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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 a U.S. resident, must have a PayPal account or a bank that accepts U.S. checks, in order to receive prize money.
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PRIZE
$100
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JUDGES
J. Thomas Rimer, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Theatre, and Art at the University of Pittsburgh; former chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress.
Margaret Coats, Ph.D. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University; retired from a career of teaching literature, languages, and writing that included considerable work in homeschooling for her own family and others.
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WHEN
Now until September 16, 2023, 6 pm EST (New York time). The original Sept. 15 deadline has been extended for those in other time zones. Results to be announced September 29, 2023 (corresponding with Tsukimi—the Japanese Moon Festival).
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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.
IMPORTANT: By submitting haiku to this contest, the contestant declares that the poems are his or her own work, and that they were written after July 2022. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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Underneath the rock
Cricket makes her summer home
Best to leave alone.
Summer solstice suns
Dance beneath the maple tree
Peeking through the leaves
Picnic in the shade
Blue Jay squawks and flicks his tail
Summer serenade
The Kill
In the blue night woods,
Moon-colored talons turn red
On a milk-white breast.
Goo-Goo Haiku
Baby, breathing warm,
Clinging to a moistened breast
With head, hand and heart.
I stepped on a snail
And crushed my eyes closed
At the sound of it.
Author: Eva Drobná, Slovakia,
rekanalizácia
rytmus môjho života
hlboko v tichu
recanalization
the rhythm of my life
deep in silence
studený vietor
pohladil ma lúč slnka
som v rovnováhe
cold wind
a ray of sunshine caressed me
I am in balance
blúdiaci spevák
darovaný kúsok srdca
predohra dňa
wandering singer
a donated piece of heart
prelude of the day
?
crickets chirping loud
frogs win with louder ribbit
fly swept in mouth, gone
Leaves trickle color pumpkin spice is Falls delight, fire crackling night. Screech owls cackle magic tingles in the air hallows eve is nigh.
Timothy Stark
Cheyenne, Wy.
Breathing
Inhale and Exhale
Living breath, the gift from God,
Read scripture and praise!
i do not wonder
why elephants pass us by
in the deep sky
summer blackberries
children laugh at
the juice of carnage
step by step
the autumn wind carries
umbrella
greeting
autumn leaves by the road
like the homeless
the first day of school
fight
for a window seat
Raindrops beat pavement
Chalky smell enters my nose
Bird chirps in quietness
Whistling wind lifts
Fallen russet leaves to dance
Autumn’s last tango.
Moon peeps from above
Beams at melodious flute,
Sheep bathed in moonlight.
Joyfully transform
Sand, grit and pain into pearls,
World is your oyster.
Please accept my sincere apologies. I am now posting under my full name and may I take the opportunity to make some changes to the second haiku? Thank you for your patience. The following are now my three entries.
Whistling wind lifts
Fallen russet leaves to dance
Autumn’s last tango.
Sheep bathed in moonlight
Lulled by mellifluous flute
Dream under the stars.
Joyfully transform
Sand, grit and pain into pearls,
World is your oyster.
letný orchester
ľúbozvučné spiežovce
tanec lúčnych tráv
Autor Eva Drobná, Slovakia
toto jedno haiku je komentár nie do súťaže
letný orchester
ľúbozvučné
spiežovce
tanec lúčnych tráv Autor Eva Drobná
in the summer grass–
the urge of star apple to
give itself to me
in a rolled up leaf–
the caterpillar expires
not yet butterfly
branches quake lightly–
small flower breaks the stillness
with violet sound
bread available
only at deluxe hotels
climate change ignored
a train station
someone’s beloved arrives
and someone’s letter
children get relaxed
seeing the missing mother
now found the lost rain
Fragrant early spring,
Apple blossom wedding scenes.
Dreamers dreaming dreams.
Hiding in spring weeds,
Tiny little mustard seeds.
Hope is all one needs.
Wine on my table.
Spring bugs buzzing around it.
Fireflies are lit.
Wonderful, Roy.
Shafts of poetic joy
From Peterson E Roy
inside amber’s fire
rests remnants of regal blood —
dormant deities
rain-soaked eyelashes
batting temptress one-thousand
obstructing the view
steer to the left of
all scenery greenery —
moat for the kraken
The lake clear and still
Ripples when the geese fly south
The lake; still again.
Run! The hydra-head
The monster, red eyes gleaming
Tries to trap green spring
A spring swallow, I
Came and then went, but lately
Your well has run dry.
Ant atop their mound
curious kid pokes a hole
Pink tablet in mouth
Hi Guys –
I was chuffed to find one of my haiku among the Runners-up listing last year. Needless to say I’ve been hanging out to discover if SPC was planning to run a 2023 Haiku Comp. to try my luck again. My x3 new haiku follow.
