Haiku Poets of Northern California, 2016 San Francisco International Competition

The 2016 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu and Tanka


dried curls
of gray reindeer moss
crunch softly
underneath our boots . . .
no other sound, but breath


First Place (tie)


Comments by Marilyn Shoemaker Hazelton, Tanka Judge:

...Next, we stand at the delicate edge of winter where air is crisper, and "reindeer moss" whispers beneath our feet. The color of this tundra is muted. Perhaps the light is also. In response to small, mysterious sounds framed by quiet, the breaths of those within the poem startle and deepen. And we have an opportunity to appreciate what we usually take for granted...