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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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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who submits more than three entries will have ALL his or her entries disqualified, unless excess entries are clearly withdrawn by a later Comment.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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snow-capped mountainside
winter’s glow surrounding us
setting sun’s light, red
———————————————
the perfume of stars
sweet as shards of nebulas;
violent explosion
———————————————
young children playing
outside, grassy lawn and breeze
i wish i were one
Hi Dear Sister Kim, You Certainly Went Off World and Around The World With This Fine Work, Nice!
When tumbling down
Comes here all sorts from the town
We can live for now
Let sciences ring
Truth and saving it shall bring
But now nevermore
Burning and prancing
The world around is falling
I am here dancing
Ethan Showing Smooth Moves At The Word Dance, Nice!
Captain at the helm
sailing beyond space and time
in my ship of books
Brittle limbs prostrate,
Beg mercy from cruel lord sun.
Damp vengeance sleeps below
Make again my love
Imitate her very atoms
Only an image
A Mind Dancing Cruise, Brother Moore Has The Tools, Nice!
Thanks Brer’ Thomas!
Cat
Grace from the heavens
furry fine lines by God’s design
purring so softly
No Cat Nap Here, Just Sheer Purr-fection.
snow
sheen so very clean
each flake never a mistake
this unique shite streak
What a Beautiful Snow Show Dear Sister Checkley, Your Words Flow Light as Snow.
Mourning dove crying
to a soundless frozen lake-
The long wait for spring
Creek mud-bank with clams
flecking Styrofoam pellets-
Shucking man-made pearls
Yellow daffodils
poke through heavy snow blanket-
A fool’s early spring
What a Trip, Through The Frozen, Through The Snow To a Place Where Clams Grow, Nice!
Thank you Thomas!
The glimmering dew
shivers gently on petals
like feathered kisses
The cold touch of snow
Causes shivers upon skin
In the lonely dark
On the precipice
Colored leaves dance in the wind
The golden Fall comes
Inspiration
Dog day drips, humid.
Winter night sits and shivers.
Life’s proper fever.
His Soul
His fingerprints mark
the glass, oil from his stories
shining in the light.
Revelation
I’m searching for shells
At the turning of the tide,
Ocean’s testament.
I can’t find my keys
Oh well, guess I’ll walk to store
Just kidding, found em
Small black dog looks up –
Full eyes glow and beg at me
The door opens, synergy
July. World ablaze.
Once in Earth revere, coolness.
Warring on ourselves.
HAIKU AUSTIN
you don’t live longer
raised on the city concrete;
it just seems that way.
HAIKU MARFA
no catchin’ up to
yesterday; we burn daylight
where buses don’t run.
HAIKU SAN ANTONIO
tamales stolen
with a two-dollar pistol—
only hell ma’ raised.
Hi, Abigael Leigh,
“Haiku San Antonio” has a wonderful emotional humor with a pivot that speaks to the wittiness, unpredictability, and keen perception that sets American haiku apart from Japanese tradition in this form. I enjoyed it immensely and still chuckle whenever I think of it.
Thanks for making my day.
leaves in the fall wind –
when in place of the your arms
you want to grow wings
deforestation
wait, pussy willow
you would shave your soft catkins?
surely not for him
coming home to you
is laying in a patch of
sunlight that can’t fade
Little finch flitting
Across the sun-dried meadow
A golden angel
Willow branches sway
Gently on a balmy breeze
A small child’s wonder
Dreams of Grecian nights
In summertime smell of fresh
Rosemary and thyme
Blackbirds in the snow
ink for an unwritten song
but soon they will fly
Fireflies and snowflakes
studies in fleeting beauty
disappear when touched
Like bright autumn leaves
those we have loved fall away
as winter calls them
in an oak tree’s shade
the quietness of cattle
each twitching their tail
Halloween party
the devil’s fork in his hand
bigger than he is
on a chilly night
a wind-blown can clattering
down an empty street
My apologies…my wife counted 6 syllables on my third…here is the rewrite:
Brittle limbs prostrate,
Beg mercy from cruel lord Sol.
Damp plot sleeps below
I Responded To This Haiku, I Didn’t Catch The Miscount, Your Wife Is Certainly On the Ball. Nice Rewrite.
Haiku: Silents
Wisdom speaks in briefs
few words mind reflects deep
silence also speaks
walking goldmines friends
the true friend is hard to find
like digging goldmines
Sounds Like You Struck Gold, Nice!
Do you think so? Thank you
rains green marsh meadow
dance with me serenity
mountain river rest
Body, heart, and mind
Splintered shards too hard to find
Leaving me behind
Sloughed snakeskin drapes as
we mourn the day’s end. Blanket,
or veil, for red clay?