WHR March 2019 THE R. H. Blyth Award 2019 (Haiku)  Susumu Takiguchi announcing the Award at the World Haiku Utsav
* * * * *
The World Haiku Club is pleased to announce that the winner of The R. H. Blyth Award 2019 (Haiku), who will recieve GBP 300 minus money transfer fees, is as follows: THE R. H. Blyth Award 2019 (Haiku) Winner
fallen leaves the lost time of another life
TRIVENI World Haiku Utsav 2019, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India, 1-3 February 2019
COMMENTS by Susumu Takiguchi Many of the good entries for this year’s R. H. Blyth Award (Haiku) have demonstrated rather dark and anxious themes. It may perhaps be a reflection of the dark and anxious time we live in today. However, at any time in our history we have always had wars, illnesses, old age problems, massacres and existentialist anxieties. If we could ask people long dead in the medieval time or in the 19th century or whenever it was, they could have answered, “Well, to be honest our situation is much worse than yours. You are absolutely lucky.” And it is a good thing that more than a handful of haiku poets are honest and brave enough to deal with these difficult subjects. This is one of the conspicuous characteristics of the R. H. Blyth Award this year. We had an enormous number of submissions from across the world and the selection job proved to be three times or four times as big as usual. Some of them even enquire, deep inside us, into our inability to cope with these formidable challenges. Their haiku are therefore about our perplexity, self-doubt, resignation, loss of identity, direction or hope, disillusionment and despair. The Award-winning haiku has come out as the finest example of honest haiku by those facing up to this human frailty. In only eight plain words, it reaches a universal truth, depicts an inconvenient fact with detachment and creates a resigned observation of the seemingly unending cycle of life and death and the human predicament of being at the mercy of it. The layers of fallen leaves hide many realities as they decay and die. They may be completely ignored or forgotten until, that is, next time leaves fall again. Our lives follow the same natural pattern. And death hides all the vicissitudes of each of our lives. Its long, long story now looks but a momentary memory of our time lost. We are all therefore condemned to repeat the same search in perpetuity as in À la recherche du temps perdu. The author is an Italian writer, poet, teacher and haijin, living in Milano. THE R. H. Blyth Award 2019 (Haiku) TWO RUNNERS UP
she greets the stranger Mary Alves Sella United States (About this haiku, see the Editor’s Choice of the present issue)
fading contrails a line of refugees Jay Friedenberg
A brief comment by Susumu Takiguchi: A powerful haiku on an inconvenient truth which has become horrendously common across the world. And how timely and topical it is! The embodiment of haiku capable of dealing with serious questions of our contemporary time. And yet, apart from the contrails, it has also been the same old problem for us humans from the time immemorial. Thus, it is a universal truth in time and space. Let us therefore not call it the Mexican border, or Syria. It is a human and universal tragedy. The images of L1 and L2 present an exemplary toriawase of exquisite nuances and subtleties, rarely seen among shallow and meaningless juxtapositions around.
SEVEN HONORABLE MENTIONS (In no particular order)
first frost a drop of whisky in father’s tea
Rachel Sutcliffe England
a row of backbones facing a row of clouds — rice planting song
Indra Neil Mekala India
the dervish’s dance… spring wind swirls in each whirl Ali Znaidi Tunisia storm shadows souls of the pogrom forgotten by humankind Marilyn Humbert Australia
the emptiness Christina Sng
river eddy ... what is it that I've lost
Sanjuktaa Asopa India
distant starlight the way we cling to illusion Jay Friedenberg United States
THE REST OF THE SHORT-LISTED HAIKU (In no particular order) As there were so many good haiku in the short list from which the best ten were selected, it has been decided that the rest should also be shown.
