Last Chance to Vote in the April 2024 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
juice
Voting closes for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai tonight (the 24th) at midnight (east coast time). So make those final decisions and let us know whom you think did the best work this month.
Voting for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai
Shortly after the conclusion of the submission period, an anonymous ballot comprising all submitted poems on that month’s theme will be posted to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) on the THF site. Any reader of this ballot is eligible to vote for their favorite poems at this time. A voter may vote for up to five (5) poems per theme. A top vote will receive 5 points, a second-place vote 4 points, a third-place vote 3 points, a fourth-place vote 2 points, and a fifth-place vote 1 point.
Please use the Kukai voting form below to enter your selections, and then press Submit to cast your votes. No other votes will be recognized or honored. All votes must be signed (that is, no “anonymous” votes will be accepted, and the Submit button will not be available until both Name and Email fields are filled in), and no poet may vote for his or her own work. No commentary upon the poems will be accepted or published. Votes will be accepted from the appearance of the ballot on the 18th of that month through midnight of the 24th of that month. Readers may vote only once per ballot. Administrators of the kukai are ineligible to vote.
Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. If you know who wrote the poem then that entry is no longer anonymous. Please respect the Kukai and do not vote for that entry.
The Ballot
1 | ‘eyeney goose’ in her sippy cup | |
2 | a carton of apple juice dropped from the window a little sweet lake | |
3 | a glass of juice trembles in the boy’s fingers bomb blast | |
4 | a morning kiss the taste of apple juice on her lips | |
5 | A sip — Sweet and cool Squeezed from a pomegranate To cleanse the palette | |
6 | A toddlers delight Is not the same juicebox On the nursing home tray | |
7 | abstract art a rectangle of grenadine below the orange juice | |
8 | after dropping the bomb a soldier . . . drinks juice | |
9 | alone in the bar and fresh juice paired with old alcohol | |
10 | another fight — his juice box brings peace | |
11 | apple blossoms my juices finally start flowing | |
12 | April 1, dirty Glasses everywhere, where to Pour the juice, a bowl. | |
13 | baby’s first juice shivers and a wrinkled nose | |
14 | birds leaving the nest — a toast with Tropicana all over the news | |
15 | Boom boom blooms Brides and bride grooms Juicy Palpitations | |
16 | bull ant bite the soothing juice of crushed bracken | |
17 | cactus juice you tripped me up san pedro | |
18 | Canned cucumber juice Blisters all over the steel Life, bitter nightmare! | |
19 | child’s shriek bursts into dripping watermelon | |
20 | childhood juice the memories still fresh | |
21 | city of joy — a rickshaw puller gulps down his dry throat | |
22 | cold orange juice — on stairs of the hotel thirsty beggar | |
23 | Cradling a beehive of seeds . . . the pomegranate waits for a big squeeze | |
24 | Don’t Drink it, doctor says orange juice | |
25 | dribbling juice down his chin my Dad is a child again | |
26 | drink of choice for ‘70s baby . . . Ribena | |
27 | dunking a cracker into grape juice — first solid food | |
28 | During summer day cups of cool lemonade juice quenches thirst and crave | |
29 | empty juice box juicing his mouth . . . homeless child | |
30 | Eve eats the apple oranges are for squeezing | |
31 | field trip . . . on children’s fingers blackberry’s juice | |
32 | finding every crack and crevice a squeeze of lemon | |
33 | first sip of lime juice twitching lips | |
34 | freshly squeezed oranges, pillows, our lips . . . ever thirsty eyes | |
35 | freshly squeezed lemons . . . checking his dividends the billionaire grins | |
36 | From tropic’s embrace, Nations blend in amber gold, Unity in juice. | |
37 | fruit flies not the juicy I thought you were | |
