the pink nose
of a feral rabbit . . .
sakura
Sakura Award, Canada
transience . . .
petal by petal
we let go
Winning Haiku, Canada
Judges: Angelee Deodhar, DeVar Dahl, and Billie Wilson
(more than 1200 entries)
Commentary:
Transience encloses the world without and within each of us. Because we feel more secure when we have a sense of predictability, we develop a great capacity for denying a simple truth: that nothing stays the same. That can be a challenge, but the gentleness of "petal by petal" reminds us that we'll be just fine.
Friday, October 06, 2017
The Cherita, Book 2, July 2017
Issue: "No Sat Nav...No Map...No Regrets"
looking behind
there is no trace
of you
no footfalls
announce your presence,
but when I close my eyes, you come
rest yourself
the time will come
for fightsongs
when jealous gods come courting,
do not be tempted
to lay your body down
in the old dovecote
throaty coos
of pigeons echo
I call out
your name,
for the first and last time
looking behind
there is no trace
of you
no footfalls
announce your presence,
but when I close my eyes, you come
rest yourself
the time will come
for fightsongs
when jealous gods come courting,
do not be tempted
to lay your body down
in the old dovecote
throaty coos
of pigeons echo
I call out
your name,
for the first and last time
The Cherita, Book 1, June 2017
Issue: "Telling a Story:
summersweet
that last memory
of you
among the berries,
with bees singing
in your hair
hello
I thought
you might be lost
take my hand,
we will walk backward
until we become stars
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
summersweet
that last memory
of you
among the berries,
with bees singing
in your hair
hello
I thought
you might be lost
take my hand,
we will walk backward
until we become stars
A Cherita Lighthouse Award
World Haiku Review, August 2017
dewfall
the weight of light
on bent grass
Hon. Mention
Neo-Classical Haiku Category
high humidity
a snail shoots love darts
at its mate
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Shintai Haiku Category
family dinner
the upside down world
of nuthatches
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Shintai Haiku Category
owl-light
our shadows mingle
then separate
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Vanguard Haiku Category
the weight of light
on bent grass
Hon. Mention
Neo-Classical Haiku Category
high humidity
a snail shoots love darts
at its mate
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Shintai Haiku Category
family dinner
the upside down world
of nuthatches
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Shintai Haiku Category
owl-light
our shadows mingle
then separate
Zatsuei Haiku of Merit
Vanguard Haiku Category
Wild Plum, Issue 3:2, Fall & Winter 2017
family circles . . .
a kingfisher stabs
the fat moon
morning frost
every blade of grass
a candle
a kingfisher stabs
the fat moon
morning frost
every blade of grass
a candle
VerseWrights, 2017
Haiku Sequences (individual poems previously appeared in Brass Bell)
Unfolding
CT scan
will I emerge
a butterfly
folding unfolding the origami of monarch butterflies
Birds
we hover around our mother hummingbirds
sunrise sunflower heads dangling a charm of finches
waxwings again not enough berries for jam
winter bird am I the only one who knows your song
The Cicada's Cry, A Micro-Zine of Haiku Poetry, 2017
The Firefly Special
hints of light
in my darkness
fireflies
hints of light
in my darkness
fireflies
Ribbons, Volume 13, Number 2, Spring/Summer 2017
on the rooftop
a colony of honeybees . . .
the buzz
among the homeless,
another shelter closing down
a colony of honeybees . . .
the buzz
among the homeless,
another shelter closing down
NHK World TV, Japan, August 2017
Haiku Masters Online Gallery
Haiku Master of the Week, Video - August 15th
Haiku Master of the Week, Video - August 15th
Commentary by Kazuko Nishimura:
In the photo, you can see empty shells abandoned on the beach, yet we can imagine children playing on the beach through the use of the phrase "echoing cries of children". Although the photo seems devoid of life, the haiku adds excitement to the work, filling the audience with the image of a lively summer day. We can also feel nature in the photo, as sand-filled shells allude to waves crashing on the beach. The black frame around the work also seems to add a sense of melancholy, as if it is preparing the audience for the end of summer.
