The Shiki Monthly Kukai

February 2010 Kukai

Here are the results for the February 2010 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was Groundhog Day and our Free Format subject was Hope.

Congratulations to David Grayson, winner of our Kigo section and to Janice Hornburg and Catherine J.S. Lee, winners of our Free Format section!

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

(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.

February 2010 Results
Kigo Theme: Groundhog Day	Free Format Theme: Hope
First Place — 30 Points the hawk also waiting for shadows — Groundhog Day David Grayson (3,5,11) = 30 pts All I can say is "I wish I had written that!" Second Place — 21 Points Groundhog Day the trickle of water under ice Tom Painting (0,2,17) = 21 pts A rodent's shadow is not the only sign that matters. Third Place — 19 Points groundhog day the shadows of road crews patching chuck holes Cindy Tebo (0,4,11) = 19 pts Fourth Place — 17 Points cancer ward he asks if the groundhog saw his shadow Bill Kenney (2,2,7) = 17 pts Groundhog Day — her catalog open to swimwear Bill Pauly (0,4,9) = 17 pts Fifth Place — 16 Points Groundhog Day the pain in my knees returns polona (0,4,8) = 16 pts An amusing observation, but the arthritic knees are probably a lot more accurate than the groundhog! I sure feel that one! Sixth Place — 14 Points Groundhog Day the tarot reader tells me what I already know Collin Barber (1,2,7) = 14 pts A great comparison between the groundhog and the tarot reader - telling us what we probably know, if we'd only pay attention to what's around us. groundhog day — a lonely commuter emerges from the subway tori inu (1,1,9) = 14 pts As far as we know, that commuter has absolutely nothing to do with Groundhog Day or anything else, and that is precisely what makes this one work. A wonderful urban haiku. Groundhog Day I put the chains back on my tires Meredith Stern Cavalieri (0,3,8) = 14 pts Seventh Place — 13 Points Groundhog Day a hole in the clouds brings my shadow back Rafal Zabratynski (1,3,4) = 13 pts Groundhog Day the dog wants out wants in wants out Melissa Spurr (0,3,7) = 13 pts Isn't that true to life. And a reflection on the groundhog's accuracy as a weather predictor. no hurry to sharpen the hoe — groundhog day A Dharma Bum (0,3,7) = 13 pts Eighth Place — 12 Points Groundhog Day the mail carrier’s shadow underfoot martin gottlieb cohen (0,1,10) = 12 pts Ninth Place — 11 Points Groundhog Day . . . shadow of a doubt Francine Banwarth (1,1,6) = 11 pts second month, second day the tree's shadow climbs the tree Alan S. Bridges (0,4,3) = 11 pts groundhog day my back door and front door snowed in Catherine J.S. Lee (0,2,7) = 11 pts Tenth Place — 10 Points Groundhog Day... the street vendor strokes his five o'clock shadow Elinor Pihl Huggett (0,2,6) = 10 pts Groundhog day granddad's fish story gets longer Paul Hodder (0,2,6) = 10 pts Groundhog Day my desk calendar still last year’s John Thompson (0,0,10) = 10 pts Eleventh Place — 9 Points Groundhog Day — on my grandfather’s face a dream of spring Kaiser (1,2,2) = 9 pts Groundhog Day — barking at his own shadow the new puppy Carolyn Coit Dancy (0,1,7) = 9 pts groundhog day... shadow of a hawk passes over Ruth Powell (0,1,7) = 9 pts Twelfth Place — 8 Points six more winter weeks the old dog declines a walk C.P. Harrison (0,3,2) = 8 pts Groundhog Day :: six more weeks of chemo timothy russell (0,2,4) = 8 pts The shift in perspective is more powerful because of the starkness of expression. Groundhog day — a lot of people together hoping to see nothing Petru-Ioan Garda (0,2,4) = 8 pts Thirteenth Place — 7 Points Groundhog Day — a snail carrying one melted snowflake Manuela Dragomirescu (1,1,2) = 7 pts between blizzards groundhog day comes and goes Roberta Beary (1,1,2) = 7 pts snow under our shadows Groundhog Day jeff hoagland (0,3,1) = 7 pts groundhog day — some jacarandas bloom before others Israel Lopez Balan (0,2,3) = 7 pts an old letter has made me restless — Ground Hog Day Earl Randal Keener (0,1,5) = 7 pts Fourteenth Place — 6 Points Groundhog Day is school out today? my son asks Carmel Lively Westerman (1,0,3) = 6 pts Trust a kid to ignore convention in favor of what's really important! fitting a blue piece to dad’s jigsaw puzzle —Groundhog Day if (0,1,4) = 6 pts the view from under the covers