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The Shiki Monthly Kukai

December 2008 Kukai

Dear Haiku Friends,

We wish each of you, our participants and readers, a most joyous Holiday season!

We also wish to announce a very special Kukai to bring the New Year forward.

The Shiki Team of Japan, The Ehime Culture Foundation which sponsors the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards, along with The Shiki Monthly Kukai Team are pleased to announce The 2009 Shiki Special Kukai in memory of William J. Higginson!

Invitations will be sent out on New Year's Eve.

The Shiki special kukai has not been held since the year 2000 and was once a much-anticipated part of the Shiki Internet Salon Haiku Workshop kukai. An experience like no other contest offered by haiku association before or since.

The Grand Prize of a round trip to Matsuyama along with commemorative gifts to 5 higher-ranking winners will be awarded for this special Kukai.

There will be questions and we'll be happy to answer them but here is a link you should check out regarding this most wonderful opportunity.

This is a page of links to past contest results. Of interest will be these links, also. They are the haibun accounts of the last two winners, Timothy Russell—1999 and Earl Keener—2000.

These accounts are a fascinating read.

There will be additional requirements with this kukai, so please read all directions carefully when the invitations arrive.

The 2009 Shiki Special Kukai in memory of William J. Higginson will preempt our January and February monthly kukai schedule.


Here are the results for the December 2008 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was "Hare or Rabbit" and our Free Format setting was "The Night".

Congratulations to Elena Naskova and Melissa Spurr, winners of our Kigo section and to Janice Hornburg, winner of our Free Format section!


The haiku are listed in order of total points received from voters. The numbers reflect the number of voters who gave the haiku either three points, two points, or one point -- followed by the total points for all votes.

Those who were given less than three points and who requested anonymity in such a case are so noted.


In the listing below, after each poem the author is listed, and then a three digit code revealing how many 3-point, 2-point, and 1-point points were cast for this poem by the other participating poets.

(214 = 12) would indicate that the poem above received two 3-point votes, one 2-point vote, and four 1-point votes.

Voters comments are in italics below the respective poems.

December 2008 Results
Kigo Theme:
Hare or Rabbit
Free Format Theme:
The Night

First Place – Thirty Points
no one called
she gently dusts
her porcelain rabbits

Elena Naskova
(3,8,5) = 30 Pts

The implied loneliness enhanced rather than diminished by the routine is poignant.

dawn
a jackrabbit springs
from stillness

Melissa
(2,7,10) = 30 Pts

Great image!

As though the sun were its green light to GO...

Line 1 might make a stronger contribution.


Second Place – Twenty-one Points
warm December day
the cottontail feasts
on the snowman's fallen nose

Terri L. French
(1,4,10) = 21 Pts

Ha! Poor snowman. Very well done!


Third Place – Eighteen Points
          winter garden —
among the  beets a quiver
          of rabbit ears       

Nancy Smith
(1,4,7) = 18 Pts

Without mentioning any hue, this builds a vividly colorful picture for me.

a harvest moon
the rabbit nibbles a new path
through the garden

Edward
(1,3,9) = 18 Pts

I can just see him nosing quietly by the light of the moon. A nice simple moment. I like the use of nibbles as a moving forward verb.

Looks like the rabbit is doing his own harvesting. Nice one.

Would be stronger without "a" in line 1 and "new" in line 2.

an owl's feather
marks the hare's last track —
midwinter night

Janice Hornburg
(0,5,8) = 18 Pts

An uh-oh moment!


Fourth Place – Seventeen Points
a startled hare
moonlight leaps
from track to track

George Hawkins
(1,3,8) = 17 Pts

The movement in this one is wonderful.

shadow puppets —
all of this rabbit's life
in my hands

Dorota Pyra
(1,3,8) = 17 Pts

Haven't we all done this? A thumb knuckle for a twitchy nose!

Interesting and original though not seasonal.

So very perfect, and another subtle seasonal reference.


Fifth Place – Sixteen Points
fall harvest
she throws the last carrot
to the rabbit

Carmel Lively Westerman
(0,2,12) = 16 Pts

At first I did not detect a seasonal reference...fine performance!

A sense of finality; humdrum, but the best of the month.


Sixth Place – Fifteen Points
rabbit tracks
in solstice light . . .
craters of the moon

Bill Pauly
(1,2,8) = 15 Pts

rising moon . . .
the white flash
of a hare's tail

Susan Constable
(0,3,9) = 15 Pts

"white" might have remained implicit.

The moon and the rabbit tail echo each other with contrast.


Seventh Place – Thirteen Points
rabbit
and kitten
touching white whiskers

Paul O. Williams
(2,2,3) = 13 Pts

midwinter —
I turn the rabbit ears
from V to L

Collin Barber
(1,3,4) = 13 Pts

falling snow —
rabbit tracks end
at the road

jt
(0,2,9) = 13 Pts

I'm tempted to ask "Why are you telling me this?"


