First Place – Twenty-six Points
garden wall —
enough moon
to go around
Francine Banwarth
(2,5,10) = 26 pts
Elegant in its simplicity!
Second Place – Twenty Points
picket fence
she repaints his dream
each spring
Terra Martin
(2,4,6) = 20 pts
Third Place – Eighteen Points
between the fog
and the fence
daffodils
Kate Creighton
(1,3,9) = 18 pts
The problem with perfection in haiku is that it's very hard to talk
about. But the consonance here is beautifully controlled, and the
splash of bright color introduced by the daffodils brings the poem to
a refreshing and satisfying finish.
I like the simplicity of this one; also that, for me at least, it
illustrates a feeling of finding a bit of gladness between anxiety and
limitation. Wish there was a good way to format it pictographically;
it would sort of break up the one-sentence effect: between fog and
fence daffodils
Fourth Place – Seventeen Points
rickety fence
held together
by jasmine
Andre Surridge
(0,6,5) = 17 pts
Fifth Place – Sixteen Points
checkpoint ...
fireflies, back and forth
through the fence
Carol Raisfeld
(1,2,9) = 16 pts
Sixth Place – Fourteen Points
No fence —
Just an open
gate
helge t.
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
This says so much in so few words. It's the one that makes me stop and
think, and stop and think again.
stone wall
the glimmer of snail trail
crossing over
polona
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
Origami-
the shadow of a butterfly
flickering on the wall
Vasile Moldovan
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
I find the uncertain relationship between the two parts of this
intriguing. The poem does not leave me satisfied, but, in this case,
that's not a bad thing.
dark horizon...
a sea eagle climbing
a wall of wind
Li Ree
(0,5,4) = 14 pts
Seventh Place – Thirteen Points
graveyard wall —
on the street side
cherry blossoms
Gautam Nadkarni
(0,3,7) = 13 pts
Eighth Place – Twelve Points
monastery wall
a monk strolls
the quiet side
tom painting
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
Simple and effective.
moonlit prison
the clematis quietly climbs
over the wall
Tore Sverredal
(0,3,6) = 12 pts
Ninth Place – Eleven Points
old fence
apricot blossoms fall
on both sides
Ella Wagemakers
(1,2,4) = 11 pts
Simple, effective and a nice twist on “the grass is always greener
on the other side.”
a row of sparrows
white-washing
the picket fence
Terri French
(1,2,4) = 11 pts
Interesting though perhaps a little…ah, earth (which certainly
never stopped the Japanese masters.
border town
a tumbleweed escapes
over a rusty fence
Garry Eaton
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
a neighborhood
of high fences —
the scent of lilac
Bill Kenney
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
Tenth Place – Ten Points
across the grass
and up the wall
a swallow's shadow
Paul Hodder
(0,3,4) = 10 pts
seawall
thoughts drifting
along
Roberta Beary
(0,1,8) = 10 pts
An effective juxtaposition.
Eleventh Place – Nine Points
new neighbor
he adds another row
to the wall
Ben Gieske
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
memorial wall
echoes of soldiers
dying
Don Baird
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
Poignant and thought-provoking.
Twelfth Place – Eight Points
neighborhood gossip
another patch of couch grass
creeps under the fence
Susan Constable
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
spring moss —
a hole in the wall
between us
Nelson
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
old stone fence
deep in the woods —
a trace of snow
Joyce Clement
(0,2,4) = 8 pts
dry-stone walls...
the signature of ancestors
across the valley
Dejan Pavlinovic
(0,1,6) = 8 pts
The use of 'signature' and the link between L1&3 make this special.
Thirteenth Place – Seven Points
barbed wire fence
the cows have all summer
to find its weakness
Harvey Jenkins
(0,2,3) = 7 pts
library wall ... I leave a pseudonym
Helen Buckingham
(0,0,7) = 7 pts
Fourteenth Place – Six Points
chain link fence —
a hog nose snake
weaving himself in
Barbara Campitelli
(0,2,2) = 6 pts
April morning —
dew hangs on the
barbed wire fence
~ Malombe Johnson
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
coming home
a row of schoolboys
on the orchard wall
Terry O'Connor
(0,1,4) = 6 pts
Fifteenth Place – Five Points
anniversary —
flowers
for the sea wall
aom (tim)
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
morning glories
flying off the fence —
two butterflies!
