.
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.
.
WHEN:
Now until Saturday August 28, 2021 midnight EST. Winners Announced September 5.
.
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. Must conform to traditional haiku rules above.
.
WHERE:
Post your haiku in the comments section below.
.
PRIZE:
$100.
.
JUDGE:
.
ENTRY FEE:
None
.
EXAMPLES
See last year’s winning haiku here.
.
.
Soldiers turn M six
Teens into peace pens so that
Deer may safely graze.
Rain of joy
pink sakura blooms
fall on the snow – not a sound
but the crane’s call
©️ CJ Laing – 24/08/2021
A beautiful haiku. It doesn’t quite meet the requirements of this particular contest, though, because of the four syllables in the last line. Adding another syllable will do the trick. I enjoyed the image, and the switch between senses, as well as the possibilities of interpreting your poem.
Rain of joy
pink sakura blooms
fall on white snow – not a sound
only the crane’s call
©️ CJ Laing – 24/08/2021
Would you rather be
The man in her embrace or
The man in her mind?
Cotton candy clouds
Sherbet sky, I cannot reach
Yet they can reach me
The veins of a leaf
Are the same veins in my wrist
To pluck, I resist
meteor shower
confidence in direction
falling with no fear
tender map of ants
bringing borders back to scale
collecting crumbles
A hawk yaws through sky
Young rabbits bound from the brush
All of spring’s missings
Young red-winged blackbirds
Command the morning with song
Stirring our longings
Back-to-school mornings
The busses, the memories
Dread of September
spring’s tender embrace
fog layers over pear green
marshmallow shapes graze
springtime seduction
blush petals swirl and caress
billowy kisses
bees busy busy
honey cakes on golden plates
sweet embezzlement
winter’s fare-thee-well
gateway to springtime folly
seeds begin their sprout
(c) Toni Leigh Turner-Wong 2021
fall season is here
the leaves begin to let go
they follow the winds
(c) Toni Leigh Turner-Wong 2021
reaching for sunshine
flowers growing petals bloom
spring is in full swing
(c) Toni Leigh Turner-Wong 2021
Ships surf frozen seas.
Spring rains feed fresh-furrowed fields;
birds watch, wait, then feast.
Spring brings spiders´ webs;
trawlers trail deep-hidden nets.
Covid can be caught.
Ships surf frozen seas.
Spring rains feed fresh-furrowed fields;
birds watch, wait, then feast.
walking along paths
the ocean kisses the shore
blue moon overhead
sand between our toes
the ocean kisses the shore
blue moon overhead
foghorn and lighthouse
beacons along rocky shores
blue moon overhead
autumn evening
the darkening city air
fills with hunting bats
shivering willows
the river breeze brings snowflakes
an owl’s bitter call
fleeting meteor
a northerly wind whooshes
through cherry blossoms
These are awesome, well done!
Butterflies fly high
Colors shining in the sky
Bye bye butterfly
Deep in the blue sea,
the waves they whisper to me,
secrets of the sea.
They both made it and,
had everything in the end,
but not each other.
Repeating life’s cycle,
waking up in the morning,
tired and alone.
1.
Caged in my own mind,
I wait for the Autumn birds
Just to see them fly.
2.
Peaches and cream on
Hot and heaving Summer dreams
Playing make-believe.
3.
Warbled tones from mouths
Of flightly beaks breathe life back
In dead winter streets.
s(mother)ed
sun’s solipsism
her children boiling in love
cry for them just once?
(dad)aism
moon’s calm rebellion
seen under the veil of sleep
make things right with mom?
ba(star)d
a million children
invisible in the night
the birds left their nest
Three Backyard Haiku
—
a chipmunk dangles
stretching for green chokecherries
just beyond my reach
—
a white cottontail
bobbing in lush undergrowth:
camouflage spoiled
—
a flash of goldfinch
plays like light on the green leaves
(one burns early red)
Leaves fall to the ground
grey skeletons stand exposed
desolate till spring