dei morti
coltre di ciclamini
e un usignuolo
All Souls' Day
blanket of cyclamens
and a nightingale
HAIKU DI BRANDO – WHCITALIAN
after Salvatore Quasimodo
sound-bites
pierce the consciousness
and it's quickly evening
Raffael de Gruttola, U.S.A.
Spider on the line
up in the air
as the flag is hoisted
Kai Falkman, Sweden
The day’s pasta
erased from the menu
by the shower
Kai Falkman, Sweden
On the napkin
imprint of her lips
from the beetroot
Kai Falkman, Sweden
schoolyard jungle
the bullied boy
commits suicide
Victor P. Gendrano, U. S. A.
the dog in the surf
tired of chasing a stick
goes blind to it
William Hart
a new day
squeezes through a pinhole
in the curtain
William Hart
contrail
cut across blue skies
turn to feathers and disappear
Marilyn Linn, Australia
old man – tick tock
soon it will be morning –
life slips away
Marilyn Linn, Australia
ponte di notte
la mia ombra seguita
da un’altra ombra
bridge in the night
my shadow followed
by another’s
Moussia Fantoli, Italy
la stessa strada
non serba nessun eco
di tanti passi
on the same path
no echo
of so many steps
Moussia Fantoli, Italy
picnic by the dunes
a seagull flies down to join us
and our bag of chips
Peggy Heinrich, U. S. A.
three feet of snow . . .
taking turns at the feeder
blue jay and squirrel
Peggy Heinrich, U. S. A.
I open a can
of tuna fish onto a white dish
and leave it outside
Howard Lee Kilby, U. S. A.
I swatted the spider
freeing the wasp
and away it flew
Howard Lee Kilby, U. S. A.
after a spring shower
laundry hanging on the line
continues to dry
Tomislav Maretic, Croatia
lawn mowing done –
on a missed dandelion
a butterfly alights
Tomislav Maretic, Croatia
jasmine bud
opens very slowly;
a bride in the dusk
Aju Mukhopadhyay, India
flapping on
this year’s buds
last year’s kite
Linda Pilarski
north wind
tattered fabric
on the fence
Linda Pilarski
frost (shimo, all winter).
window frost ~
a De kooning abstract
in light and white
Narayanan Raghunathan, India
winter grasses [and forbs] (fuyu kusa, all winter). Often translated 'winter grass', but has a much broader meaning.
winter grasses ~
the horizon extends to
the seamless void
Narayanan Raghunathan, India
summer solstice
within the steady wind
wood frogs
Bruce Ross, U. S. A.
damp basement
the cricket hides
in my shadow
Bruce Ross, U. S. A.
cade la pioggia
le gocce contro i vetri
il solo suono
rain falls
the drops onto the window panes
the only sound
Shadow, Italy
white christmas
winter waves wash
Hawaii's shoreline
shanna
On the beach
she combs her long hair:
Aphrodite
R.K.Singh, India
comet's tail--
a moth flies
to distant light
Sherry Weaver Smith, USA
hats and gloves
and scarves and coats
white breath
William Sorlien, U. S. A.
confiding in the scarecrow -
a vow to change the world
William Sorlien, U. S. A.
rain at dusk
my poems wash away
to feed the earth
William Sorlien, U. S. A.
white frost
the temple of four winds
deserted
André Surridge
head on one side
the blind girl listens
falling snow
André Surridge