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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 30, 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. It may take up to 24 hours for your haiku to appear once submitted. (Click “Next” at the bottom-right of the comments to see all of the submitted poems.)
PLEASE NOTE: If you are having trouble submitting in the comments section below, you may email them instead to [email protected] with subject line “HAIKU.” Our apologies for the inconvenience.
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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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beneath a street lamp
the rattle of a shadow
bicycling home
towering siren
even the bay is watching
the woman in red
those ancient habits…
gingko leaves still hanging on
into the new year
*
spryly by dayspring
scrimshaw in the skyscraper . . .
vermilion summer
*
echoes crescendo . . .
ensconced in eternal snow
Ganges flowing down
*
palm trees peekaboo . . .
mellowing my mother tongue
moon on the lagoon
*
Monica Kakkar
[3]
bluest wash of sky
cloud creatures play and frolic
over heedless crowds
1. Rice Cooker
Steam clears from the pot;
One last scoop still waits for you,
Moonlight strikes the spoon.
2. Plastic Chair
One chair in the yard;
Dust settles where voices were,
Rain forgets the yard.
3. Ant
Ant lifts up the leaf;
Vast shadows cross the pavement,
Small legs move the earth.
Green stillness in trees
Promised forgiveness in land
Beauty in each hand
Plump red lips, curved hips
Years, days, seconds, beauty bits
Wrinkles and scars sit
That brisk autumn breeze,
Milky Way, Almond joy, Twix,
Say trick or treat please
the smudged lipstick left
a message on the napkin
begging to be read.
lipstick print was proud,
but felt like they were ghosted,
at least napkin stayed.
but then lipstick cried,
because the napkin snubbed them.
(it was colorblind)
Winter’s Rescind
At winter’s rescind
Whispering buds bow to bend
Floating petals wend
Thanks for your encouraging words Margaret. ‘Nice to know my selections have safely made it into the SCP 2026 haiku mix. I’m still on a bit of a learning curve re digital and on-line protocols’ I fancy it’s likely that last year I may simply have neglected to click on the ‘Post Comment’ button, or clicked on some other nearby icon instead? All the best with the mammoth task of assessing hundreds of would-be haiku
Cheers, John S.
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Winter soaks the air
Bomb smoke swirls the endless white
Horizon on fire
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Bullets like rainfall
Evening mist blues the dust fields
Not a single tear
1. The moon hangs on sky
Cold wind is freezing my spine
How lonely am I
2. The Sun shines its light
Children run across my eyes
Oh, my youthful life
3. The eagle soars high
People smiling in July
Great America
The leaves are dancing
In the cold turbulent wind—
Strength amidst struggle
Greeted by darkness
The icy night welcomes me
With her numbing arms
The wind screams and howls
Dissonant and threatening
I sing quietly
invisible curls
fall from the sycamore’s crown
helicopter seeds
*
mittens on a string
dangling in the frosty air
smell of roast chestnuts
*
small children’s laughter
lapping at the sandy shore
the sound of sunshine
Out on the back porch
Enjoying the cool fall breeze
Hot coffee in hand
Goose hops on the road
cars -stop, wait, honk, calm waddle
best right of way clip
Hello Judges,
Below are my 2 other haiku submission for 2026. I submitted first one on 27th September.
Haiku 2
Playing peek-a-boo
Filtering sunlight flickers
Between maple leaves
Haiku 3
Sapling plantation
Drive by a new nursery
Child’s first day in school
deep in the flower
a bee forages pollen
without scarring it
like nothing happened
the river hums to the sea
after the flash flood
Furry ears snap back
A faint growl and frosty breath
The rabbit stiffens
Rolling waves crash shore
Feet scurry across hot sand
Warm, soft breeze drifts by
The water glows red
Winged shadows ripple across
Pulling nights curtain
Water soaks her socks
Sisters boots do not yet fit
Mays growth approaches
Heat cooks the cracked earth
Life lies below the surface
Begging for a drink
1.
peonies have bloomed
slugs love openly on roads
I wait for his mail
2.
grandma’s hot courtyard
way more mangoes in the tub
than all the cousins
3. rickety ladder
dad tastes a grape then plucks it
sweet ones are for us
after the spring rain —
a snail crosses milky clouds
on the puddle floor
late autumn wind —
an oak leaf caught in the fence
still trying to fly
silent winter lake —
beneath the clear sheet of ice
a fish moves the moon
the gray autumn days/
the raindrops are similar /
to other raindrops /
this belated love/
late sunflower will remain /
only a flower/
school-leaving exam
learning to swim by holding
onto a horse’s mane
MY FIRST HAIKU POEM is titled: “GRAND ENTRANCE”
Toad cavorts the pond
Spatters lotus floating pad
Splatters his belly
MY SECOND HAIKU POEM is titled: “INDIAN SUMMER”
Tell me – falling leaves
Do you mourn or do you scorn?
Your Colors – showing
MY THIRD HAIKU POEM is titled: “SPRING BREEZE”
Cherry blossoms — drift
Their skirts up in the brisk air
Spring’s beauty pageant
1. Alone in the night,
Gazing at the moon and stars,
My heart seeks a light.
2. Alone in the night,
Gazing at the moon and stars,
My heart’s seeking light.