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
#1
Six in the morning.
Barefoot on the grass. Thousands
of cold dew droplets.
#2
light wind on the skin
the silent singing of birds
evening in the wood
***
Greetings from Poland!
after Ryokan
within each snow flake
are a thousand plum blossoms
even now falling
at the street market
new dress for an immigrant –
lilies of the field
**
delicious taste
of a watermelon seed –
silence break
**
summer noon traffic –
in the ecodoppler room
tense silence
2020 Summer Boys (30 June)
While June is sinking,
Time’s winking, days now shrinking;
Bats are flying not.
2020 Summer in Seattle (1 July)
Summer of Love, 2:
Rape and loot, and sometimes shoot
Mayor: “Stop, not here!”
2020 Summer at My Home (18 July)
Children jump and tease.
Trees in breeze dancing with ease.
Weapons of my hope.
The Amazon tract
is called the lungs of the world.
Now it is gasping!
In like a lion,
more like a ragamuffin.
Must be climate change.
Haiku #1- I am so thirsty.
The desert marks cruelty.
Snow thus relaxes.
Haiku #2- Waves break the branches.
The tree shivers with self-doubt.
All is calm and well.
Haiku # 3- The tornado lives.
Why does the life go away?
Please, is it real?
Tell me, what largesse
Let the mighty Dipper tip
Stars across the grass?
Frozen feet in snow,
Mountain top in rosy glow,
Not so far; let’s go!
Raucous leaves will race.
Moon can’t hold her silver veil
Still about her face.
A field of daisies
I lay silent among them
Ne’er to stir again
Rustlings in the wind
Could it be they call me forth?
To take the first step
I do not lay still
Ripples form throughout the pond
Disturbed but alive
1. New Rain
dawning of Petrichor
heralding a blaze of shoots-
Tardigrades reborn
2. Lady at the Beach
cute betrothed lady
basking on sunny beach –
enthralling cone snail
3. The Fruit Seller
he stood, eyes gaping
as she bends to wrap the fruits
…the dangling melons!
white clouds, clear blue skies,
a soft breeze and downey grass-
who says I am poor?
Correction:
white clouds, clear blue skies,
a soft breeze, and softer grass-
who says I am poor?
My mirror shatters
And what most clearly matters
Remains to be seen.
Nice job!
another downpour
approaching motor bikes halt
the songs of the frogs
Toni Newell (Australia)
20th July, 2020
1. Praying for a Lizard
Upon a warm rock
A lizard basks in the sun
Laying, open prey
2. Thirsty Sheep
Sheep flock in the sun
Water doesn’t quench their thirst
The dam is empty
3. Loneliness
Cold night descending
Home alone and pondering
Bottle of vodka
Condoms once littered
roads after cherry blossoms.
Now dirty masks do.
1. Evokes deep feelings,
A relationship begins
A naughty smile
2. A bamboo shoot small,
Deepens itself in the earth,
Heights of ecstasy
3. A lion awakens,
The scent travels through the air,
A baby gurgles
evergreen choir
atop high mountain, murmurs…
aged crow’s eyes close
Blinding flashes
Fire, smoke, fear, clashes
Volcanic ashes
Three Haikus for My Chickens
I
Frost glazes the run,
as hens descend from their roost,
down feathers flying.
II
With soft clicks and clucks,
the hens watch the full moon rise—
the night’s great white egg.
III
Spring rain beats the roof,
the sleeping hens dream of day,
feathered souls flying.
Soft winter twilight
Covers this cozy cabin
I shake the snowglobe
Pink and magenta
A bouquet of bright jewels
Cute plastic flowers
A flash of bright gold
Prancing, muddy puppy paws
Dig up my garden
Leaves Leave
Leaves glance once at tree
As brewing autumn appears,
Falls to the ground, dried.
BIRDS PRAISE
Birds singing loud hymns
while swaying tails on their cage
facing at the king
bluebird’s morning flight
shock of shadow, flying by
through the falling night
What was Never There
Bolt of lightening
Waves wrestle an abstract sea
A deaf woman sleeps
Sun coaxes to rise
Blind to the sky’s past anger
She writes a letter
Oh, bottled letter
Afloat on calm gentle blue
Never to know rage