Commentary by Kit Pancoast Nagamura
The delicate ear-shapes of shells half buried in sand works perfectly with the content of the haiku, about the fading echoes of summer. The stillness of the sand, leveled by waves inside the shell hollows, suggests the passing of time, and the possibility that the poem's narrator is referring to summers years gone. Without the photo, the haiku would verge on the simplicity of song lyrics, but combined, the elements are more than the sum of their parts. The words in black, and the photo framed in black (which works visually well with the shell shadows), add a somber note to the work, suggesting a funereal sadness.
(note: NHK holds copyright)
NeverEnding Story, August 2017
Translated into Chinese by Chen-ou Liu
rocky ledge
a wolf with the moon
in its mouth
3rd Place
Irish Haiku Society
7th International Haiku Competition, 2015
Chen-ou Liu's comments:
Combined with the zoom-out technique, the unexpected yet visually powerful last line lifts this imagistic haiku up a notch.
rocky ledge
a wolf with the moon
in its mouth
3rd Place
Irish Haiku Society
7th International Haiku Competition, 2015
Chen-ou Liu's comments:
Combined with the zoom-out technique, the unexpected yet visually powerful last line lifts this imagistic haiku up a notch.
Kokako, Number 27, September 2017
caribou migration here then gone midnight sun
fog hangs in the hollow a nest of owlets
tent city . . .
salamanders scurry
in all directions
fog hangs in the hollow a nest of owlets
tent city . . .
salamanders scurry
in all directions
Gusts, Number 26, Fall/Winter 2017
whisperings
among long-eared bats
remind me
of all the secrets
that used to be mine
wormholes
in the acorn necklaces
we made . . .
even on dark days,
small points of light
minnows flash
through silver shoals
at dusk . . .
you teach me how
to be a mermaid
among long-eared bats
remind me
of all the secrets
that used to be mine
wormholes
in the acorn necklaces
we made . . .
even on dark days,
small points of light
minnows flash
through silver shoals
at dusk . . .
you teach me how
to be a mermaid
Frogpond, Vol. 40.2, Spring/Summer 2017
A kind mention of my work in the review of Dust Devils by Randy Brooks:
lilac buds
no one notices
the bruises
Haiku Canada Review, Vol. 10, Number 1, February 2016
lilac buds
no one notices
the bruises
Haiku Canada Review, Vol. 10, Number 1, February 2016
Dwarf Stars 2017 - The Best Very Short Speculative Poems Published in 2016
our bodies
no more than stardust
we fall
from constellations
and for a moment, shine
Kokako 25, September 2016
no more than stardust
we fall
from constellations
and for a moment, shine
Kokako 25, September 2016
Daily Haiku, Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog, September 2017
curling leaves
you turn your face up
to the sun
Hon. Mention
Autumn Haiku Contest, 2015
Japan Information and Culture Centre
you turn your face up
to the sun
Hon. Mention
Autumn Haiku Contest, 2015
Japan Information and Culture Centre
Daily Haiku, Charlotte Digregorio's Writer's Blog, August 2017
rusted gate
old lilacs blooming
for no one
Selected Haiku
7th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum Contest, 2015
old lilacs blooming
for no one
Selected Haiku
7th Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum Contest, 2015
Creatrix Poetry and Haiku Journal, Number 38, September 2017
graveyard snow
the call and answer
of chickadees
dandelions . . .
every bee flecked
with light
the call and answer
of chickadees
dandelions . . .
every bee flecked
with light
Brass Bell, October 2017
morning dew
the galaxies between
our toes
fiddleheads
the curled ears
of newborns
snow mounds
the growing roundness
of her belly
the galaxies between
our toes
fiddleheads
the curled ears
of newborns
snow mounds
the growing roundness
of her belly
Brass Bell, September 2017
a fever of migrating stingrays summer graces
glazed pond
a beaver's tail breaks
the hush
starfish
in your arms
the sea
glazed pond
a beaver's tail breaks
the hush
starfish
in your arms
the sea
Blithe Spirit,, Vol. 27, Number 3, August 2017
sakura . . .
