The winning haiku can be found here
Write a haiku on any topic and post it in the comments section below. The haiku must adhere to the traditional parameters of a haiku to qualify (and may be deleted if it does not). It must…
1. Be three lines. The first line must have five syllables, the second seven syllables, and the third five syllables. Seventeen syllables total (5-7-5).
2. Contain a nature or seasonal reference: the crumbling leaves, the cold air, the smell of manure, the taste of fresh black berries, the cicadas’ buzzing.
3. Be in the present tense (swims rather than swam).
4. Be subtle and observational.
5. Contain some sort of twist in the third line: a shift in perspective or mood, a surprise, a new interpretation of the first or second line.
Read more about writing a haiku here.
When: Now until Saturday August 8, 2020 midnight EST. Winners Announced August 15, 2020.
Who: Anyone in the world, any age or background, may participate. From within the Society, anyone, including Advisory Board Members, not involved in judging the contest may participate. (If you are outside the United States, you will have to have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks to receive the prize money if you win.)
What: Each entrant may submit up to three haiku. Any topic. Must conform to traditional haiku rules above.
Where: Post your haiku in the comments section below.
Prize: $100.
Judge: Mike Bryant
Entry Fee: None
bright morning sun rays
on puddles by night showers
mirrors on the road
the mountain in rain
like a dark Indian beauty
in filmy nightgown
The dark winter night
the bright lamp beckons the moth
to its grand finalé.
sweltering summer
humidity’s a bummer
cool in your Hummer?
the virus that spreads
and sends people to their beds
lies within their heads
Pandemic
Spring sun beckons and
Birds call, “come out! come on out!”
But fear fills the air
Amendments to my second of three posted together on 3rd July:
Shogun if you must
Nippon the bullet train with
Noh valid ticket.
My other two entries now read as follows:
Nature’s fire pleases
Till Empedocles sneezes
And Etna freezes.
(I was only practising with the other ones ‘cos I’ve never written a haiku before)
How tranquil the sea:
Next day’s spring tides gleefully
Engulf you and me.
Other than worrying about who Empedocles is and why he sneezed,
I believe for me
I like the verse of all three.
They rhymed perfectly.
EMPEDOCLES AND HIS FLEAS
Empedocles’ fleas
Fly up with ease, and later
Fry in its crater.
WISHFUL THINKING
If I bawl she’ll fall
Down Stromboli and bake ‘er
Head in the crater!
Save us from ourselves.
Save us from the Evil One.
Prayer, in a nutshell.
When the eagle flies
skyward, even the mighty
oak tree dreams of wings
This haiku is withdrawn, July 7, 2020
Sad that it’s withdrawn. I think it one of the best here.
Three Haiku Poems
Three bear cubs watched men
Walking through a sylvan glen.
Then mom roared again.
Wind blowing like that
Upset my calico cat
By knocking him flat.
Bird nest in a tree.
Birdie looking down on me.
Timed hit, perfectly.
Correction for present tense of three haiku poems:
Three bear cubs watch men
Walking through a sylvan glen.
Then mom roars again.
Wind blowing like that
Upsets my calico cat
By knocking him flat.
Bird nest in a tree.
Birdie looking down on me.
Times hits, perfectly.
There was a young man from Schleswig-Holstein, who wrote haikus
In post-preterite pluperfect tense…
(Well, that’s a bit of a non-starter)
The warmth of nature
Beckons for humanity
To save or destroy
Hokusai seascape
the tips of the ocean waves
sea monster’s claws.
between empty streets
and clear blue summer skies-
your Monalisa smile
pitchblack summer night
two moths flirting in a dance
Over my phone’s light
there it was
your key to our old, cold house-
still hooked on my wall
for just one moment
when the night frogs stop chirping
an eternity
mountain majesties
yet still the powerful urge
to stare at my phone
two weeks overdue
still might not arrive today
summer thunderstorm
it contains all the vast
the Ouroboros –
the sea spins tirelessly
the same wave
nothing makes a sound,
the lone cabin in the woods—
I listen to books
My shriek is nothing
As he keeps swaying my body
From this side to that
The woods – Narnia
The hills – a print by Bruegel
Winter – by Nature
Waiting for the post
I smell mown grass and poppies
And summer is scent.
Do we find a way
By streams, crags and waterfalls
Or does it find us?
solitary leaf
left behind on withered branch
trembles in the wind
hard green tomatoes
slow to ripen on the vine
oh! blossom end rot
the virus lockdown
signs at the water bus stop:
DON’T TREAD ON DUCKS’ EGGS
the raging wildfire
firefighters find a helper
in the autumn rain
Dark black inky night
fireflies light in passion dance
bright is now the night.
1.
an elderly man
sleeping on the verandah …
wisteria scenting
2.
the transparency
of a poppy in the wind …
your evening dress
3.
on my notebook
petal of an almond tree …
studies on haiku
all alone at home…
the moon outside my window
keeps a watch on me
******
anger management
mom teaches me to sew back
the brown bear’s eyes
******
if only I knew
you would leave without goodbye
—the stillborn baby
the second one is my favorite – good work
Thank you so much, Marina.
Loved yours too.
*
a sweet summer breeze
on the floor all scattered
unfinished haiku
**
dew on my sandals—
such a magnificent sight
this morning comet
summer afternoon
in the rural reading room
librarian and flies
the cat chirps and turns
her belly up for my touch
teeth hidden for now