abandoned station a fragrance of thyme at every step to nowhere Annie Chassing France
without leaves the ginkgo even thinner her chemo treatment
Gregory Longenecker USA
bedtime story... she asks me to be louder for the stars
Akila Gopalakrishnan India
care home the potter shaping the sense of things
Mary Stevens USA
losing my way. . . raindrops find the part in my hair Carole MacRury USA
flying kites... untangling the knots of my mind
Lakshmi Iyer India
our unsaid goodbyes cormorant picks over what the tide left Hélène Duc France
heat wave – melting asphalt reshaping a shoe print
too early snowflakes... how soft the sound of falling night
Gautam Nadkarni, India
funeral’s end with each step measuring the depth of silence
Hélène Duc France war memories - father's arthritic hands collect the olives Goran Gatalica Croatia
winter chill... on the zip of the sleeping bag
K. Ramesh India mountainside— the rugged ride of eagle's shadow Adjei Agyei-Baah only heavy rain Maxianne Berger cut branches Christina Sng
palmistry... on the curve of my life line so many deadlines
ZATSUEI, haiku of merit (In no particular order)
egg moon ellipses of geese penetrate it
Canada
hushed evening spent with owls Roberta Beach Jacobson USA
a crescent moon
the sky's clear enough to spot Polaris . . . New Year begins
Barnabas Adeleke Nigeria
autumn crocus mother’s memories from before she was a mother
Debbi Antebi United Kingdom
breaking in the pointed shoes spring thaw
Debbi Antebi United Kingdom
doc says the labour has started ... half-open tulip
Sanjuktaa Asopa India
hummingbird mistaking my ear for a petunia
Joan Barrett USA at the wake your hammock weighed down by dogs Danny Blackwell UK Citizen, resident in Valencia, Spain
too young to look so old — grey temples
Julie Bloss Kelsey USA
cicada shell clinging to the wall... its soul
Ed Bremson
old school a collared dove pounds the frost
Helen Buckingham UK
waves fold water Owen Bullock, New Zealand the domino effect of dog barks Claire Vogel Camargo USA harvest over . . . Kanchan Chatterjee India.
night drive silvered arms of trees and Chopin
Poland ladybirds swarming into the concrete bunker... war headlines
Romania
watches me with one eye and a languid stretch Ben Clarkson New Zealand Desert street - stuck in a gridlock of memories
Vassileios Comporozos Greece
encounter despite the winter a butterfly
Maria Concetta Conti Italy a garden with no children Italy
family dance around the young cherry tree its first blossom
Henryk Czempiel Poland
mushroom gathering saving the biggest ones for the soup kitchen
United Kingdom
frozen river the ducks as usual but on foot
Marie Derley Ath-city, Belgium
waterfall
moor -
neighbour’s wedding the singing crickets in my backyard
India
United States of America
summer road trip my father's ashes in the wind
Joseph Fulkerson Kentucky, USA
empty square a mobile phone is ringing from a litter bin
Zelyko Funda Croatia grazing cows . . . the wind chases sleepy spring across the meadow
Ivan Gaćina Croatia
on snowy branches ... hospice garden Lucia Cardillo - Rodi Garganico Italia
thaw drip a little girl jumps imaginary rope Russia
night anemones the rhythms of tide and moon
Australia
rainy hike loving words turn to hail The Netherlands
cherry blossom rain - his vocabulary so poor Dan Iulian Romania post box... empty sound of her love letters
Lakshmi Iyer India
what else is there that I need? Damir Janjalija Montenegro
Night train last race to the dark unknown
Padmini Krishnan Singapore
new year without fireworks – only full moon
Capotă Daniela Lăcrămioara Roumanie
celestial vault mom's still knitting up there
Hervé Le Gall France pier fishing— he eats the bait for dinner Michael H. Lester USA paper thin— the skin on grandma's arm numbered, like her days Michael H. Lester USA
obedient only to herself: morning glory defies the evening
Priscilla H. Lignori United States
scattered blossoms sparrows reclaim the schoolyard after recess Gregory Longenecker USA
I forgive you poor mosquito . . . I’m hungry too Carole MacRury USA things that come things that go lacewing
Marietta McGregor Australia
Arriving hungry – May this smell of coffee be from my home!
