First Place Forty-three Points
sleepless night
the moon shifts
from pane to pane
Janice Hornburg
(2,8,21) = 43 Pts
And from pain to pain...I'm having nights like that.
I really love the implied association with the homophone, 'pain.' This is a lovely haiku.
Second Place Twenty-eight Points
moonless night
the wind whistles into
an empty bottle
Tanya Dikova
(2,7,8) = 28 Pts
I feel the length and loneliness of the night in this.
It seems that the bottle here, beyond being just 'empty,' becomes a vessel that holds the vast and infinite emptiness of nighttime. Well done.
Ooh, nice one. Has a very classic feel.
Truly evocative: Night, the wind, the world in a bottle. Empty? Hardly.
The implications of this one are sad and lonely but very effectively expressed.
night
settles on the city
starling by starling
Kilah C
(1,7,11) = 28 Pts
Yes! That's just the way it happens!
I really like this quiet imagery. Original and effective.
Third Place Twenty-five Points
the night splits
into before and after
the phone call
Barbara Snow
(1,4,14) = 25 Pts
Certain phone calls will do that. I like the tension that runs through this poem, from the first line to the last.
Fourth Place Twenty-three Points
moonless night
the jasmine's fragrance
leads me home
Jacek M.
(0,7,9) = 23 Pts
Fifth Place Sixteen Points
silent night
the child moves
inside her
Josh Wikoff
(0,3,10) = 16 Pts
The seasonal reference has real force because it is so simple and yet radiant with meanings.
Sixth Place Fifteen Points
stars
long after the death
of a bonfire
Collin Barber
(0,4,7) = 15 Pts
Seventh Place Thirteen Points
the rain that stopped
has started again . . .
the long night
Bill Kenney
(2,2,3) = 13 Pts
Such loneliness in so few syllables.
winter night, another long train slowly passes
Laurene Post
(0,2,9) = 13 Pts
The form compliments this one nicely.
The one-line format fits very well here. Wonderful!
Great simplicity, symmetry, and chemistry between the two things juxtaposed.
Eighth Place Twelve Points
between street lamps
the rise and fall
of my shadow
Agnes Eva Savich
(0,1,10) = 12 Pts
A rhythmic, wave-like effect to this progression as one lamp releases the tall shadow to the next, then the shadow shrinks as it nears each lamp only to grow again. Energy and even moods are also rather like this. Very evocative.
Ninth Place Eleven Points
cold night . . .
submerging cabbage hearts
in the soup pot
Michael McClintock
(0,2,7) = 11 Pts
Tenth Place Ten Points
howl of a dog
empties the night
of silence
Michelle V. Alkerton
(0,2,6) = 10 Pts
rainy night
with every step
moon under my feet
Katarzyna Predota
(0,1,8) = 10 Pts
Eleventh Place Nine Points
goodnight kiss
he takes
his time
Roberta Beary
(0,3,3) = 9 Pts
Slight, perhaps, but well-crafted, with an eloquent (and elegant) break at the end of line 2.
my secret crush
our shadows touch
in the moonlight
Meredith Stern Cavalieri
(0,2,5) = 9 Pts
That's really sweet!
moonless night
her face in the glow
of the cellphone screen
Mykel Board
(0,2,5) = 9 Pts
A well-written 21st century haiku.
A nice surprise as well as a reflection (a punning image!)
Contrasts the depth of a night's darkness in a fresh way.
Twelfth Place Eight Points
2 a.m.
barefoot at the window
watching the snow
April Serock
(0,2,4) = 8 Pts
long night
my eyes strain
the personals
tom painting
(0,1,6) = 8 Pts
nightfall
mountains near and far
become one
Melissa Spurr
(0,1,6) = 8 Pts
stillness
the night after
he left for war
Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,1,6) = 8 Pts
Thirteenth Place Seven Points
imagine a haiku written
28 years ago this night
John Lennon's death
1bodhisattva
(2,0,1) = 7 Pts
night in the valley
I follow
the shepherd's call
Gosia Zamorska
(1,1,2) = 7 Pts
silent night
the holiness of trees
in wet snow
George Hawkins
(1,0,4) = 7 Pts
moonless night
all shadows
disappeared
Derwisz
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts
first snowfall
newborn sleeps through
the night
Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,5) = 7 Pts
I remember that first night. Unfortunately, I still laid awake . . . listening.