Groundhog Day Ann K. Schwader (0,1,4) = 6 pts Fifteenth Place — 5 Points Groundhog's cake he lights the candles -- no shadows James Dobson (1,1,0) = 5 pts his birthday shadow no more early springs carol pearce-worthington (0,2,1) = 5 pts ground hog's day plus three — really wanting to wallop Phil and his shadow Hazel A. Witherspoon (0,2,1) = 5 pts Authentic, spontaneous, evocative and funny. Ground Hog Day furrows of dark earth rise from the snow Beth Powell (0,2,1) = 5 pts Groundhog Day her pregnant shadow goes with her back indoors Garry Eaton (0,1,3) = 5 pts Sixteenth Place — 4 Points Groundhog Day only the shadow knows Donna Bauerly (0,2,0) = 4 pts Groundhog Day these daffodils say it's spring Barbara Campitelli (0,2,0) = 4 pts groundhog day a tiny shadow on global warming Terra Martin (0,2,0) = 4 pts groundhog temperamental sundial for a season Elaine Riddell (0,1,2) = 4 pts groundhog day the silent progress of my own long shadow jeanette blain (0,0,4) = 4 pts Seventeenth Place — 3 Points Groundhog Day — all these people expecting to get the shadow Radu Ignatescu (1,0,0) = 3 pts Groundhog Day the end of three months not shaving my legs Laurene (0,1,1) = 3 pts stepping backward on the heels of my shadow, six weeks of winter Chandra Bales (0,1,1) = 3 pts groundhog day the drip-drip drip-drip of icicles max verhart (0,1,1) = 3 pts thick fur coat sun glistens on snow long shadow charlie smith (0,1,1) = 3 pts Groundhog Day the Iraq-bound plane casts no shadow Carlos Gesmundo (0,1,1) = 3 pts anniversary my shadow seems to fall in her's Ralf Broker (0,0,3) = 3 pts groundhog day I take my coffee black Ben Gieske (0,0,3) = 3 pts Love the possible interpretations with this haiku, although I'm thinking that the poet might need that black coffee to make it through another six weeks of winter! Eighteenth Place — 2 Points early morning sunshine on groundhog day before heavy snow storm Jim Applegate (0,1,0) = 2 pts Groundhog Day my petite shadow and I take a walk at noon anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts Groundhog Day — I make two to-do lists, telling no one Michael McClintock (0,0,2) = 2 pts Groundhog Day my shadow spreading over the snow Jacek M. (0,0,2) = 2 pts Groundhog Day our backyard snowman's shadow is missing an arm Edward (0,0,2) = 2 pts Groundhog Day he orders his eggs over easy anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts will you wait for me a taxi honking groundhog day Dan Schwerin (0,0,2) = 2 pts Nineteenth Place — 1 Point linger long shadows groundhog day slumbering sun beds snowy meadows Keith Moser groundhog day our shadows on the wall Brenda Roberts groundhog day... a shadow in sight winter deepens Keith A. Simmonds no groundhog shadow... a farmer plows under the last of the snow Janice Hornburg artificial sun all the lights and cameras shadow Groundhog Day Deirdre Godwin she wakes with a gnawing hunger ...february 2 Diane Mayr we stand in shadow pressing close to stay warm Groundhog Day Harvey Jenkins Groundhog Day, contemptuous crow struts by - Kurt R. W. Under ground warm thoughts fill the nest six more weeks. Trevor Camp February — these daffodil shoots don’t care about PA shadows Bill Gottlieb Groundhog Day morning — Bob Dylan wakes me up again Tomislav Maretic shadows — looming winter trees and a groundhog Ellen Romano ice, piled up under the bridge ... Groundhog Day og_a Mary's Candlemass for the ground-hog, too, the snow glist'ning in new sun Horst Ludwig shadow, no shadow — six more weeks timber wolves dying anonymous Groundhog Day — our three year old scrawls his name again and again DeVar No points this time. Sorry. Groundhog Day: unheated gym: the martial arts people step onto the mat complaining of cold feet Sheila K. Barksdale right time to switch over bidding a farewell to winter ground hog — to burrow Purush Snow already on ground No surprise Phil sees his shadow Mary E. Gray Groundhog Day noisy shadow by the trash just the raccoon maxianne berger Groundhog Day thinking how nice it is reading by the warm fire Bill Hudson Snowman's prayer to get some new snow — Groundhog Day Juhani Tikkanen dark shadows prevail the clairvoyant says on Groundhog Day Barbara A Taylor Groundhog Day unshelved again in the aftershock Barbara Snow Ground Hog Day surprise — no longer the only child, baby sister born! John Hubbard Groundhog