My thanks to Graham Bates, the judge of this contest!
the silence
of Candlemas bells . . .
final chemo
3rd Place
Judge's Commentary:
Commonly known as snowdrops, these bulbs got their nickname through their Northern Hemisphere bloom time aligning with the Christian festival of Candlemas. They tell us that it is late winter or early spring, and are associated with purification, light and hope, which in this haiku is also the hope of a successful treatment and recovery. The silence could be an eerie one, but it also brought to mind Thomas Merton's exploration of the concept of silence as the ultimate form of prayer.
shed antlers
bleached by the sun . . .
grandfather's hands
Commended
Judge's Commentary:
Antlers are shed in late winter and early spring, but these must have spent a long time out in the sun to turn chalky white, like the grandfather's arthritic hands with poor circulation, whose fingers struggle to fully open. Of course, antlers, in deer, are associated with masculinity, but these hands cannot be shed and regrown, though they may at times feel as useless as those shed antlers.