my mouth full of stones
at the news
old vineyard . . .
our shadows ripen
between rows
beneath
the merlin's nest,
an ossuary . . .
it all comes
down to this
we lived
above a bake shop
that summer
of bread and tempers
rising through the night
my mouth full of stones
at the news
old vineyard . . .
our shadows ripen
between rows
beneath
the merlin's nest,
an ossuary . . .
it all comes
down to this
we lived
above a bake shop
that summer
of bread and tempers
rising through the night
Blithe Spirit, Vol. 27, Number 2, May 2017
dust motes . . .
the worn patches
on his saddle
robinsong . . .
the scent of earth
newly warm
awakening
to find myself grown
out of this skin . . .
will you recognize me
each time I am reborn
acquainted
with the ocean's rhythms
a dolphin
carries me on its back
to my home among stars
Please note that the results of the 2016 British Haiku Society Awards also appear in this issue. Commentaries may be viewed in the British Haiku Society post of April 15, 2017 on this blog.
Tanka Section
tracks of birds
meander through snow . . .
the surgeon
marks her left breast
with a cross
1st Place
impossible
to hold the light
of mercury . . .
your memory
slips away
Runner-up
Haiku Section
harsh winter
squirrels gnaw the tines
of shed antlers
Special Mention
the worn patches
on his saddle
robinsong . . .
the scent of earth
newly warm
awakening
to find myself grown
out of this skin . . .
will you recognize me
each time I am reborn
acquainted
with the ocean's rhythms
a dolphin
carries me on its back
to my home among stars
Please note that the results of the 2016 British Haiku Society Awards also appear in this issue. Commentaries may be viewed in the British Haiku Society post of April 15, 2017 on this blog.
Tanka Section
tracks of birds
meander through snow . . .
the surgeon
marks her left breast
with a cross
1st Place
impossible
to hold the light
of mercury . . .
your memory
slips away
Runner-up
Haiku Section
harsh winter
squirrels gnaw the tines
of shed antlers
Special Mention
Atlas Poetica, Number 29, August 2017
Individual Cherita:
in our courtyard
the dead snag
has silvered with age
we still hear
faint echoes of birds,
but have forgotten how to sing
you lift me up
from this vantage point
I can see
a parallel universe,
in which the only truth
is mercy
Tanka Sequence:
Reaping
the highway
smothered with ashes . . .
every year,
this debate between
urbanites and farmers
city allotments,
each marked by fencing . . .
when did we start
being afraid of strangers,
being afraid to share
greening . . .
even arctic foxes
build gardens—
with one seed at a time,
could we not feed the world
Individual Tanka:
clouds break
against desert peaks . . .
shards fall
into the open mouths
of thirsty children
beyond
this inner darkness,
snowlight
erases the stains
on my conscience
bullets of crows
on gunmetal nights . . .
a deeper shade
of anguish echoes
in her bones
nothing
but cold comfort
in knowing
that the sea you loved
now spirits you away
in our courtyard
the dead snag
has silvered with age
we still hear
faint echoes of birds,
but have forgotten how to sing
you lift me up
from this vantage point
I can see
a parallel universe,
in which the only truth
is mercy
Tanka Sequence:
Reaping
the highway
smothered with ashes . . .
every year,
this debate between
urbanites and farmers
city allotments,
each marked by fencing . . .
when did we start
being afraid of strangers,
being afraid to share
greening . . .
even arctic foxes
build gardens—
with one seed at a time,
could we not feed the world
Individual Tanka:
clouds break
against desert peaks . . .
shards fall
into the open mouths
of thirsty children
beyond
this inner darkness,
snowlight
erases the stains
on my conscience
bullets of crows
on gunmetal nights . . .
a deeper shade
of anguish echoes
in her bones
nothing
but cold comfort
in knowing
that the sea you loved
now spirits you away
Asahi Haikuist Network, September 2017
(first appeared in the September 2016 issue)
blues festival
stray dogs howling
at streetlights
blues festival
stray dogs howling
at streetlights
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