Eighth Place – Eleven Points
empty snowy field
the scarecrow
points to a hare

Lech Szeglowski
(1,1,6) = 11 Pts

This is the moment I think most likely to stay with me over the course of the coming weeks.

childhood dreams —
looking for a rabbit
in the moon

Sunil Uniyal
(0,4,3) = 11 Pts


Ninth Place – Ten Points
mid winter stars
the frozen orbits
of the snowshoe's eyes

Garry Eaton
(1,2,3) = 10 Pts

This is so sad, and poignant; the universe's grandeur against the life and death cycle on earth.

thin soup —
till
a hare

Lin Geary
(1,1,5) = 10 Pts

a rabbit’s foot
mixed in with the cut hay...
bad luck

Kilah C
(0,3,4) = 10 Pts

Strange superstition, wonderful haiku.

a thin crust of snow —
the jackrabbit
freezes and listens

DeVar
(0,3,4) = 10 Pts


Tenth Place – Nine Points
no rabbits
at the magic show
my missing scarf

Deborah P Kolodji
(2,0,3,) = 9 Pts


Eleventh Place – Eight Points
quiet winter trail
the giant hare there
and not there

Bruce Ross
(1,1,3) = 8 Pts

Perhaps. A bit zen...like one which scored well last month.

taxi rank
the fancy-dress rabbit
fumbles for his watch

Helen Buckingham
(0,3,2) = 8 Pts

Shade's of Alice's Wonderland rabbit.

The humor in this one is great, for me, a blending of the white rabbit from Alice books and the Playboy bunny.


Twelfth Place – Seven Points
fresh snow
a snowshoe hare's tracks
quilt the pine grove

Catherine J.S. Lee
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts

preschool tour
the caged rabbit
keeps watch

Roberta Beary
(0,2,3) = 7 Pts


Thirteenth Place – Six Points
moon over the snow
a candle burning
for our dead white rabbit

helge t.
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts

last page
on the calendar
rabbits footprint the snow

Francine Banwarth
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts

wolf moon —
a rabbit hops into
the scarecrow's hat

ARW
(1,1,1) = 6 Pts

cocktail party —
the rabbit necklace
leaps her cleavage

aom (tim)
(1,0,3) = 6 Pts

below the holly
a shadow moved
snow-hare

bre
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts

hares calligraphy-
patterns of moonshadows
on the snow

jon espen vassbotn
(0,2,2) = 6 Pts

the taxidermist's
successful rabbit season:
— the walls have ears

George Hazard
(0,1,4) = 6 Pts

Very clever!


Fourteenth Place – Five Points
chased by a hunter
the rabbit
rubbed his foot

1bodhisattva
(0,2,1) = 5 Pts

full moon desert
the sagebrush hare
darts from his shadow

Michelle Chandler
(0,2,1) = 5 Pts

first snow
rabbit tracks appear
mid trail

Michelle V. Alkerton
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts

Could they do something more forceful than "appear"?

rolling snow ...
covering tracks
of rabbits

renaye
(0,1,3) = 5 Pts


Fifteenth Place – Four Points
morning sun
a white rabbit darts
across the snow field

Tore Sverredal
(0,2,0) = 4 Pts

white hare
on the country road
— autumn's end

Jacek M.
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

garden
with rabbit trap
a balanced meal

Bill Hudson
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

still form
in hedge dusk
the watching hare

Frances McCarthy
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

the rabbit
vanishes behind
a veil of snow

Marylouise Knight
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

by the icy pond
just a round hare, and its reflection
in the sky

Anne Zooey Lind
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

My favorite of all the haiku suggesting the rabbit in the moon.

early snowfall —
my leaf piles now graced
with rabbit tracks

Shelley Krause
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts

snow on snow
on the path between us —
hare tracks

Li Ree
(0,1,2) = 4 Pts


Sixteenth Place – Three Points
frost-struck fields —
hares dance
through a smouldering dawn

jon davey
(1,0,0) = 3 Pts

peace talk —
the rabbit's ears
fall down

Rita Odeh
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

a rabbit in the patch
leaps out
a strawberry missing

Stella
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

the rabbit
in the moon hides
in earth's shadow

Gene Doty
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

lazy day . . .
the tortoise slowly passes
a sleeping hare

Carol Raisfeld
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

chilly dawn —
a rabbit tail runs away
into the darkness

Grzegorz Sionkowski
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

This creates a vivid visual, although I think a different verb, such as 'bounces', might be more effective.

