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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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Snail-eating beetle
Scanning the dewy grasses
For a crunchy lunch
Orb weaver spins silk
Invisible till it sticks
Prey sees the spiral
the nightingale song
it fell silent for a while
prayer of pious monk
finishing touches
applied to the sandcastle . . .
spindrift at midnight
Colorful trickles
splash on summer’s high-topped greens
sound a chill alarm
1.
mute surrounding noise,
let silence wholly prevail—
a cricket hotspot
2.
labour of beauty:
an industrious silkworm
weaving the future
3.
cold wind breezing through
the mesmerising twilight—
longing for summer
Pedro Corga, Aveiro/Portugal
the sounds of wind chimes
stirred by the summer breezes
breathing exercise
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam
a newly hatched egg
one half of the moon up high
one half in the lake
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam
a clap of thunder
suddenly shattering the silence
the newborn’s first cry
Ngo Binh Anh Khoa, Vietnam
ahh maybe the thunder made her cry! Keeps me guessing I love it!
A minute’s silence
for the atomic bomb-day
The wind also dies
On August 6th and 9th, a one-minute prayer is offered to the victims of the atomic bomb attacks in Japan every year. Thus, ‘the atomic bomb-day’ is considered as a seasonal word in Japanese Haiku.
The following is the Japanese version of this haiku.
原爆忌風も静かに黙祷す
So moving. What a beautiful homage. thank you.
Thank you for your comments, Abel.
As the day is usually one of the hottest days in Japan, we experience a millionth of their sufferings vicariously. Let’s pray for peace.
A flower blossoms
Heralding a new season
Nature at her best
The Sunflowers turn
Their heads following the sun
Imitating sheep
Rugged in pyjamas,
Sun has now finally set
My bed is empty
Toni Newell 8th August, 2021
A swarm of fireflies
lights up a moonless night
during the black out
Japanese: 停電の闇夜に光る蛍かな
Note:
‘Firefly’ is a seasonal word in summer. ‘The black out’ refers to the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your attention, Kathy.
Watching fireflies in early summer was one of the fantastic events in Japan (and Asian counties), even during such a tragic situation, especially for children.
mulberries picking —
all along the pale silkworm
grasping my collar
Wall-enclosed garden,
Cloudless heat; mud-sprung lotus
Emperor’s sole guest.
________________________
Light through the elm leaves
Settles into amber sap,
Fills cicada shells.
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Hiker stirs trail-dust;
Faint breeze soughs in a white pine —
Two shy “good morning”s.
I love the lit amber of the cicada shell, what a picture!
Inverted crochets
On a grey musical stave
Birds on a pow’r line
Heady scent of rose,
Fabulous floral worlds bloom,
The solace of books.
second version
Cold winter draws near,
The scent of dried rose petals,
The solace of books.
A black kite calling
echoes through the whistling sound
A cool mountaintop
Japanese: 山澄みてとんびの声の木霊する
Note:
Curiously, ‘black kite’ is not a seasonal word in Japanese Haiku. However, ‘cool mountain’ (山澄む) is a seasonal word in autumn.
simple white splashes
art à la Jackson Pollack
under the old yew
*
another full moon
on rustic torii gates
shimenawa fades
*
winter’s icy breath…
the far away snowy peaks
have now disappeared
the scent of a hay
my granddaughter’s first meeting
with a grasshopper
Spider web on bush
Squiggly design can be seen
Written not for man
By Nancy Marie
TWIN BIRDS ON A BRANCH:
ONE PECKS AT AUTUMN´S RIPE FRUIT,
THE OTHER KEEPS WATCH.
My Wyoming
Summer sky so big
You can see into next week
Ah, my Wyoming
Footsteps on crisp snow
Intense as soft-voiced secrets,
Whispers of winter.
Arsenal Football,
Hot sun kissing the green pitch,
Boot Ball Bending – Goal!
yellow and black ants
on the doorstep
hands in prayer