38 | fruit splatter no dogs left to clean the floor | |
39 | funeral day she fills his juice glass as usual | |
40 | giving it some juice blossom | |
41 | grandpa’s orchard relishing lychees pureed into ambrosia | |
42 | Grunt sweat punch grimace . . . The betting windows close . . . but . . . Does he have “the Juice”? | |
43 | gut juice nose clippedtight and eyes sq u e e z ed | |
44 | happy kids scribbled with kiwi juice the foster home walls | |
45 | her children think they grow on trees . . . juice boxes | |
46 | hill drive — at every bend a juice wallah | |
47 | I still ripen by each person who couldn’t stay — juice of life | |
48 | Ice-cold freshly squeezed tears in my eyes | |
49 | idle water can juice pops running out kindy excursion | |
50 | juice cans line the fridge door afternoon hours arrive quicker | |
51 | juice counter distinctness of each thirst | |
52 | juice fast . . . a jumbo margarita is green too | |
53 | juice quenches but whole fruit satisfies | |
54 | juicer the squelch of an orange as if it belonged | |
55 | karela juice — morning news war | |
56 | ladies luncheon the juicy gossip a run-on sentence | |
57 | last drop reading pulp drinking pulp squeezing | |
58 | last hurrah the fullness of a grape berry before it bursts | |
59 | last moments her eyes widening with pomegranate drops | |
60 | learning to drink from a cup juice mustache | |
61 | lemon juice — the zest of our first kisses so sweet and far | |
62 | lemon juice . . . the moon fades in her tea cup | |
63 | little chin dripping orange juice intravenous feeding | |
64 | losing neurons the lemonade she makes still zings | |
65 | loud crossbuck bell the old coot lets loose a stream of chew | |
66 | love juice on butterfly wings — young fashionistas | |
67 | mango abundance down to my elbows | |
68 | mango shake a blue fly arrives out of the blue | |
69 | Maple sap’s rising while sleet storm batters the house. Pray the juice stays on. | |
70 | meeting ex-wife she checks if I still take bitter gourd juice | |
71 | Men eat grapes, will there grow a vineyard in their soul plenty of life juice? | |
72 | mimosa brunch . . . drunk on a hill of orange tulips | |
73 | morning mist . . . my blood full of bitterness | |
74 | morning orange juice! your attention and focus send me on my way. | |
75 | morning sun — it lights up the sky and gets my juices flowing | |
76 | mother’s bread sopping with the juices of other foods | |
77 | my gaze rests on the world map A sudden craving for tomato juice | |
78 | my phone runs out of juice just as it gets interesting | |
79 | nearly ninety running out of juice | |
80 | nectarine juice dripping down my chin taste of heaven | |
81 | nest of nectar bees feast in backyard | |
82 | new harvest valencia oranges sunshine in a glass | |
83 | new moon nightcap with lemon twist | |
84 | orange blossoms a bee nudges open the scent of juice | |
85 | Orange grove stretches out But no need to leave Sit a spell | |
86 | orange juice a child’s smile spills over the rim | |
87 | orange juice — melting in the pool summer sun | |
88 | orange juice with bits flowing through the morning after | |
89 | orange squash the squeeze between us of another sunrise | |
90 | our lips curl around secret crushes juicy fruit | |
91 | peak oil squeezing the last juice from dino bones | |
92 | perfect for summer ripe and ready to make smiles just needs mom or dad. | |
93 | Plump orange, squeeze ready; Sits upon my table top; Bursting at the rind. | |
94 | pressed juice the life story in a nutshell | |
95 | presummer heat slurping a juice box under the cherry blossoms | |
96 | pretend tea party a little girl fills her cups with lemonade | |
97 | prune juice swallowing syllables from a senryu | |
98 | puddle — the sun drinks yellow juice | |
99 | reflected in the wild rose . . . sky-juice | |
100 | Refugee children Sipping hope from juice cartons Sweet respite in strife | |
101 | rejection letter splattered with tomato juice — bloody masterpiece | |
102 | return of spring the hummingbird nectar cools on the stovetop | |
103 | rhododendron rising over the air my pink breath | |