Franklin Magalhães Brazil
spider web— between wars rumours of war
Martha Magenta United Kingdom
sea of silence my voice sailing to a distant shore
India
clear water . . . floating petals followed by their shadows Tomislav Maretic
nightfall curfew the old man walks his dog
Anna Maris Sweden
longest day… bait fish in a bucket dance in the sun
USA
strong breeze — the bulging branches of cart puller’s veins
India June breeze I sign for a package with my finger Paul Miller United States
lunar eclipse - the girl puts on her first foundation
Radka Mindova Bulgaria
plucked dandelions still longing for the longing in her eyes
Gautam Nadkarni, India
not willing to move the snail or I Ashish Narain The Philippines washing plates with her tears... girl of ten
Shreya Narang India
A moment, the sea takes the shape of your body, carrying it off-shore Ecaterina Neagoe Romania
autumn wildfire weak bladder Franjo Ordanić Croatia
home baked cookies how does mom know how much love to add
Vandana Parashar India
first blossoms stronger than sight the sound of bees
Dejan Pavlinovic Croatia
offshore breeze I lick my lips to taste the sea Jacquie Pearce Canada my toes in the pond a frog jumps in
USA
graying sky, a sudden chill as the moon blots out the sun
U.S.A.
mid-winter . . . sunlight brings out the grain on the old headstones
Bruce Ross USA
yesterday’s funeral the lingering scent of mother’s lilies
Sydney, Australia
cheese-maker in tears - his sheep ate the pine boletes Djurdja Vukelic Rozic Croatia
Power cut - darkness connecting man to the moon
India
bitter rain stops my father fixing the roof for another war
Greece first handful of dirt cemetery mockingbirds keening heavenward
Agnes Eva Savich USA
anniversary a postcard addressed to somebody else
Vessislava Savova Bulgaria
I follow my shadow home winter sunset Mary Alves Sella United States
Alzheimer's- Granny again counts the floor tiles
Diksha Sharma India
spring accessories purple and yellow crocus on a grassy bank
Adelaide B. Shaw USA
on the horizon an eagle appears to be saluting the sun
Stuart Jay Silverman U.S.A.,
The midnight hour…
Keith A. Simmonds
Persian garden –
New Zealand sudden rain -
Montenegro cold rain unpicked apple tree hung naked Dimitrij Škrk Slovenia (Translated by Đ.V.Rožić) northern lights the blur of scarves as skaters pass
Canada
behind a curtain of falling snow village cenotaph
Rachel Sutcliffe England Storm In the wind’s voice There are notes of disquiet… The bending pines groan. Vitaly Svirin Russia
heavy snowflakes each word of the refugee melting something
Romania
wrapped in fog the whisper of owl's wings above my head
Barbara Tate USA
frosty morning... your warm breath tickles my lips Diana Teneva Bulgaria speaks a language i can understand
clothesline : a rogue wind arm-twists my blouses Vidya S Venkatramani India
The Moon
Silent in the sky
Felice Vinci Italy such weakness! I rest my head on the table… thin dust Anita Virgil USA
winter evening just the right amount of tea leaves
Pragya Vishnoi India
in the meadow of daffodils… no one to count Lyrids Steliana Cristina Voicu Romania
mellow rich sunset
takes handful of rich soil honor, sweat and debt.
helter skelter down the wheelchair ramp green acorns
United States
blizzard clouds swallow the wolf moon – dreams rise to a squirrel’s nest Tyson West USA the garden of Eden falling leaves Ernest Wit Poland early morning hike the forest path well hidden beneath knee deep mist
USA the taste of late summer fruit … grabbing what's left
Beata Wrzal U.K.
drought … sharing the waterhole predators and their prey
Beata Wrzal U.K.
|
WHR March 2019 >