Day long shadow bare branches goblet early morning shadows on the wall. . . Groundhog Day Marylouise Knight groundhog day dense snow covers the ground and the sky Tore Sverredal tyres screech almost knock over a badger Groundhog Day meow 6:00 AM Still snowed in try again gourdman he laughs the same laugh at his same old jokes groundhog day again Frances McCarthy the weatherman calls for sun damn! Groundhog's Day Terri L. French Groundhog Day -- my past the tallest shadow. I stay inside. mechaieh Ground-Frog’s Day the groundhog’s been replaced Deanna Tief dazed groundhog yoinked from warm slumber blind as a mole todd eddy Groundhog Day waking up, he wonders whether it's saturday Quamrul Hassan groundhog day introverted writers throw a party anonymous playing with stray cat by mirror Groundhog Day Reza Groundhogday moss blooms on a south slope Marlene Buitelaar A pine tree's shadow falls on cold white snow. The groundhog was wrong Tom Conally	First Place — 29 Points one silk thread... in the rubble a spider starts a new web Janice Hornburg (3,5,10) = 29 pts This for me was the outstanding haiku this month. The tiny observation bearing huge meaning. Beautiful! homeless shelter — her wrinkled brochure of Disneyworld Catherine J.S. Lee (1,6,14) = 29 pts This is wonderfully poignant, showing both hope and a longing for the promise of childhood. In this, from a sad present, it looks both ways, backwards and forwards.< P> This one made me smile and made me sad. There is always hope. Second Place — 27 Points mid January he tries a different set of bathroom scales Paul Hodder (3,3,12) = 27 pts Amusingly down to earth, showing more than telling. A winning combination of dealing with a familiar truth with a touch of humor. Third Place — 19 Points after the aftershock one star Francine Banwarth (1,4,8) = 19 pts Fourth Place — 18 Points pea tendrils find each other to cling to John Thompson (2,1,10) = 18 pts I love the pure, natural imagery of this one! I love the fragility of this image. Fifth Place — 17 Points divorced toast and an egg sunny-side-up Tom Painting (2,3,5) = 17 pts I like the subtle connation between the image and a recently divorced person. L3 does the trick. refugee camp searching for a familiar face Meredith Stern Cavalieri (1,3,8) = 17 pts I found myself hoping the person recognized someone! holiday ceasefire the street artist gives me a smile Collin Barber (1,0,14) = 17 pts An effective surprise in L3. Sixth Place — 16 Points cancer diagnosis he buys season's tickets to the symphony Susan Constable (0,2,12) = 16 pts Seventh Place — 15 Points forsythia buds — the pause before opening my SASE Ellen Compton (0,5,5) = 15 pts Is there a writer out there who hasn’t experienced this moment? Eighth Place — 14 Points tenth birthday the seeing eye dog she asked for Garry Eaton (0,3,8) = 14 pts This haiku just about brought a tear to my eye. Full of hope! refugee camp — kids playing tag in the food line Ruth Powell (0,2,10) = 14 pts Ninth Place — 13 Points newborn nursery her feeble cry strengthens Brenda Roberts (1,4,2) = 13 pts Tenth Place — 12 Points a frog hopping on a dry riverbed -- dark clouds Isaac Ndirangu (1,2,5) = 12 pts chemotherapy — on the sunny windowsill tomato plants sprout if (0,2,8) = 12 pts Eleventh Place — 11 Points spring flowers where we buried the cat . . . moving day Bill Kenney (0,3,5) = 11 pts Twelfth Place — 10 Points query letters twenty rejections she buys more stamps Carmel Lively Westerman (0,2,6) = 10 pts Thirteenth Place — 9 Points midwinter she dyes her hair sunny blonde Rafal Zabratynski (0,2,5) = 9 pts Fourteenth Place— 8 Points winter wind — the new e-mail still empty Israel Lopez Balan (1,0,5) = 8 pts sunlight and Emily Dickinson on the window seat Chandra Bales (0,1,6) = 8 pts Fifteenth Place — 7 Points runt of the litter calling loudly from the basement carol pearce-worthington (0,1,5) = 7 pts snowed in the sun melts an icicle Terra Martin (0,1,5) = 7 pts chemo she refuses to lose her smile Beth Powell (0,1,5) = 7 pts Sixteenth Place — 6 Points hoping for rain ignored the lush wetness of morning dew Bridget Cougar (2,0,0) = 6 pts First hope after the earthquake — growing grass Vasile Moldovan (0,2,2) = 6 pts children's hospital — in mother's eyes a baby's smile Orbi (0,2,2) = 6 pts I hope this time I win the free format kukai but I know I