First Place – 60 Points
old piano —
from every key
the same silence
Gosia Zamorska
(6,10,22) = 60 Pts
A rare senryu without people, although they are implied. Very subtle alliteration in "same silence." Plus a good fit for my sensibility of hearing-by-not-hearing.
This is the essence of wabi & sabi. Inverted, the poem would be about a new piano, each key making a different sound. It would conjure up images of the person playing the piano, and the people listening, dancing, and/or singing along. This poem depicts the absence of all of that. Has the owner died? Or has the piano fallen into disrepair? Increasing the sense of isolation is the mention of the keys as individual, instead of acting in harmony as a chord.
Second Place – Thirty-five Points
rejection letter
folding another
paper crane
Melissa Spurr
(2,6,17) = 35 Pts
An object of beauty from something saddening. It’s funny and poignant.
So lighthearted!
This shows a way to "accept rejection" and turn a "no" into a "yes" - playfully, peacefully, gracefully.
Third Place – Thirty-three Points
drought year —
only the shape of water
on the stones
Devika
(2,8,11) = 33 Pts
Pure haiku. Of all 88 poems, this one was my favorite. It is about what is absent, and I enjoy the elemental images, the shapes, and the textures.
Fourth Place – Thirty Points
night sky
the rusted tin roof
leaking moonlight
Melissa Spurr
(3,5,11) = 30 Pts
A beauty, no doubt!
afternoon tea
dusk settling softly
into corners
Frances McCarthy
(0,7,16) = 30 Pts
I think this is a perfect haiku, the words echoing the
feeling of a winter afternoon.
Such a gentle haiku. I love the use of the word "softly" here.
Ah, this one is so delicate and subtle.
Fifth Place – Twenty-nine Points
crushed
between two nights —
winter day
Dejan Pavlinovic
(2,5,13) = 29 Pts
There is something very poignant about this.
Sixth Place – Twenty-five Points
winter day —
the paperboy one house
ahead of dusk
Irene Golas
(2,3,13) = 25 Pts
This haiku has a nostalgic feel, as one so seldom see paper boys anymore.
This is a delight of the imagination.
Seventh Place – Nineteen Points
rusted pickup
on the edge of town —
prairie wind
Beth Powell
(2,1,11) = 19 Pts
Wonderfully evocative - in a few words you can imagine
cold prairie winter winds, and the life of a farm pick-up truck.
Eighth Place – Eighteen Points
just when
I'd almost forgotten
wild roses
Ann K. Schwader
(1,3,9) = 18 Pts
Ninth Place – Seventeen Points
full moon
the call girl calls me
angel
Petar Tchouhov
(0,3,11) = 17 Pts
Funny, yet touching in a way. The poet, rooted in earth (it's hard to get earthier than a call girl), with his head in sky (moon). Becomes an angel.
Tenth Place – Fifteen Points
winter beach
my rough hands choose
the smoother stones
Jan O'Loughlin
(1,1,10) = 15 Pts
Most poignant!
bullet holes
rust bleeds down
the old sign
Neil Muscott
(1,0,12) = 15 Pts
birth certificate:
the name of the father
he never knew
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,3,9) = 15 Pts
…and the many interpretations.
Eleventh Place – Fourteen Points
our marriage
falling apart
he patches the roof
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(2,3,2) = 14 Pts
I could have written this one!
Twelfth Place – Thirteen points
harp song
rain crosses
a pond
Sherry Weaver Smith
(1,4,2) = 13 Pts
Beautifully aural and visual...gives me a pleasant shiver.
Thirteenth Place – Twelve Points
evening
a mockingbird returns
the song of my flute
Rose Marie Stutts
(0,3,6) = 12 Pts
where the barn's tin roof
rusted through
Mars
ed markowski
(0,1,10) = 12 Pts
Fourteenth Place – Eleven Points
will writing...
a lawn mower
strikes a rock
Alice Frampton
(1,2,4) = 11 Pts
family dog
the weight of the stones
upon his grave
Melissa Spurr
(0,4,3) = 11 Pts
This one has stuck in my mind. I have buried many a beloved pet, the weight on the heart mirrors the stones weight on the grave.
yard sale —
the faded diploma
of a country doc
Carmen Sterba
(0,2,7) = 11 Pts
Fifteenth Place – Ten Points
new sunroom
the dog
claims his spot
Frances McCarthy
(0,2,6) = 10 Pts
This brought back fond memories.
Sixteenth Place – Nine Points
endless night —
between the stepping stones
the other half of the moon
Elena Naskova
(0,2,5) = 9 Pts
Often the best haiku/senryu captures a common experience that lies just under the
conscious. It's like pulling up a plant to see the roots we know are there. This is one
of those poems.
civil war marker
a tour bus
re-loads
Roberta Beary
(0,0,9) = 9 Pts
Seventeenth Place – Eight Points
on the fridge
the to-do list
you left me
Roberta Beary
(1,0,5) = 8 Pts
This one is biting, without being obvious. No words tell the seething beneath, but still we can feel it.
play therapy
the jump rope
in knots
tom painting
(0,2,4) = 8 Pts
gardenias ...
a summer dance
so long ago
Nancy Nitrio
(0,1,6) = 8 Pts
Eighteenth Place – Seven Points
spring thunder
I promise not to tell
her mother
Bill Kenney
(1,0,4) = 7 Pts
divorce papers
the envelope
surprisingly light
Neil Muscott
(1,0,4) = 7 Pts
Nineteenth Place – Six Points
waning year
the cheese ball
changes shape
George Hawkins
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts
winter day the candle burned flat
w.f. owen
(0,1,4) = 6 Pts
Twentieth Place – Five Points
new design
the moon rises
in an antique mirror
ed markowski
(1,0,2) = 5 Pts
Beautiful!
nightlife district
a star falls
unnoticed
Elena Naskova
(1,0,2) = 5 Pts
cold rain
a wrinkled hand traces drops
on the window
Warren Gossett
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
Sad--I can picture that hand and the loneliness of the rain drop tracer.
new moon
the distant curve
of highway markers
Susan Constable
(0,0,5) = 5 Pts
scattering ashes
only this granite ledge
as a marker
Cherie Hunter Day
(0,0,5) = 5 Pts
divorce over —
she changes the cheese
in the mousetrap
Petar Tchouhov
(0,0,5) = 5 Pts
Twenty-first Place – Four Points
a cold night —
stuffing the gap between
the walls and the roof
David Caleb Mutua
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
root canal —
staring at the dentist's
graduation certificate
Paul Hodder
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
Seen it and done it!
full moon —
so many vines
on the banyan tree
Judith Gorgone
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
Twenty-second Place – Three Points
nightlife...
removing
his wedding ring
Carol Pearce-Worthington
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
autumn rain —
a tattooed man sells
permanent markers
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
Twenty-third Place – Two Points
winter moon
i carve a wedge
of camembert
Beth Powell
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
Twenty-fourth Place – One Point
back-country road
the stone mile marker
splotched with lichen
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,0,1) = 1 Pt
new moon
filling a crack
in the skylight
Melissa Spurr
(0,0,1) = 1 Pt
General Comments:
A real joy to return to so many powerful poems and great to see them recognised in this way.
I had a hard time choosing among the free format entries, there tend to be more senryu and many were playful, a few quite biting or melancholic and most done skillfully enough not to seem contrived. Nicely done!
Once again, such a difficult decision. I love them all!
Enjoyed voting and love Devika’s “drought year” and Sherry’s “harp song”. They stay with me long after I've read them and I appreciate their beauty and the way they let me see the world in a new way.