I love the comfort the blanket of snow brings.
Fourteenth Place Six Points
longest night
the Pleiades unwind
their string of lights
Shelley Krause
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts
A nice winter sky image.
a snowy owl
cries from the cedars ...
the night deepens
Bridget Cougar
(0,1,4) = 6 Pts
wake
how he'd talk
of the stars above the foxhole
aom (tim)
(0,1,4) = 6 Pts
winter night
the harbour light blinks
across the ice
Beth Powell
(0,0,6) = 6 Pts
autumn night
only the rustle of leaves
of an old novel
Dorota Pyra
(0,0,6) = 6 Pts
Fifteenth Place Five Points
Quite alone
wandering through the polar night...
the lodestar
Vasile Moldovan
(1,0,2) = 5 Pts
the old furnace
creaks and groans
comforting bumps in the night
Bill Hudson
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
A comforting sound on a cold winter's night.
autumn leaves
the last bus departs
almost empty
Israel Lopez Balan
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
The gap between the set-up (line 1) and payoff (lines 2-3) leaves the reader just enough to do.
drizzly night
tiny stars dance
on my glasses
Isabelle Prondzynski
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts
the long night
regular start/stop
of the fridge motor
if
(0,0,5) = 5 Pts
3 a.m.
last night the silence
tonight the rain
Kate Creighton
(0,0,5) = 5 Pts
Sixteenth Place Four Points
steep canyon walls
with each rumble of thunder
the night feels longer
Edward
(0,2,0) = 4 Pts
spring night
frogs outshine
the stars
John Soules
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
his words linger
all night the patter of rain
on the window
polona
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
embracing father
for the final time
old moon in the new moon's arms
jon davey
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
city night
last-minute shoppers jostle
the homeless man's cart
Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts
A sad commentary. What is Christmas without charity and compassion for our fellow man?
And I read "cart" as "shopping cart." Why say everything?
arguing
again
long
cold
night
Sjs
(0,0,4) = 4 Pts
Seventeenth Place Three Points
heading to work
a raccoon's brief shadow
under the old moon
Harvey Jenkins
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
Holy Night...
twinkling stars nestled
among the branches
Dejan Pavlinovic
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts
o this night!
no moon no stars
up three times to pee
miriam chaikin
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
all night
I play hide-and-seek
with the full moon
Audrey Downey
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
counting stars . . .
huddled close, bundled up
against the night
Carol Raisfeld
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
their first night
behind a veil of clouds
the smiling moon
Gryta Wansdronk
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
winter solstice
sparks fly from the fire
towards the stars
Daniela Bullas
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
Lovely image of the sparks and the stars together -- warmth and cold, movement and stillness -- this haiku immediately caught my eye!
lovers moon
venus and jupiter tryst
at twilight
Darrell Byrd
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
moonlight in Ohio
a frog has leapt
from Basho's hand
Earl Keener
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
final descent . . .
a hill temple lights-up
the night sky
kala ramesh
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
night...
the door closes in
on a moth
Nana Fredua-Agyeman
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
out of
the deep night
first snow
Marylouise Knight
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
cold night
I cover with my body
my shadow
Lech Szeglowski
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
under a blanket
grandma's winter tales
warm the long nights
frederick gier
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
funnier
than Letterman
midnight mockingbird
Joyce Clement
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
Nature's entertainment triumphs! I like the unexpected subject matter.
night game
a long line of sad football fans
walking home
Dominic Riendeau-Krause
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
shyly undressing
its always night
on the abyssal plains
A.M. Scarpone
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts
late night calm
my shadow wonders through
the empty streets
Elena Naskova
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
a dark night
one or two lights shining somewhere
through the rain
Garry Eaton
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
parent-teacher conference
a halo around
the moon
Deborah P Kolodji
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
her skirt
shorter than her boots
night out
Susan Constable
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
deep frost
the feral kittens
curl into the night
jill
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
the moon
straight up
night chaser
Lin Geary
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts
Clever!