won’t Bill Gottlieb (0,1,4) = 6 pts All told, nothing shown - not exactly what I'd be normally looking for in a haiku or even senryu but it made me laugh out loud. Seventeenth Place — 5 Points distant shots a pair of trumpeter swans slowly recovering Cindy Tebo (1,0,2) = 5 pts sound asleep then a sudden burst of daffodils Elinor Pihl Huggett (0,2,1) = 5 pts old sanctuary she names the newborn john hope jr Quamrul Hassan (0,2,1) = 5 pts longest day — hope is the thing with feathers Nancy Smith (0,2,1) = 5 pts retracing my steps to ogle her again candle shop Earl Randal Keener (0,1,3) = 5 pts morphine drip — at last father's hand squeezes back Roberta Beary (0,1,3) = 5 pts stomach grumbling she scours the pantry one more time M.E. Fredericks (0,1,3) = 5 pts Eighteenth Place — 4 Points after earthquake's waves — a tick-tock sound and a voice under the ruins Radu Ignatescu (1,0,1) = 4 pts lapdogs on a bridge rainbow ribbons on stagnant water Sheila K. Barksdale (0,2,0) = 4 pts after the hurricane the sunrise C.P. Harrison (0,1,2) = 4 pts a picture tucked beneath Santa's cookies ...Christmas eve Diane Mayr (0,1,2) = 4 pts 5 pm sun still glinting off the River Donna Bauerly (0,1,2) = 4 pts unzipping her little black hope Dan Schwerin (0,1,2) = 4 pts a family crowds the hospital waiting room Ellen Romano (0,0,4) = 4 pts Nineteenth Place -- 3 Points chrysalis broken open - orange wings Alexander "Lex" Joy (0,1,1) = 3 pts hair growing back where the surgeon shaved it winter's end Melissa Spurr (0,0,3) = 3 pts Almost a case of "too much information," but hope is where you find it. morning of the final mother folds his lucky socks Ralf Broker (0,0,3) = 3 pts Kentucky Derby — my horse in a photo-finish James Dobson (0,0,3) = 3 pts first blossoms — a balding man buys a predictor test max verhart (0,0,3) = 3 pts slow approach to the pretty girl sitting at the dance Bill Pauly (0,0,3) = 3 pts armistice — a chestnut tree blossoms again among ruins Kaiser (0,0,3) = 3 pts snow melting amaryllis and hope bloom again charlie smith (0,0,3) = 3 pts Twentieth Place — 2 Points may valleys of death worn by waterfalls of pain be kissed by hope's breath Keith Moser (0,1,0) = 2 pts Around falling leaves a lone dreaming flower — mid-February R.K. SINGH (0,1,0) = 2 pts a toddler stands beside her stroller gestures for others to pass Leah Ann Sullivan (0,1,0) = 2 pts sunrise — the morning glory opens up Peter Nguribu (0,1,0) = 2 pts yellow ribbons on kids' forefingers last deployment Carlos Gesmundo (0,1,0) = 2 pts Mother Nature in cataclysmic mood... miracles for Haiti Keith A. Simmonds (0,0,2) = 2 pts looking up from bible to the Cross meow (0,0,2) = 2 pts day three — wanting a sign when the phone rings anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts Olympic hopeful cherry blossoms in the rain andrea (0,0,2) = 2 pts heart monitor — blips... blips... blips... my hand gets a squeeze tori inu (0,0,2) = 2 pts more silent than feathers hope softens my footprints mechaieh (0,0,2) = 2 pts dark clouds — my father cleaning the gutters James Bundi (0,0,2) = 2 pts dark clouds — a farmer preparing seedbeds Teresiah Njeri (0,0,2) = 2 pts waiting room filled with patients' families and hope freddy gier (0,0,2) = 2 pts Dripping Honey Pear crisp, sweet, and delicious. Spring Seeds Catalog Horst Ludwig (0,0,2) = 2 pts Twenty-First Place — 1 Point ascending the mountain there is, at least hope Alan S. Bridges Valentine's Day on the winter heather blooms a hint of pink anonymous dawn still dark: sings though the bird vishnu p kapoor young bride — first dinner at home with her in-laws Carolyn Coit Dancy wear a pink ribbon praying that a cure be found home for Mother’s Day Deirdre Godwin missing in action... praying for a miracle, adamant natalia kuznetsova breaths of disbelief — between fallen concrete four wriggling fingers Barbara A Taylor the rain comes flooding the gutters — blessed coolness Marylouise Knight Early spring we meet at sundown — hopeful smiles. Trevor Camp home from war the hope of water after sand Laurene hope, eyeing his tea leaves as if I could know jeanette blain fresh tracks mar the snow zig-zagging from drift to drift rabbit seeks green grass todd eddy shuffling through new seed packets late flakes Ann K. Schwader sunrise — the minister baptizing new believers Eric Mwange maternity ward — an