Tomislav
(1,0,2) = 5 pts
I think the kire would work better, placed after glories in Line 1
roofless house —
walls between the tree
and its apples
Gosia Zamorska
(0,2,1) = 5 pts
longer, the rains
shorter
the fence
Barbara Snow
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
spring cleaning
he throws his voice
over the fence
Mary Davila
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
Sixteenth Place – Four Points
beyond the fence
ranks of gravestones
dad among them
if
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
link by link
the snow peas climb the fence
headed for the sun
jeff hanson
(0,2,0) = 4 pts
cooky-baking
the wall between us
crumbles
Ellen Compton
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
old battlefield...
rooted in the crumbling wall
a bleeding heart
Janice Hornburg
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
grandma's last photo
strings hold the hollyhocks
against the fence
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
prisoners
from morning till evening —
the school fence
~ Lucy Nyambura
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
Effective in the way it mirrors how some kids feel. I was (and had) one.
wind gust —
the rusty fence hooks
a white shirt
Caleb David Mutua
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
lowing calf
the moon is caught
in the barbed wire fence
Earl Keener
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
Seventeenth Place – Three Points
behind the fence…
the two sways settle down
separated
Rita Odeh
(1,0,0) = 3 pts
posts with barbed wire
now and then
still above the snow
Horst Ludwig
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
moonlit night...
illicit lovers sharing a kiss
over the fence
Patrick Wafula
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
a drip of coffee
blurring the silky napkin
cat - behind the fence
oana posnaies
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
Graveyard —
high wall separating
the quick from the dead
Virginia Popescu
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
new neighbors
a straight line of foliage
where the fence was
j blain
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
lizards sheltering
under the block wall —
hot afternoon
~ Abraham Muuo
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
hot afternoon —
a green lizard peeps through
cracks on a rusty wall
~ Otinga
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
realtor’s office
with the image of a door
painted on the wall
ARW
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
open sky
the sun climbs
over the privacy fence
Beth Powell
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
knotted rope
behind the sea wall
memories of winter
Patrick M. Pilarski
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
split-rail fence —
a billy goat and
the greener grass
Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
pile of bricks
in the shadows
Berlin Wall
Susan Sanchez-Barnett
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
more stones
to add to the pasture wall
spring thaw
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
Eighteenth Place – Two Points
across the wall —
the yellow center of
a white plumeria
gillena
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
under the faded fence
earthworms tunnel
noses to coffee grounds
mechaieh
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
spring cleaning
the separating wall
taller than ever
Elena Naskova
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
feet wet with dew
she climbs back over
her father's fence
Ruth Powell
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
a blind wall
between you and me
no opening
natalia kuznetsova
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
wisteria
covering the fence
a waterfall of purple
Rose Marie Stutts
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
the neighbors
good fences make
fresh paint
Ann K. Schwader
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
confederate jasmine
climbs up
the yankee's wall
Judi Honiker
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
shadow-dancing
gladness on a building wall
— the leafy tree
miriam chaikin
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
stonehenge forget-me-nots each side of the fence
anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
Shadow of age
on the wall —
second full moon
R.K.Singh
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
timid ivy
chatters to stone deaf
granite walls
Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
spring showers
the old stone wall comes alive
with yellow blossoms
anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
autumn breeze
tiny spiders add glitter
to an old fence
Mac Miller
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
rusty fence
from apple-tree to apple-tree
rotten apples
Dorota Pyra
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
our fence
for humans a barrier
a highway for cats
Elaine Riddell
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
a cuckoo's song. . .
the shock of bougainvilleas
above a brick wall
anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
"shock" is the choice that puts us in the moment and makes the
moment resonate.
First day in school —
in the hollow of a wall
two satchels hidden
Dan Norea
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
boom-boxes
herald exam week :
my office wall shakes
LGD
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
fence is loaded
by the white dahlias —
my father alone
miorita
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
pasture fence
it leans towards
alfalfa blooms
andrea
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
Nineteenth Place – One Point
erratic field
some of the boulders
in its fence
Bruce Ross
"erratic" is (to me, at least) an unusual choice and an effective
one. I think the placing of "the" and "its" might be reversed.
Driven up the wall —
Am I coming or going?
Who, on earth, can tell?
Tanja
the worn path
between the wall and fence
where worlds collide
Bill Hudson
straddling the fence
ball lightening
was achieved
A. Bodhi
behind the wall
of indifference and pain
living a lie
Keith A. Simmonds
Wired out birds gossip
cows chatting online happy
keeping fence posted
Erling Larsen
cattle country
barbed wire fences keep the herds
from becoming one
Edward
my new neighbor's kid
peeking through the picket fence —
a billy goat!
