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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 Once entries are posted, they can be revised or withdrawn ONLY by making another Comment.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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i envy the bee –
he doesn’t know he’s tasted
his last peony
to the uncaught fish
the rod’s sharp sudden sting
is nothing but myth
shadows on the path –
how suddenly they faded,
the bright autumn leaves
wiry vines longing
for rays of sunshine to climb ~
nature finds a way
Canada
wiry vines longing
for rays of sunshine to climb ~
nature finds a way
Kite soars high in sky
swooshing sounds of turns and glides
I stand still in awe
Paradise resort
An island of love and song
Sea and land, I do
Treetop crows gather
Frogs ribbiting along creek
Echoing full force
Clouds catch fire, throw sparks
Moon pasted on navy sky
Screens flicker, go dark.
Sinuous, sun soak’d
Sleepy, shadow-striped, dreaming
Cat-shaped contentment.
Petrichor and dust
Rain walking across the sky
The desert blooms again
dew-drenched rose garden
these shades of scarlet sunlight
still drip, drip, dripping …
tenth year in exile …
a blossom breeze of lilac
brings me home again
another war news
a spiderweb on the eaves
sagging with raindrops
1) chains break in daylight
shadows of faith cut the air
tricolour still flies
2)first breath kicks the ball
sun and storms across the field
whistle fades to dusk
3)Blossoms fall around
I seek her in every crowd
no flower matches
1.
dream of summer sea
inspiration of soft waves
rolling up, cold toes!
2.
sweet garnet lilies,
throats bright at twilight, mingle
their scent with our breath
3.
across bluest sky
ceaseless clouds collide, a gust
bears my gaze aloft
(1) Reflections on the Movie “Past Lives”
Threads of In-Yun weave
Two lives drift on distant seas
Eyes meet through the years
(2) The Conclave
Smoke twists in the sky
Whispers swell to thunder’s roar
Keys turn, doors open
(3) On a Visit to Saihoji, Kyoto in Autumn 2023
Velvet earth unfolds
Moss-keeper’s quiet footfalls
Stitch the shade with care
(4) On the Plane that Returns to Fiumicino Airport after a Parakeet Attack on November 10, 2024
Concrete sky trembles
Green monks scatter in engines
Rome holds its breath still
Thanks, Min Chen, for these haiku. Please choose ONLY THREE as your entries for the contest. You may give the numbers in reply to me below.
1.
coiled tongue extends
to unyielding pursed petals
better luck next time
2.
God’s smile taunts me
bound to roam the mossy earth
wish I were a bird
3.
miles of desert
cacti are my only friends
they look like gumdrops
War’s end
doll wanders her master
into nobody zone
Song of crane bird
seating fee for tree
with no discounts
Sunrise spills
into woods- drains night
remains on grapes
1. Mist melts in pink dawn
Rain-soaked cloth scrapped in thorns –
A name washes off
2. Tin roof leaks mid-sip
Swirl of rust, milk, cardamom
This is nashta too!
birds chirp songs of spring
seated on the iron rods of pillars
spot once full of trees
family photo
in front of the Christmas tree
missing your presence
digging up treasure
in morning excavation
unearths gem lettuce
precipitation…
cherry blossom confetti
showers park wedding
powdery snowdrift
low voices in the kitchen
whiff of burnt sugar
this morning glory,
cherries and sugar snap peas—
spring, forget-me-not.
reaching the old fence
between our garden benches—
budding daffodils
1. the rainy season
the gray sky is blurring
on the sidewalk
2. a pair of young swans
please, let’s don’t talk about love
while we’re at the pond
1) papilio palinursus
little stary night full of
green auroa and fireballs
2) new year day
table clock is floundering on mirror’s open mouth
3) inbloom cherries
simultaneously are cosmos’ begining and cosmos’ fate
Exuse me
Correct form if second haiku is following:
new year day
table clock is floundering on mirror’s open mouth
Sorry
Since it seems that arrangement of my haiku lines be messed up, I reposting them all.
papilio palinursus
little stary night full of
green auroa and fireballs
new year day
table clock is floundering on
mirror’s open mouth
inbloom cherries
simultaneously are cosmos’ begining
and cosmos’ fate
ruby rising sun
sampan seamen savor spring’s
salty sea sushi
jasmine permeates
portentous passions pursue
silhouettes in spring
spring, summer, or fall;
winter winds will never maul
growing Bonsai trees
graduation day…
a baby grasshopper jumps
through the barbed wire fence
*
ceaseless summer rain…
on every writing table
origami boats
*
fishing a river…
with my grandfather hip-deep
in the mackerel sky
*
rainforest rhythms . . .
woolgather midst a white-glove
Year of the Wood Snake
*
abracadabra . . .
last lily of the valley
lilting in limelight
*
a roll of the dice . . .
not a night for lullabies
moon plays peekaboo
*
Monica Kakkar
Luminous white dog
Leading us through the dark wood
Lighting the way home
Shadowed by the church
No-one sees the twisted tree
It sheds yellow leaves
Black elm silhouettes
Against the pale end of day
Stretch for the last light
back to the office —
busy migrating swallows
fill the leaden sky
blackbird on tree top
in the middle of the night…
whistling Beatles’ songs
under the bamboos
a sudden wind brings about
early morning rain