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
Paper enfolds rocks.
Seven-times-folded paper
blunts blades. Paper wins!
1.
Monsoon rain tableau –
Sun emerges to refract
A double rainbow
2.
Summer symphony –
Azans call, koels wail, in
Tuneful euphony!
3.
In spring for a game
Butterflies flit randomly –
Lacking any aim.
Wind sings and I smile.
Wind brings rain and I rejoice!
Wind breaks I exhale.
The idea for the haiku was the Shoshone Ice Caves, which are about fifteen miles (or five-and-twenty kilometers) north of Shoshone, Idaho.
Under lava rocks
is a lava tube ice cave
with lost coins and bucks.
A circle of ice in the aforementioned attraction has dollar bills and coins tossed onto it by tourists, reminiscent of a wishing well.
Leaves blow in the wind.
I wish that I could join them.
They travel too fast.
The soil beneath me.
Remains still at all times, yet-
Feels much more alive.
Rabbits hops and hop.
Wandering through their domain.
I am ever still.
seated on a rock
in front the mountain rises
days of old pass by
Dancing in spring breeze
lilies on the riverbank
summon butterflies.
*************************
Riverbank lilies
suckle bees and hummingbirds;
I sway to their hum.
*************************
Pidgeons on the roof
warble summer harmonies
with their soft high coos.
1.
The wind gently blows
On a field full of flowers,
A scene in my dreams.
2.
Winter has arrived.
The weather should be colder.
Why is it warmer?
3.
The end of summer
I should go on a trip soon
Autumn has arrived.
that eye in the sky
lidded with pieces of cloud …
the sun or the moon?
firefly wishes
adding a touch of lightness
to the shortest day
a squirrel’s tail furls
around a fallen birdbath …
the world in my yard
1.
Every flower fades;
Summer ends as it begins –
Seed returns to seed.
2.
A late summer swim,
but caught by an undertow;
Neptune culls the herd.
3.
The June days grow long,
but summer grants a short lease.
Will you strum the lyre?
HOMERIC HAIKU
Far down firmaments
Helios’ chariot wends–
Hot summer days end.
#1:
Soil smeared mother’s face
Tucks me into a lush bed
Sleep sound, my Tulip
#2
Wind chills caress cheeks
Metal frost seeps through glove’s clutch
She jumps off the swing
#3
A warm sleeper train
Sunlight strikes, blushing soft cheeks
Streaming tears cool skin
firefly in flight
bio-luminescence bright
a seasonal light
Footsteps on hard snow,
Intense as soft-voiced secrets,
Whispers of winter.
A clock is ticking
The granite mountains of years
to pebble-seconds.
New season, fresh songs,
old guitar, tune strings, top E
too taut – SPRING! Ouch
Land of liberty
Opportunity rains down
But for whom, I ask
Yellow butterflies
Flitting across green meadows
Like dancing sunshine
The insect monarchs
Skimming with orange and black wings
Holding court in spring.
Butterflies resting
In the shade of the oak trees
Like forest jewels.
TITHE
Fences billow steam,
Return to heaven one-tenth
The gift – offering.
Autumn loses grip;
Old Man Winter tightens his;
Mine pours a whiskey.
1.
Heights of thinnest air,
Uneven sharp sierras,
Cold judgmental peaks.
2.
Flowing little stream,
I cup my hand across you.
Still the water runs.
3.
Sleepless soul’s dark night,
Cacophonic caterwauls.
Felines fornicate.
Cherry blossoms glide
A cloud of pink dusts the earth
As lips touch slowly
A babbling brook
Stumbles and trips on its way
Into mother’s arms
Rain drops softly fall
Sliding down a window pane
Caught in a white cloth
These are nice. I like the connection with human emotion and actions.
1.
Like petals falling
past the maiden flush of spring
ash coats the forest
2.
From volcanic wrath
and skeleton quiet woods,
a sprout emerges
3.
Pebble skips along
the frozen stream’s silver path
loosed from rocky banks
These haiku seem to be positive and hopeful. I like them.