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Our 2023 Haiku Competition is on now HERE.
WHO
Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate. Among members of the Society of Classical Poets, everyone including Advisory Board members may participate, if not involved in judging the contest. The winner, if not resident in the United States, must have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts US checks, in order to receive prize money.
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PRIZE
$100
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JUDGE
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WHEN
Now until August 15, 2022. Results to be announced August 30, 2022.
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WHERE
Post your entries in the Comments below.
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WHAT
Each competitor may submit up to three haiku of traditional form: three lines per poem with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second, and 5 in the third. Entrants are recommended to conform to other traditional haiku requirements outlined HERE. They should be new poems, written since the closing of the 2021 haiku competition. Although this competition is held in summer, haiku dealing with any season are acceptable.
If you want coaching on haiku features, please read the examples and explanation before submitting your entries. Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment. This is permitted until the competition closes, but do take reasonable care to complete work to your satisfaction before you enter it. Please do not use the Comment area as your scratch pad. That is discourteous to other competitors, to interested readers, and to the judge and will disqualify you.
Entries that do not meet basic traditional haiku requirements may be deleted. Anyone who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.
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PAST WINNERS
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spider web garlands
adorn the first passerby
on this wooded trail
dragonfly islands
his small kneecaps bob above
the cool rippling stream
invisible loon
gliding on a midnight lake
bright stars on its back
Thorns, like those of life
Though they prick, they’re protection
Overcome your thorns
1.
Spring Rose in Winter
Your reign untimely ending
Fight on my Monarch!
2.
Scholar of Autumn
The Archive is in full bloom
Harvest the knowledge
3.
Birdie of the West
Angelic voice of the sky
Your Legend in Sand
the strong summer wind
the two-tired bicycle–
the sound of laughter
the blue moon rises
amidst the rustling bamboos ….
i lean on a void
———-
a murmuration—
starlings form dance patterns to
internal rhythms
———-
breezy hydrangeas …
patches of the pale blue sky
sway by a hill path
———-
Moon in the sky, bright.
Lovely nature, touching heart,
Clouds, blocking sight.
Moon in the sky, bright,
Lovely nature, touching heart.
Clouds, blocking sight.
Walk across the woods
the path is covered in cracks.
Downpour from last night
*
Beautiful sunset
on a warm summer evening.
Hope it gets cooler.
determined jasmine
sweetly creeping up fences
while destroying them
showing her colors,
bold without apology,
autumn maple tree
on a rainy day
mushrooms peek from underground
raising umbrellas
1.
early autumn mist—
a snail’s silver trail glimmers
on wet dewed green grass
2.
the koel’s summer song
seeps through each of my senses
—neither of us is
sunniest day today—
the lady bird looks upward
pleading for passage
Knots tie across days
Like old ghosts remembering
Myself, refracted.
Roadrunner scratches
the sun-bleached sand, crisscrossing
deep coyote tracks
Plastic pink pony
sits in summer sand, swathed in
hissing diamonds
Monsoon swells heavy
deep clouds full and ready, us
mortals stuck below
Slurping ripe mangoes
This is the gold of summer
Sweet as fledgling years.
Rain pours like silence
Footprints gone in the torrent
The earth is rinsed clean.
A meteor falls
The night sheds luminous tears
And we wonder why.
White sails reflect clouds
To dance the sea in slivers
Above the whale’s eye
Dancing in warm rain
Tropical heat loosens limbs
A crocodile smiles
The song of the bees
Sipping nectar in the heat
Birds wait for the seeds
Soil, water, and air
elements still cold, waiting
to become new souls
A rumble rises
spring mountains shed white blankets
and powder settles
Twittering echoes and
enters the mouth of a cave
sleeping bear awakens
Cup the small spider
Rehome her in flower bed
while cats look askance
On our womens’ hike
we linger at each flower
seeing there ourselves
Suffuse coral light
spreads to kiss horizon line
Waves eat fireball
Red no longer flows,
Goodbye is sometimes easy.
A breath in, then out.
Wild exquisite night!
A blanket sky shimmering
Joy envelops me
Despite my efforts
Omicron got me real bad
Wear a mask, be cool.
Moved by moderator from ‘What makes a good Haiku’
Wild exquisite night
A blanket sky shimmering
Peace envelops me
Red no longer flows,
Goodbye is sometimes easy.
A Breath in, then out.
Despite my efforts,
Omicron got me real bad
Wear a mask, be cool.
Stale hell on my breath
I said don’t bother dreaming –
In dust, I repent.
at the roadside stand
I fill my bag with three pears
and the harvest moon
It’s still pozole rojo but
You better bypass
that tocino, ‘cause it’s our
receta Kosher.
Note: “It’s still pozole rojo but” is the title of the haiku. Pozole rojo is a Mexican stew typically made with pork. In Spanish, “tocino” means bacon, and “receta” means recipe. For context, I’m a Mexican Jew. Thank you!
Honey. Sugar. Lips.
The Sweetest taste. Touch. Feeling.
Flowing in your mouth.
Nine..Five..I love you.
Nine..Seven..And Loving you
Today, its still you.
The moon cries to me,
Someday I will forgive you,
The sun screams louder.
Here are my haiku submissions:
serrated pink conch…
the rising waves of the sea
resound in my ear
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midsummer shower
spills in the temple courtyard
plumeria scent
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sun-soaked paddy field
the old farmer shades his eyes
with a calloused hand
teeter-totter joy
two winter scarves are trailing,
tracing rainbow’s arc
barefoot on the lawn
avoiding the snag and squelch
of fallen medlars
dusty bare pasture
an old racehorse lifts his head:
the white waterfall