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Winners announced here.
Write a haiku 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. See traditional haiku requirements here. Note that a haiku is like a a painting of nature. If your 5-7-5 poem is focused solely on human nature and is more cynical or humorous, then it is technically a senryu, not a haiku. However, haiku do concern human activities in relation to nature. The required seasonal word can refer to seasonal sports, holidays, entertainment, gardening, housekeeping, or visits to special places. Although this contest is held in summer, haiku dealing with any season are acceptable.
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WHEN:
Now until Saturday August 28, 2021 midnight EST. Winners Announced September 5.
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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.)
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WHAT:
Each entrant may submit up to three haiku. Must conform to traditional haiku rules above.
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WHERE:
Post your haiku in the comments section below.
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PRIZE:
$100.
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JUDGE:
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ENTRY FEE:
None
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EXAMPLES
See last year’s winning haiku here.
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#1
Feathers freeze up high
Above shores as still as stone,
Africa we rise.
#2
The sun floods the air
Yet Summer walks on water
With her body bare.
#3
The pear is prickly,
Way pass proud for picking,
So groans the sickly.
I love the image of summer sun ‘walking’ on water!
Watching geese take wing
Brushing graves, a feathered touch–
My tears fly away.
The weeping flower
Not chosen by anyone
Not the one to pick
The little puppy
Learning to howl in the wind
Finding its own pack
Walking all alone
While the rain is pouring down
Sit alone at night
I sleep in her hair
With summer heat contact lost
I dream of winter
My choices are mine
The Path often not roses
Are you at the end?
Bob’s not with us now
Many hikes are incomplete
Trails in afterlife
Sun’s low in July,
Snails hibernate in shelter,
Plants sigh in relief.
Toni Newell 8th August, 2021. Australia
Summerly steps reaching the bridge.
Sighing, such relief … goals worthy and secure. Adrift along life’s embroidered detour.
Broken wing crow hops
As snow drops in belly growl
Always seeds by door
Apple blossom blooms
Buds sprout yearning hectic skies
Hush of old men’s sighs
Leaves in blood-red maze
Vibrant carpet in weak rays
Dying soldiers’ tears
a weeping willow
stands alone in the drizzle
our eyes meet again
Autumnal. Leaves fall.
Birds fly south for the winter.
Early frosts bite hard.
Slight refinement as there doesn’t seem to be an edit option:
Autumnal leaves fall.
Birds have flown for the winter.
Early frosts bite hard.
polished newel post
the children’s Christmas presents
a swivel away
the herons take flight
hints of winter at the shore
autumn’s final breath
Wet with summer rain
snail mouths twist to reach out & shred
Asparagus fronds.
Did you really see a snail’s mouth, lucky!
Sky deliver rain
River shallow needs you most
Bright sun lights the way
In solitude, snide
A lion without its pride
Does its life subside
Do they really just lay around when not mating or eating? haha Bonus for rhyming, the first I’ve noticed.
The cold sea shocks me
I dive through the soft white foam
And see a starfish.
Seasons on the go
warm humid sunny days flow
frosted cherry tree
Autumn leaves fall
dark and gloomy winter frost
colour burst – Spring pops!
Summer drizzling rain
tumbling broken branches fall
winter fires glow
Nice cycle of imagery. It even made me think of the tumbling branches as next years fire!
Snow-boughs curtain-call,
limelight white stuns frozen grace,
winter showtime glows.
On thermals soaring
wingtips touch horizons wide,
wild eyes steel the wind.
A mollusc has gone
now a whorled habitation
hums hymns of the sea.
“Me: Man, You: Woman…
You smell nice… You in Season…
Me… You… Mate… Yum… Cummmm…”
“So… Composition!
A moment to live, and then?
Decomposition.”
In the library of blooms
Hovers hummingbird
Doesn’t need the words
adjustment, as I cannot edit:
Hummingbird hovers
In the library of blooms
Doesn’t need the words