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WHO
Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not a U.S. resident, must have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks, in order to receive prize money.
IMPORTANT: By submitting haiku to this contest, the contestant declares that the poems are his or her own work, and that they were written in the last twelve months and therefore are not a repeat submission from a previous year. Poems written using artificial intelligence (AI) are not allowed. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
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PRIZE
$200
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JUDGES
J. Thomas Rimer, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art at the University of Pittsburgh; former chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress.
Margaret Coats, Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University; retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
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WHEN
Now until September 25, 2026, 6 p.m. EST (New York time). Results to be announced October 9, 2026. Please check back on October 9 or after to view the “Best Haiku of 2026” selected from this competition.
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HOW
Post your entries in the Comments below.
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WHAT
Each competitor may post in the comments below up to three haiku of traditional form: three lines per poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third. Entrants are recommended to conform to other traditional haiku requirements outlined HERE.
If you want coaching on haiku features, please read the examples and explanation before submitting your entries. Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment. This is permitted until the competition closes, but do take reasonable care to complete work to your satisfaction before you enter it. Please do not use the Comment area as your scratch pad. That is discourteous to other competitors, to interested readers, and to the judge and will disqualify you.
Entries that do not meet basic traditional haiku requirements may be deleted. Anyone who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.
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PAST WINNERS
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Humanity
———–
Greatest religion ever
Of the man called humanity
Best boon of the God.
Love
——
Love shining forever
Like the Sun to energise
Minds to survive well.
Sunsets
———
Sunsets paint mind deep
Colorful dreams creation
Soothing feelings come.
Gazing at the moon
Touched by silent summer breeze
Wishing you were here
In the spring garden
We stop and smell the roses
Love is in the air
A Scots High-coo/haiku Foible
Ye ken a haiku?
Aye lad, a coo up the brae;
Reid beast o’ the mist
oh, the page can’t be
intentionally left blank
not if it says so
Victoria falls
only to pick herself up
as the Zambesi
who took it and why
if you find out none took it
it’s a limerick
#1
HOME DEPOT’s warm glow
sparrows and swallows nesting
in the cradling O’s
[plural of capital letter O?
I defer to the house style]
Haiku #1
Title: Broken
Cold winter morning
Eggshell fragments in the bin —
The world’s broken, too
–©️ Rupali Mistry, India
Haiku #2
Title: Yearning
A rainy afternoon
Birds snuggle up in the trees —
My heart yearns for you.
-©️ Rupali Mistry, India
“first rain of the fire horse”
lunar rain-drip eaves
in a courtesan’s boudoir
me, a scholar’s stone
© Emily C. A. Snyder (2026)
Haiku #3
Title: Lost
Sunset in Summer
Weary heart turns to head home —
Night swallows the path
–©️ Rupali Mistry, India
Haiku #1: Lakeside
Go to the lakeside,
The frogs and the crabs will sing
For you raw and clean.
Haiku #2: Potato
Cut potato slips,
With the root still in the ground,
It will sprout again.
Haiku #3: New Baby
New baby mother,
Welcome, the new baby born
The world is plus one.
Yellow leaves, red leaves
Brown leaves, fallen leaves, dead leaves
Leaves for Florida
the breakfasting sun
shares its redness with clouds that
hunger for color
Land snakes crawling from
rising river flood waters—
can swim if they must
August heat cocoons
me in my shaded lounge chair
daring me to stir
sweet bourbon skyline
clinking clouds crash quietly
fireflies celebrate
east winds awaken
dandelion dust remains
hushed germination
platinum clouds shift
harvest moon plays hide and seek
coquettish foreplay
On a certain day
we caught many crows
but their cries all flew away.
September jonquil
you’re a little late here, pal–
the parties over.
High up in the sky
O buzzard, your shadow falls
on some patch of earth.
If to die’s to tire
of your blues, dewy lupine,
I am immortal.
September jonquil
you’re a little late here, pal–
the parties over.
In the sun’s last light
a grackle washed its purple
into a puddle
1) If to die’s to tire
of your blues, dewy lupine,
I am immortal.
2) September jonquil
you’re a little late here, pal–
the party’s over.
3) In the sun’s last light
a grackle washed its purple
into a puddle
Orchids bloom, then wilt
The gift and the price of time
Life in the garden
deepening autumn
across the border fence
folded paper cranes
wildflowers around
rows of unvisited graves
endless summer rain
pressed purple petals
a handwritten eulogy
wisteria still hangs
There’s a mistake in my third Haiku. I’ll resubmit all three with the correction. Sorry.
A drowsy owl nests
amid the brown pine needles
his headless mouse sleeps.
Alligator eyes
floating after the monsoon
watch otters playing.
The jubilant dog
spins and kicks dry autumn leaves
scattering fresh snow.
Hello team,
Did not realize all three had to be submitted together. Please consider this one to be my entry.
Haiku #1
Title: Broken
Cold winter morning
Eggshell fragments in the bin —
The world’s broken, too.
Haiku #2
Title: Yearning
Rainy afternoon
Birds snuggle up in the trees —
My heart yearns for you.
Haiku #3
Title: Lost
Sunset in Summer
Weary heart turns to head home —
Night swallows the path
–©️ Rupali Mistry, 1st August 2026, India
The soil dark and wet,
Beneath my feet, dew drops fall,
Mist after the rain.
__________________
Humid is the air,
Trickling down, across my face,
Sweat from summer heat.
___________________
On my barren cheek,
Kissed by frosty, winter snow,
Sweat from summer heat.
Haiku entry:
Short my canvas falls
Painted gingko beyond brush
By Him shades I mime