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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 in the last twelve months and therefore are not a repeat submission from a previous year. Poems written using artificial intelligence (AI) are not allowed. 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
$200
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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 August 15, 2025, 6 pm EST (New York time). Results to be announced August 28, 2025. Please check back on August 28 or after to view the “Best Haiku of 2025” selected from this competition. NOTE: THE HAIKU CONTEST HAS ENDED! No more entries, the comments have been closed! Thanks to all who entered!
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HOW
Post your entries in the Comments below.
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WHAT
Each competitor may post in the comments below 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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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view of white landscape
evergreens are lacking hue
on a new year’s day
fragrant whispers
gently cascade from branches
carpet of blossoms
ruby red hibiscus
sweet pistil tongue emerges
hummingbird kisses
gossamer storm clouds
weave a cape for Apollo
Helios’ revenge
Golden sky shines
We set off a new journey
Swallow flies back home
Hands held through the storm
Unite in diversity
Winning with purpose
Turning to Nature
Baby bunnies, ducks and goats
Earth holds the best Tails
Each posture holds peace
Matching breath with intentions
Paid ticket to this moment
Title: Wash Away
The waves rise and fall
Cleansing souls who entrust it
Yet my worries stay.
Wrapped in pashmina
Half awake yet half asleep
A hungover dawn
Sparkling fiery eyes
Trapped in a dying embrace
Should have let you go.
A sharp stilleto,
Into my soul your words carve
A crimson ravine.
Spring river unwinds—
two hands, interlaced, drift on.
Nothing holds or halts.
Autumn wind pulls loose—
layers of masks on my face
scatter with the leaves.
Spring rain on still pond—
ripples rise and disappear.
A frog waits beneath.
Dear Society of Classical Poets
Please find below my 3 entries for the 2025 Haiku Competition
Entry 1
Old stone retaining wall—
a line of ants carries off
the morning glory.
Entry 2
The scent of cut grass.
A yellow kite is tangled
in the power lines.
Entry 3
The password reset
asks for my first pet’s name.
I close the laptop.
Hello judges,
This is my 3rd and final submission –
spirit animals
drifting clouds shift forms in an
autumn afternoon
Lord! I’ll pursue you
as the swift wave does the shore
breaking as I go
Galloping horses
leaving icy hoofprints
the coldest is me
Summer ocean
a huge container ship
blows my rocking mind
In the wind
my puppy happily
runs to Mt Fuji
The sun briefly peeks
From behind the cloud curtains—
It will rain again.
Pink reflections dance
as the flamingoes wade through
the quiet waters.
The reflection of
the arched bridge on the still lake
makes a full circle
Sorry, this is the second time I publish my comment. Last night there may have been problems.
1.
a lotus flower
always searching for the sky –
that is what i am
2.
pink cherry blossoms
painted on her baby bump –
just a new springtime
3.
still shining roses –
the white brocade dress my mom
could never finished
tuft of cumulus
running rills and daffodils
Spring, springing on us
high tide moving out
an empty shell washed ashore
someone picks it up
at the water’s edge
polliwogs among the weeds
children swinging pails
Merganser mother
guides her flock:sisters,brothers
Fewer swim today.
Flag waves in the wind,
may tomorrow shine brighter,
homeland glows with pride.
Stone house stands calmly,
Siveric calls out softly,
wind carries the voice.
Zagorje mornings,
cattle graze so peacefully,
earth softly births new dreams.
In Maslow’s thesis
The hierarchy of needs
Safety’s above love
I don’t think Maslow
Was ever really in love
Or knew who we were
Stars in the water
Algae is green in the sky
Reflections in streams
Are they who they say
They are not there, they’re their own.
We are what we do
Never who they are
Always who they want to be
Wonderful liars
Are they who they say
They are not there, they’re their own.
We are what we do
Never who they are
Always who they want to be
Wonderful liars
Stars in the water
Algae is green in the sky
Reflections in streams
Made myself a hell
With no blueprints for Heaven
And a lust to build
My mind hurts itself
It’s always fighting the same
Demons they invite
Parents with binkies
Try to cope with the hands of
Clocks doing cartwheels
For haiku contest:
lichen mosaic
rivulet of waterfall…
which is lovelier?
Good afternoon. Thank you for your consideration. Below are my three Haiku.
1.)
A drink sits idly
The whiteness gasps on the page
Autumn burns away
2.)
A tortoise plods on
Summer asphalt shifts below
Noon traffic backs up
3.)
Egyptian sun glows
Into deep-sanded oranges
Summer gold, squeezed out
Spring Whispers
whispers in spring air
maple leaves begin to bud,
secrets bloom in light.
maple leaves whisper,
soft murmurs in the hot breeze,
summer hums alive..
ice on the maple branches,
Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees,
Silence quakes in the endless wood
Sorry first line wasn’t meant to be there this is how it is meant to be:
whispers in spring air
maple leaves begin to bud,
secrets bloom in light.
maple leaves whisper,
soft murmurs in the hot breeze,
summer hums alive..
ice on the maple branches,
Breathless light shining through the unspoken trees,
Silence quakes in the endless wood