104 | Ripe with sweat cashew apples bleed juice — Urrak in trend | |
105 | Sap rises feeding Budding young leaves as well as Dripping into pails | |
106 | searing summer the juice in her tone brings respite | |
107 | seasonal libations cocktail ingredients freshly squeezed | |
108 | seeps through kid’s fingers sweetness of mango | |
109 | Sipping cherry juice takes me back to Istanbul and meals with new friends | |
110 | sodden paws my dog keeps licking the other dog’s fur | |
111 | soft mists unfurling orange peel into my white tea | |
112 | soothing my root canal with a glass of juice . . . next appointment | |
113 | spiked orange juice my best companion on tax day | |
114 | spilled cherry juice marching ants parade around the red sea | |
115 | spring fever reading more of the juicy stuff | |
116 | Squeezed dry by too many turns around the sun | |
117 | squeezing all the juice out of mom . . . tuberculosis | |
118 | stealing the time before noise and the scent of morning juice | |
119 | sticky glass of sap the orange nectar you drink so sweet so clumsy | |
120 | stolen apricots a chin-load of evidence | |
121 | strong black coffee guarantee to kick-start my creative juices | |
122 | summer — freshly squeezed oranges | |
123 | summer heat the juice vendor’s umbrella a faded green | |
124 | sun split . . . the pomegranate’s jewels drip ruby red | |
125 | sunny beach — each with its own umbrella me and my Mai Tai | |
126 | Sunny spring — A butterfly explores the world savoring flowers juice | |
127 | Sunshine smiles Florida orange overflow In my glass | |
128 | sweet and salty lemon juice she drinks down life | |
129 | sweet relief as tears mingle with juice provided by aid workers | |
130 | synopsis — squeezing fruit into juice | |
131 | Tart cherry at night seeking slumbering delight — dreams of summer pie? | |
132 | The coiled serpent echoed Eve From knowing eyes in the bowels of the Tree the forked tongue slashed the pomegranate juice tore paradise Bellowing Isha. Isha Eve evil | |
133 | the juice of wild strawberries red lips | |
134 | the pucker of her mouth — she anticipates a bite of key lime pie | |
135 | the slow drip . . . drip . . . drip maple tap | |
136 | the sweet taste of summers with her . . . orange juice | |
137 | the taste of purple your face in stitches . . . blackcurrant juice | |
138 | the trickle down effect on monarchs and aphids milkweed juice | |
139 | three old oranges maybe enough juice for cranberry muffins | |
140 | torn fragments of a tangerine peel the work of small, sticky hands | |
141 | tropical punch winter vacation in a glass | |
142 | vineyard on the hill around juicy grapes buzzing bees | |
143 | watermelon slice juice races to the elbow | |
144 | weekend brunch a bee circles the rim of my mimosa | |
145 | what’s left after you squeeze me dry grey hair | |
146 | when cooking with fire save the sweetest juices for a midnight treat | |
147 | when the fruit lets loose its blood, we call it juice, ooh! in Gaza, it’s Jews | |
148 | when the sun runs out of juice . . . last birdsong | |
149 | When this cup imbibes The Father’s wrath satisfied I thirst. It’s finished | |
150 | wimbledon final at match point a child shouts juice | |
151 | windfalls hornets drunk in the orchard grass | |
152 | with muzzle on the little gatherer’s lips fresh fruit juice | |
153 | wounded pine the tears of the tree scent the air |
Kukai Results
On the first day of the following month, results of the tally of the kukai will be announced. The top vote-getters as voted by readers will be posted, along with the number of points each poem tallied, and each poem’s authorship will be revealed at this time. Winners will be invited to select from a list of prizes provided by The Haiku Foundation. The theme for the new month will be announced at the same time, and the process repeated. Poems remain the copyrighted property of their authors, but The Haiku Foundation reserves the right to publish, display and archive all submitted poems for this and other purposes at its discretion.
Congratulations to all our participants!