Eighteenth Place Two Points
silent night
a police car passes
with the cherries lit
tori inu
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts
midnight lunch break
the guard shares his thin sandwich
with a stray pup
John Thompson
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
late night
even the owls
have gone to bed
fedelmia
(0.0.2) = 2 Pts
this snowy night
a reminder of the time
we lost the town
William Sorlien
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
white night
under eyelids
a shadow
Iga
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts
paydaynight
crunching into
road grit
Jon Baldwin
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
somewhere
in the black night
~ snowdrops
Paul Hodder
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
Factual and yet the implications in this effective haiku are of hope in the 'darkest night'.
right there in the mirror
the night and I - both with
a little gin within
Anne Zooey Lind
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
stopping by the road
I switch off the headlights
nightingale's song
Tomislav M.
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
raindrops through palm fronds
all night long against my hair
the stranger's whisper
sanjukta
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts
only a tomcat
whines on the roof
the rainy night
Miorita
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts
enter the night
and the mind
releases a trickster
Wendy Kabiri
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
starry night...
the moment you see the past
in a dew drop
Li Ree
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts
Wow! I simply love this!
Nineteenth Place One Point
West Texas flatlands
first blush of morning
behind us the night
bre
All guests gone:
after the late party
night and I
R.K.Singh
deep winter night
the stars seem connected
to each other
Bruce Ross
an old man's night
waiting for the moon
to defeat that cloud
Rita Odeh
Hot nights:
Sweat, slide, thump, slap, itai!
Aikido smiles
James Sawers
twilight deepening
into the night
ravens on my windowsill
doris kasson
listening to the cicadas
the sky closes its eye
new moon night
Kameshwara Rao
night wind
without me he says
the house is dead space
Francine Banwarth
in darkness
a hunting owl cries
night shivers
Deirdre Godwin
windy night
the cloudy moon
still changes shape
Grzegorz Sionkowski
dark city street
the ambulance siren
grows louder
Peggy Heinrich
snow storm
the city at night becomes
a gray day
Mike Montreuil
after midnight
her footsteps upstairs
quicken my dream
Gene Doty
Sir Howlalot
nighted
by the owls
Jon Espen Vassbotn
full wolf moon
sounds of claws
on the piano keys
Tore Sverredal
my hand on her
heart bringing light
into the night
Bill Pauly
high desert nightfall
more stars tonight
than last
Michelle Chandler
indigo night;
bat shadows dancing
on the barn wall
manoj saranathan
Twentieth Place Sorry, no points this time.
Night is a blanket;
It will give security...
But also smother.
Tanja
Orion rises
solar light path markers
struggle
gourdman
fat snow-stars
from the night sky
silently dancing
Rose Marie Stutts
old friends
midnight return
garden frog
terrytip
early winter dark
look, Orion is up
brandishing his stars
Paul O. Williams
the moon nestles
between Venus and Jupiter
December night
Patrick Wafula
dark still night
the scarlet bougainvillea
unwavering
gillena
tonight, like last night
planets navigate the stars
tomorrow night too
Jeff Hanson
watching the moon
through open window,
my nose bleeds
renaye
rambunctiously I watch
the aligning of jupiter
venus and the crescent moon
Stella
night sky
pinhole stars through
velvet black
Frances McCarthy
afterglow
behind night shades
tonight the stars
Ben Gieske
cold winter night
embraced
by the silence
Carolyn Coit Dancy
winter dawn...
the clarity of night
turns to day
anonymous
cold moon...long dark night...
december's winter night waits
for the sun to rise.
dragonfly
howling at the moon
coyote professes his love
night after night
todd eddy
so many stars
Jupiter and Venus so close
in cold night sky
Jim Applegate
Icy storm,
night bombs in the sky.
That is it.
Horst Ludwig
awakened at night
somewhere far among the pines,
the wind whines
Sunil Uniyal
Low dough retreat
escaping the craziness
in the night's quiet
Hazel A. Witherspoon
still can't sleep
car sounds and shadows
across the wall
DeVar
after curfew :
stumbles and giggles over
crazy paving
andrea
silent night
the stars chill tears shrouding
a war torn earth
anonymous
Christmas Eve night
a shooting star
look! Santa Claus
Terri L. French
unexpected
sounds in the night
tense, we listen
John Daleiden
a sunbeam
struggles to let go
of that night
anonymous
the night at its darkest
brought to brightness by
one star
Tina
General Comments:
There were so many good poems; this was a very difficult choice.
'The Night' seems to have been a very evocative choice of key words, stirring the participants to some very good haiku.