Bridget Cougar
wall of silence
while they dry dishes —
kitchen tap drips, drips
Leslie Montgomery
equinox
building the fence myself
I bring it level
Thomas Heffernan
remember
my love messages
on that wall?
meow
a patch of mint
thriving, near
an ancient stone wall
Stella
The widow's house —
only the neighbors' boys
jump the fence
Ioan Marinescu-Puiu
Holding Hills so tight
Undulating barbed wire webs
Keeping flocks from flight
Pat
summer dusk
one wall of a pre-war house
still warm
Juliusz Wnorowski
almost tangible —
this wall growing
between us
John Soules
our stroll
becomes a quarrel,
fence after six foot fence
Laurene Post
the war
between two neighbours
a fence
Hermione
elaborate
castle walls ruined
by only wave
anonymous
brown fence
the cardinal sings
early spring
Mary Chapman
Jumping
imaginary walls —
finding
Tina
Twentieth Place – Sorry, no points this time.
Ireland's gorse-hedge fences —
sheep on one side
tourist on the other
Bre
early spring
day lilies peek
over the cold stone wall
sakyu
the smell of dust
sharp thorns on
a split rail fence
Linda Pilarski
Leant to the wall
clothes wet in spring drizzle
love words broken
Max Zontini
Do I really like him?
I wish I were a fly
on the wall…
Daniela Bullas
Lichen and moss
Guarded by neglect and decay
Battered gates and walls
James Sawers
broken limbs
scattered bits of fence
wind subsides
James M. Thompson
black fort wall —
moss shimmers in
sunlight
Sunil Uniyal
last staple pounded
into the 8 foot high
deer fence
gourdman
dandelions —
on all cracks in the wall
this spring
Jacek M.
many rose buds
lean on memorial walls
to bloom as bouquets
purush
oblique fence —
between the wooden slats
blossom wildflowers
Andrzej Dembonczyk
this winter vine
monstrously reeling round high walls:
she's gone she's gone
Sheila K. Barskdale
April moon,
five foot garden fence,
ten foot shade.
Trevor Camp
the Separation Wall
blocks the way —
crocuses blossoming
Deanna Tief
tangled sheep hair
in the fence on the fold
of the map
Jon Baldwin
April rain —
a canopy of trees rejuvenates
along the fence
~ Pauline Peter
April rain —
students plant flowers along
the barbed wire fence
~ Alex Wanambisi
quarry blasts —
a crack in the wall of
our house
~ Lucy Waithera
students buying
foodstuff through the fence —
break time
~ Elizabeth Wakesho
April rain —
the wall of our classroom
caves in
~ Ruth Maloba
holiday tuition —
a student escapes
over the fence
~ Nyamai Nthunga
April sunshine —
hawkers spread their wares
near the fence
~ Emmanuel Mwita
the long neck
through the fence —
a maize plant
~ Winslause Yamame
painting the fence
the silvered grain
turns golden
Andrew Shimield
vaulting a wire fence
I almost miss a barb
last nip of winter
Tom Genovese
my grandpa built this
toiling in the summer heat
fitting rails on rails
Deirdre Godwin
cold wall of silence
comes down to make way for a
warm fence of flowers
dragonfly
pitch black—where's the door
to the bathroom—only wall
anxiety mounts
Paul O. Williams
uninvited visitor
scaling my neighbour's wall —
a bat flees
~ Catherine Njeri Maina
fairytale —
the scary character peeps
through the cracked wall
Hussein Haji
security —
a thin fence between me and
my favourite ship
anonymous
ghost town —
this fence
between neighbors
anonymous
on the garden wall
in spreading middle age
dappled ivy clings
Frances McCarthy
hillside tilt —
old stone wall
mortared with shadows
Gene Doty
newly empty nest —
we decide to abandon
the old brick wall
anonymous
footprints on snow —
on the fence wire carelessly
swings my life.
Krzysztof PL
the butterfly
hovers about the fence
the poison oak
Marylouise Knight
well-known wisdom
"good fences make good neighbours"
but Frost disagreed
frederick gier
window cat's siren
scares possible trespassers
off his invisible fences
Jon Espen Vassbotn
Spring Fever
squatting against the wall
a stripped-to-waist tramp
anonymous
faded graffiti
morning glories climb
the repainted wall
Deborah P Kolodji
fence on the border
Oh Mr. Frost —
makes poor neighbors
jill
after frost
neighbors argue
over the wall
Bill Pauly
flow of bricks
in flemmish bond
a serpentine garden wall
eric
neighbour's pigeons
think nothing of
my fence
Iga
Participants’ General Comments:
While kigo section left something to be desired (for my taste at
least), free format section offered quite a few strong haiku, which
made the decision much more difficult. On a different day I might have
decided differently.
Other points given back. I've only done that once before (comment
on free format votes)