expectant mother unpacking napkins Elkana Mogaka early February — office after office he looks for a job Duncan Omoto hot afternoon — he smiles out of an exam room Joab Nyawate Ice-cream cart If dad was here Reza wrensong her touch of the keys more secure Marlene Buitelaar the hope of mankind is engendered in the young, spring comes soon Tom Conally shoe rack i move boots to the back bring sandals forward miriam chaikin No points this time. Sorry. hopes do spring and sprout irrespective of season they deserve our praise Purush rain swept night . . . at her window a woman burning with love Michael McClintock plow field for hay snow capped mountain promise crop Jim Applegate magnolia blossoms — he informs about cancer remission Jacek M. evening chill glowing embers spark of hope Ben Gieske Cold arctic wind — a hope for an iceberg Juhani Tikkanen parched prairie pastures he shields his eyes she whispers, Thunder? Edward after the earthquake - many people have only hope Andrzej Dembonczyk groundhog's shadow... yet, a rosy hint on that gray plum Barbara Snow darkness, cold, a sound...a flicker? hope reborn John Hubbard bottom of the lake one last gulp of car's air before heading up Harvey Jenkins sudden burst of rain breaking the long silence he asks her out Tore Sverredal grim prognosis extending a lifeline your medication Elaine Riddell Sunshine in February witch hazel scented breeze gourdman tip of bud swells on the birch bough looking forward Frances McCarthy letting her granddaughter paint flowers on her bald head Life! Terri L. French hard times killing a lot of friends — Hope died the last Petru-Ioan Garda muddy yard - suddenly, despite the clouds the Sun all over Manuela Dragomirescu World AIDS Day — around the globe so many hopes Tomislav Maretic the snow storm falls leaving its soft peace a breath of fresh air! Jeanne Fiedler Valentine date with a HIV/AIDS person — the radiance in her eyes Patrick spring rain weather forecast sun Barbara Campitelli huge snowstorms in NYC... in Rochester a flock of robins Deanna Tief mid-winter snow brings hope of an early spring A Dharma Bum cloudy day — students transplanting seedlings Joseph Kilunda hot sunrise — warm vapour rising up in the sky Faith Achieng fairy lights sparkling in the shop — grey January dawn Isabelle Prondzynski law house — students queue to get birth certificates Angeline Muthoki fierce sunshine — step after step she plants her seedlings Violet Wangira February thirteenth — telling my broken hearted friend yes....she will survive Hazel A. Witherspoon cosmic convergence — Valentines/Chinese New Year chocolate love and good fortune anonymous all star weekend the old basketball star limps down the hall DeVar leaving ... ah, venus, my friend! og_a old bridge — as soon breaks ice goblet General Comments: Not coming from the Anglo-Saxon environment (although familiar with the symbolism of groundhog day), I was a bit skeptical about the selected kigo but it turned out I enjoyed many of the poems and had a hard time selecting the few to award my points to. Many fine shadows. The relatively small number of entries (under 100, as against 119 in the free format category) suggests that we found "Groundhog Day" a difficult kigo to work with. I'm especially pleased, then, that my short list was longer than usual. The shadow motif was so common in these – it was good to find some haiku that didn’t use it, or used it somewhat unexpectedly. Thank you for your work. This was a fun theme to work with. So many good poems here. Very difficult to decide. Again, I had a hard time - but also fun - selecting these after paring down the list to a dozen or so. I found that the most successful entries did not include the word "hope." I'll be interested in seeing if the results suggest that I'm alone in this. It wasn't easy to choose! Tough theme for a good poem. Well done, everyone. It was hugely enjoyable assessing your 118 Free Format haiku. I preferred those that I thought showed a juxtaposition of two clear images and contained a kireji and those where "hope" was hinted at, not openly stated.

Thank you for participating in the February 2010 Kukai! We will announce the March Call for Submissions on Sunday, February 28, 2010. See you then!

With much appreciation,

Robert and George

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