.
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.
.
PRIZE
$200
.
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.
.
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!
.
HOW
Post your entries in the Comments below.
.
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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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.
.
PAST WINNERS
.
.
Mist hangs on the bridge
Steps echo in autumn’s leaves
You loved days like this
Children playing in a field
Dandelions at sunset
Natures lanterns glow
Working 9 to 5
Driving to work monday morning
Ghostly processions
Lithe iridescence
arcs through the light summer rain
to bask in the sun
Leaves brown and faded
cling to the wisps of summer
before hitting ground
Foamy ocean waves
cover me in briny sand
full of soft secrets
Corpse flower flocks crowds
At six, grandmother’s dream pleads
to inherit spring
Ma twirls in Lily
Autumn cracks the bumpy blooms
Frostbite on mangroves
Summer body grieves_
deserves dizzy tenderness
My lover’s last wish
The thunderous rain
Falls onto the quiet plain
A crane calls its mate
Trees dance near water
shimmering in the red sun
I must turn away
Resplendent quetzal
Sunning alone on a limb
I eat a pretzel
Sunbeam through cool dark
Between bench slats in the park
Lichen glowing green
electric air waits
sweet release of rolling sound
not for throbbing heads
summer oversees
every drop of juicy peach
hardened pits ignored
her warm little hand
touching everything in sight
returning to mine
tree branches tremble
a great quake of blackbirds strike
dark wings clap thunder
lovely the flower
on the branch yet I fall down
in soggy blossoms
a shadow crosses
the mouse stills quicker than light
nose knows no kitten
Look at the stars
Dots of unconnected paint
Splattered in the sky
I perpetrate
The sunrise over the dew
Resting in my heart
A mulberry tree
I picked from a dark alley
My life’s salad
Cynthia, please give your last name here in reply. Above you’ll see it’s IMPORTANT to submit contest entries using first and last name. Thanks!
In autumn, he came –
The flower prince, spring’s son, and
with stars, filled my sky.
—
O Rose, bloom and bloom,
and grow through hearts, dear hearts,
whisper to them: love.
Pine shadow stretches
A spine on the grassy field
Unobtrusively
***** ******* *****
Autumn-atic loss
From the time of spinning Earth
Inevitable
***** ******* *****
Late blooming daisies
Stuck in potential white green
As leaves brown, Fall calls
Thank you for reading and your consideration. Below are my three Haiku submissions.
1)
Tangled roots below,
a water lily above.
From such depth, life grows.
2)
Inhaling moss floors –
Dense, exhaling pines and ferns.
Circulating life.
3)
Golden rays peek through
gaps in trees, finding my face.
The warmth draws me up.
Greeting chirps and tweets
Little birdy pecks and sings,
“Welcome, welcome spring!”
Oh, beautiful night,
The darkness captivates me
May I hide away?
Butterflies flutter
Flowers open their petals
The glory of spring.
Snuggled duvet-deep,
Alarm roused before sunrise,
Exposed, oh – the cold.
Though golden wheatfields,
Embrace the coming harvest,
All ripe-ears, bristle.
empty autumn beach
I write your name in the sand
waves forget for me
gray skies slowly drip
frost clings to the broken fence
hearts freeze in silence
crimson clouds scatter
warm breeze carries fading light
summer’s final bow
New bag in his grip
a boy waits at the crosswalk,
cool wind at his back.
Autumn is coming
a boy kicks through brittle leaves
jacket zipped halfway
Changing autumn leaves,
warmth clings to the fading days,
winter draws its breath.
Japanese Maple
Your colors are turning now
My friend, this tree, glows
Iridescent rust
Colors of impending fall
Shivering delight
through endless ages
a thousand generations
together we are
together we are
fuller, able, thankful, strong
divided we fall
through endless ages
a thousand generations
together we stand
fog shrouds the river
mudlarkers on the foreshore
ghosts searching for ghosts
******
carpet of petals
lie below the rain-dashed rose
our summer quarrel
******
rearranging rocks
in the middle of the stream
I change the music
Summer’s gentle breeze,
whispers a calm melody-
a tale of passion
The world seems distant-
Claws at the nape of winter,
Reminds me of you,
withdraw this submission
I want to withdraw this submission
sunlight on columns
cast long shadows of marble
through an ancient space
sudden silver spheres
humming, strumming, now drumming
musical deluge
grey clouds overhead
purple jacarandas drop
lavender blossoms
Black smoke coats the well,
an oilman lights his cigar—
a girl claws the soil.
Dust clings to his feet—
he counts the crates overhead,
none fall near their tent.
Stillness in the air—
my breath fogs beneath the moon,
time forgets my name.
dormant cold ground meets
the warm rays of the morning
ice was only water
Withdraw this submission