her furry hands
hop along the pew —
rabbit skin mitts

andrea
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

basking in sunlight
the leveret
becomes a hare

A.M. Scarpone
(0,1,1) = 3 Pts

owl-light
the tracks
of a hare

tom painting
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

urban hare —
in the neighborhood
nibbling grass

terrytip
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

a rabbit books it
across the library lawn
exam week

Agnes Eva Savich
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

ducking
under the porch
last year's easter bunny

doris kasson
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

Moonlit snow
hare and dog
then only dog

yositaka
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

in a hurry
across December's first snow
a rabbit's tracks

Jeff Hanson
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

snow hare
only it's tracks
give it away

Meredith Stern Cavalieri
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts

on the garden walk
only the track of a hare —
sipping hot tea

John Daleiden
(0,0,3) = 3 Pts


Seventeenth Place – Two Points
colors of winter
among the clover
a cottontail rabbit

tori inu
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts

the retriever's bark
a hare still
in the snow

Kate Creighton
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts

her rabbit fur jacket —
brings angry stares
colder than winter

fedelmia
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts

White bunny
Shadow on snow scares
Running rabbit

Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts

rabbit in the moon
watching as the old year turns
good luck to us all

Deirdre Godwin
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts

soft snow
the hare's new white
lost in it

Beth Powell
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts

manicured lawn
devoid of clover
and cottontails

Carolyn Coit Dancy
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts

after he has passed
i follow his zigzag path
silly drunken hare

todd eddy
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts

Welsh rabbit.
Poor little thing. I feel
sympathy.

Horst Ludwig
(0,1,0) = 2 Pts

the rabbit runs
through the forest
the snow is whiter

Tina
(0,0,2) = 2 Pts


Eighteenth Place – One Point
Pigs root for truffles —
Snowshoe hares eat soil, they say;
What price sustenance?

Tanja Cilia

snowy brush
white hare invisible
but for its pink nose

if

italic Ts
imprinted in new snow
rabbit's past

gourdman

ears lowered flat
the rabbits that didn't run
put on coats of snow

John Thompson

Nice camouflage effect. It makes me think of their instinctive thought process... why didn't they run, were they too late in noticing... the haiku draws me in for a moment.

so many rabbits!
a fine growing season
assures a bumper crop

maikindazen

rabbit up in the tree —
favorite ornament
from grandma

Leslie Montgomery

on the farm
visiting Granny
bunny rabbit hugs

Ben Gieske

sudden winter thaw
rabbit is a white dot
on new grass

Harvey Jenkins

spring equinox
a stone rabbit bolts
from the cemetery

Earl Keener

white rabbit
hopping in silent snow —
winter half-light

Bridget Cougar

I felt the peace in this one.

Rabbit in the moon
Chinese notion delights me
This frosty night

Mary E. Gray

desert hare
whiffing a new scent
— first snow

Barbara Snow

snow covered
mountain meadow
snowshoe hare tracks

Jim Applegate

four eyes alike
after each other's snowprints —
rabbit and child

Dejan Pavlinovic

afraid by his shadow
rabbit plunge
in the bush

Miorita

angry neighbors —
her brown rabbit again
in their begonias

jill

rabbit cry...
splashes in purple
melt the snow

Tanya Dikova


Nineteenth Place – Sorry, no points this time.
zoom lens
show-and-tell of a young rabbit
swallows a daisy

anonymous

house fire —
Mr. Bear gone...
my Rabbit stops her tears

Rose Marie Stutts

A Jack-Frost morning
Ice-puddles along the path...
Rabbit nose twitching

James Sawers

christmas time
my little sister's rabbit
vanished

anonymous

December sky —
the snow hare admires
his winter coat

John Soules

three hares
in my grandpa's mirror —
a fox shows up

Daniela Bullas

December first —
'rabbit rabbit' a time worn
superstition

gillena

timber line —
wolf and hare tracks merge
in fur and snow

Darrell Byrd

On wintry slope,
By rocky stream,
A rabbit's coat.

Wendy Kabiri

snowless fields —
in the hat with no bottom
glimpse of white rabbit

Gosia Zamorska

daybreak. . .
a rabbit alert
on moonscape

anonymous

overnight dusting of snow —
on the front porch
bunny tracks

deanna tief

a sunny day —
hares jumping
from a mirror

Iga

fly busy
beating rhythm —
rabbit skin

Jon Baldwin

Where are you?
Late winter snow storm.
White rabbit

Trevor Camp

stuck on the road
imagining how indeed
the hare lost

Hazel A. Witherspoon

a hare gets ahead
running along the river —
the crying bark

Tomislav M.

at the edge
of the four lane boulevard
a rabbit chews on grass

Mike Montreuil

dirty snow...
at second glance
red-splattered hare

Naranan Namby

last light;
just one rabbit scurrying
across the snow

manoj saranathan

baby cottontail rabbits
a fresh layer of
powdered snow

Sjs (Stevie)


General comments:

Perhaps it's 'in the eyes of the beholder' but I had trouble assigning any points to the kigo section as 'rabbit or hare' seems to have netted work that tends toward 'whahoppened', 'so what' or forced. Not sure why.

As a whole, the rabbit/hare poems seemed less than satisfying. So many had mixed kigo, and more than a few included grammatical oddities.



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 …
it’s 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 star’s 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.


Thank you all for participating in the December 2008 Shiki Monthly Kukai.

Thanks to our poets who entered the December 2008 kukai and special thanks to our guest poet, Jane Reichhold, who lent us her work for the free format sample!

Invitations for submissions for The 2009 Shiki Special Kukai in memory of William J. Higginson will be sent on New Year's Eve. See you then!

With much appreciation,

Robert Bauer, Secretary
Gary Warner, Web Host

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