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The Winner and Runner-ups are listed HERE.
WHO
Anyone in the world, of any age or background, may participate (SCP Membership not required). 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.
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 2023. Please submit using your first and last name, as we may find it difficult to distinguish between contestants who have similar first names.
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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 15, 2024, 6 pm EST (New York time). Results to be announced September 29, 2024.
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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.
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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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Curious weather
The clouds roll in like staining
But it never rains
A garden of stars
But sometimes you disappear
I wish you’d take me
Pink across the sky
Somewhere a cardinal chirps
Early morning sigh
Thank you for considering these coffee haikus.
Keurig (Coffee Haiku #4)
Little plastic pods
wrecking the environment.
They have hot chocolate.
Microwave (Coffee Haiku #3)
Spaghetti splatter.
Odor of ancient lunches.
Where I find my cup.
Morning (Coffee Haiku #1)
How am I supposed
to drink water when there’s still
coffee in the pot?
I especially like the second one with the ancient spaghetti sauce, landing in your coffee cup
Dear Judges,
Thank you for considering my work for the competition.
*****
cricket orchestra
plays to cicada humming
an all-night soirée
*****
cotton flowers bloom
white fluffy clouds on brown stems
a late summer snow
*****
wind through bare branches—
a final autumn apple
falls with a dull thump
*****
I especially like you’re one about Cottonwood. It presents a very clear visual and very clever satori line.
Thank you Pamela!
Poem Title: “The Season of Fall”
The leaves turn brown now
The air is cool and freshens
We start something new
Ants gather slowly
to see what spring sun has brought
for their Easter feast.
Bull-frog sitting glad
catching flies on lily-pad
Bull-frog sounds so sad.
Dr Williams writes
poems on prescription pads
he knows that words heal.
I like the third one, especially. However, I think it’s more of a.senryu than a haiku. Haiku deals only with nature
Also, do you know that rhyming is frowned upon in a haiku?
a brisk summer breeze –
the sound of apples dropping
from a laden tree
faithful apple tree –
from Nana’s sunny kitchen
the scent of warm pie
cherry blossom tree –
the whisper of soft petals
falling to the ground
I like all three, but I thought in the first one that it would be more appropriate to say sounds rather than sound Since it’s multiple apple dropping from the tree
I like Nanas apple pie
Thank you for taking the time to comment Pamela.
I thought afterwards that to have used a word like ‘thud’
to onomatopoeia the sound of apples falling might have been nice.
Anyway, I appreciate your comment, Pamela. And, when I find time
I will try to do the same for other poets.
nothing is unmade
a language of resonance
radiates presence
those castaway seeds
pumpkins growing all over
our old compost patch
fresh picked peas quick crunch
sunrise dewdrops fill each pod
pregnant with the day
working on Sunday
childhood piles in the guestroom
snail without a throat
I like the one about the peas, the best about the pregnant pods. I guess that has to be distinguished from pregnant pause. Sic
I’m with withdrawing these three poems
Hello. I am submitting two more entries for the haiku competition thank you very much for considering my entries
purple flower face
sheds the drips of morning dew
ladybugs shower
red, yellow, green, gold
float on breezes to the ground
autumn leaf parade
Heavy steps in sand
Endless dunes beneath the sun
Heat scorches the earth
Cloudy sky, drops fall
Sounds like music whispering
Ping ping ping ping ping
Golden grasses sway
Roar, Serenity broken
The sun pours in red
Feedback
Sunset Haiku 3.jpg
Waiting in your smile –
The dawn of my tomorrow.
Today slips away.
There’s a sunset photo that goes with the haiku, but obviously it didn’t get transferred.
instinctve squawking
hunger building lungs to fly
purpose spring conceals
Curtains fill like sails
Hulls of imagination
Skimming whimsy strands
***
Afternoon Plunge
Sun hammers the hills
Pummel punch the summer drum
Crash! The cymbals splash
***
August petals yearn
The heart’s eventide lily
Opens to the night
On the Blue Himalaya Poppy
drenching rain and mist,
rich soil, cold and sunshine spawn
blue Himalayas
Through silent branches
Illuminating azure
Twilight’s offering
opaque beryl glass
edges smoothed in briny tide ~
treasures from the sea
~~~~~
vibrant autumn leaves
romanced by the whirling wind ~
shifting devotion
I absolutely love the imagery in both of your haikus.
Thank you for your lovely comment on my haiku.
Best Regards,
Paulette
Awakening day
comes later, silvery now,
leaving frosted glades.
When the thunder rolls,
the birds just continue on
about their bus’ness.
Spring’s indigo nights
gleam with miniscule diamonds,
greater than the sun.
In the icy pond,
there is no sound of water;
and no frog jumps in.
About the auto
i-dl-ing-in-the-traff-ic,
a dragonfly flies.
Beneath red yuccas,
and a white Adam’s Needle,
he stared at pebbles.
1)
merry bird singing
clasping branch: a whole world
’round my teacup rim.
2)
green brown fallen leaf
cupped catching frost melting slow
ladybug drinking
3)
lentic puddle floats
petals swirling in sunshine
tricycle splashes
golden morning sun
holy splendor bathes my room
fear envelops me
falling from the tree
stopping, birds’ body laid still
broken bird – cruel winds
What a beautifully striking image! I appreciate how the sudden caesura in line 2 creates a metrical mirror for the meaning of the poem. The line truly does “stop” itself–how wonderful!
In line three, the 3 + 2 syllabic rhythms of the metrical feet recall to me the traditional meter of the juéjù (quatrain) in classical Chinese poetry, from which the haiku evolved as a poetic form.
Above all this, thank you for an exceptionally well-crafted poem that lingers in memory.
You’re so very welcome! But I should be the one thanking you for commenting on my poem, it really means a lot to me! So, thank you so much! 😀
this Haiku is titled Still Bird
it’s december’s unending snow
i wait motionless to gather this small world
in my ordinary hands
cold hermit forest
i woke up in a silent night
what are the odds?
lost count of snowfalls
my neighbor left his gate open
and i feel cold in my room.
cracking the old book
a prism of dust hovers
above the pages
Like a nightingale—
A mother’s lullaby in moonlight,
She Rocks an empty cradle.
A leaf in autumn—
Falls dead, gives us breathing air,
We walk on, unseen.
Bees before winter—
Collect and store, like we hoard wealth.
Bees get wax, we get coffins.
flames rain from branches
delicious warmth on our tongues
by tame crackling light
shades and hues of hope
softly wakes as life begins
for hungry bear cubs
winter wonderland
sun shining, children laughing
while I long white’s end