Cocooned all a’bed
Out of pupapural sleep
Wings of dreams unfurl
Heavens’ late light show
Aurora Borealis
Necklace for Freya
Grandchildren snuggling
Bony elbows, fluffy heads
Sweet little fledglings
Love at first site, birds
Narcissism lingers dark
butterflies die slow
we see the beauty
but pause to view living wings
pinned to a cork board
I picked up a stone
holding it in my thumbed palm
it was worried smooth
circles in circles
an eternal labyrinth
make a mandala
Sea waters warming
as our last ship sails away.
Great heat is coming.
Huddled in holly,
cold sparrows without a neck.
Winter seclusion.
After all these years
I see the real you at last.
Waters of Autumn.
two violets at dawn
eavesdropping the sunrise
cocoon cracks open.
looks at the windmill
the blades keep repeating
moths blink at each turn.
old enchanting house,
a couple walks in and leaves
window sills crackle.
waves slapping sand grains
sound drowns out worries from past
white seagull hops by
Before the house fire,
many volumes lined the shelf.
Only ghost books now.
Poems that insist
you leave the shower and write,
dripping inkblot stars.
I walk in between
blooming lime and lemon trees,
each breath a delight.
Hello bibliophiles
My 3 haikus are below:
[1]
The Owl and the Cat
orange peels and Fleetwood Mac
they sat, claw in paw.
[2]
Neurotic nibbler
black beady eyes, praying paws
fiddling pet hamster.
[3]
Engorged medallion
soaked sponge flesh taut with pink juice
glistening white gums
Rain pools in laurels
Gravity pulls the water
A summer day splashed
Moon glow on birch grove
what better hosts for the night
before the cold front
In the oar’s eddy
swirling on a maple leaf…
one ant near the edge
Timber wood trail hike
the long morning buzz and crack
shatter a deep shade
in the summer grass–
the urge of star apple to
give itself to me
in a rolled up leaf–
the caterpillar expires
not yet butterfly
branches quake lightly–
small flower breaks the stillness
with violet sound
[1]
Sunshine through the trees
Dew drops down from autumn leaves:
Good morning to me
[2]
Orange poppies greet me
A desert landscape extends
Sage brush says hello
[3]
The moon smiles down
Reflecting off the water
Gleaming is the night
1: The famalies watch
the boat sail down the river
into the crimson sky
2: The old man sits there
watching the magnolias-
lost in yesterday
3: Yellow fades to red-
the ball of fire sets slow-
stars peak their bright eyes
Correction to my first entry. The other two I would like to keep as they are:
The families watch
the boat sail down the river
into the crimson sky
Nigerian prince,
enthroned with a sceptred phone,
scams loyal subjects.
Wind and waves combine,
their breath an eye-watering spray
and tongue-tasted brine.
Patient desert winds,
grain-by-grain shift a sand dune.
Thus mountains are moved.
skittering smoothly
over a muddy black patch
long-legs looks legless
iridescent glare
of pinwheels among dusty
communal gardens
talking of Newton:
a sudden falling apple
knocks my ice cream down
Swift winds part the clouds,
Golden shafts cast dark shadows.
The hero’s’ sorrow.
Dusted daffodils
Persephone did you leave?
Tracks in frozen mud.
summer set ablaze
hibiscus tinted sunset
light suspends the hour
Arise yawning moon
Cicadas and bullfrogs sing
Love songs to the night
Sun on turtle’s back
The busy pond calls his name
Then only ripples
Owl haunts the barnyard
Robins shout their warning song
Field mouse drops his corn
a quiet starburst
camellia petals caught up
by a summer breeze
the lizard brain in spring
across the neural pathways
looking for the sun
a cloud sheds its tears
the old oak shakes autumn ears
as the earth shifts gears
Two tall trees embrace
despite their differences
winter forest smiles
A shy bluebird hides
behind a bare branch in Spring
but beauty seeps through
The songs of the loon
arias from ancient horns
stir sounds in my soul
Raymond C Roy
August 7, 2023
a monarch’s shadow
flitting along the pavement
disappears from view
below the feeder
a mourning dove and chipmunk
scavenging for food
after sixty years
revisiting Vietnam
for pho and not foe
Mary Ekpenyong
Scents of blooms in spring
With jungle ethics unbent
Lost in wildfires
Beautiful flowers
Widows’ sweet sorrow wrapped with
Wreaths on silent graves
Rose flower withers
Thorns growing on our fences
Father abandoned us
Haiku I
pressed gardenia –
holding on to mom’s unused
4711
Haiku II
honey bush flowers
the lingering thin fragrance –
lights over darkness
Haiku III
mid-monsoon showers
over the lands near and far
rivers in rivers
Haiku I
pressed gardenia –
holding on to mom’s unused
4711
Haiku II
honey bush flowers
the lingering thin fragrance –
lights over darkness
Haiku III
mid-monsoon showers
the sound of daily footsteps
turns into splashes