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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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childhood memories
stomping and splashing at me
— profound rain puddles
ripples of wild grass
riding on an autumn breeze
— a conflict within
a summer dispute —
the flutter of mosquito
nets over a bed
caught, the beetle sways
telling the hidden spider
your dinner’s ready
Yes! I’ve been inspired by this scene too! Vivid image (but not a vivid beetle)
Memories ajar
Winter seeps into my bones
And the sun shivers
icy dawn –
snoozing sun keeps
harvest moon awake
I like the image of a sleeping sun allowing the moon to linger!
Lovely sea of pink
Vistas with no viewers here –
Cherry blossoms sigh
Harmattan, must be
the desert’s tiding that goes
on a field trip too
my new year alone
wish you could warm my winter
Christmas lights still glow
Pink cherry blossoms
And a blackbird’s melodies
Pervade spring skies
Looming laden clouds
Blanket Bombay’s bustling streets
And storms paint the skies
wind chimes resound –
a luminous crescent moon
beyond the branches
*
without boundaries –
the shadows of clouds wander
over green meadows
*
taste of morning tea …
the delicate ray of sun
through an icicle
Daniela Misso
I love the simplicity of these moments.
Isn’t that what’s it’s all about (like the hokey pokey)?
lazy waters lave
like balm around the stillness
gladden souls at dawn
take me with the tide
moonlit waters crave seekers
of its rhythmic peace
_____
some shake paddle hands
others wave their drooping arms
but all trees love me
_____
we ignore its signs
the subtle carvings of time
but dirt never lies
lifting fog and melting dew
have warming rays from a rising sun
and the bird doth sing.
green leaves turn brown as
they tailspin down dissolving
into golden ground
winter wind whispers
of white sparking snowflakes
sticking to snow boots
scorching summer sun
seeping into windowpanes
as i am sleeping
divine sunlight grows
in the shape of flowers’s kiss
near my childhood home
—-
mushrooms steal fuel
from the lost homes of the dead
cities breathe the same
—
ocean’s rise then set
the moon, the sun interrupts
change: nature’s blessing
1
The lough in a dream
A leaf falls over the tree
The water giggles
2
It is rainy time
Cool breeze with jubilation
My nose sneezes red
3
Icy winter hugs
Shivers with cold and frosty
Freeze in woolen rug
weeping winter wind
sweep across the golden grass
a peach blossom drops
muse, breathe, watch the sky
hues of purple and orange
low fidelity
—
weaving through each blade
a graceful cut, each stalk bends
the mountain exhales
—
heedful of the dawn
eyes alight with the sun’s glare
a lemon of hope
All day spent weaving
grass into nests. All night
we hang till morning.
The weight of us, here:
enough to make a world:
spores on old bread.
Wind sweeps through tunnels
left by termites. Soft whistle
of sleeping seashells.
Farm dam in the dip
Horses grazing in the field
Perfect Overberg
St Agnes’ Eve it was
Frost crackling on dead white grass
Hot chocolate solves all
Summer song wild child
Autumn harvest whispering wind
Winter shiver cold
Porpoises surface
Arc silently, fingers point
Cold empty ocean