Last Chance to Vote in the August 2026 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
air
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 | “Move out of the way!” Even the air is softer — Here, a gentle “fwaan.” | |
2 | a bouncy path within the wind little goldfinch sings | |
3 | a breeze whispers through the leaves late afternoon secrets | |
4 | a dazzle of dragonflies . . . skydiving | |
5 | a deep breath in . . . I become the rose for those few moments | |
6 | a forest ripples in the background blink by blink | |
7 | a gentle puff my wishes float away dandelion dreams | |
8 | A rush of fresh air Thrusts out fluid First breath | |
9 | a serene air wafts through the house così fan tutte | |
10 | A web moves gently As morning breezes kiss it Spider waits for prey | |
11 | a whole sky within the icicle dampening earth | |
12 | a windy fall night she watches over his breathing | |
13 | aeolian harp the playing of the breeze the dancing of the trees | |
14 | aerial pas de deux blowing leaf autumn butterfly | |
15 | afternoon air hums and bees wander from bloom to bloom . . . time slows with the heat. | |
16 | air pump — the tire flat | |
17 | air raid . . . a boy prepares his tin soldiers | |
18 | air raid siren wail of a newborn in the dark | |
19 | air with nostalgia an antique gramophone | |
20 | airstrikes — the distant drone of a lawn mower | |
21 | airtime . . . my thoughts find pen and paper | |
22 | all the colors air takes on Monet’s cathedral | |
23 | almost grown in a garden swinging our feet in the air | |
24 | alpine bouquet the feel of less air between us | |
25 | Angry air Truth or lies Politics | |
26 | approaching the pond a perfect roundout and flare before touchdown — swans | |
27 | arctic plunge caught in midair my breath | |
28 | at interchange truckers gently let’em hiss air brakes | |
29 | August moon silvers the air . . . sill seeking answers | |
30 | August morning cool salt air wafts in from Nantucket | |
31 | autumn air breathing out with the trees | |
32 | back by the seaside her deep breath with half a lung | |
33 | bamboo chimes . . . grandma’s last message lost in the wind | |
34 | before the storm a white rose garden its delicate silence | |
35 | blank page . . . subway air enters exits my lungs | |
36 | bluejay feather she felt a change in the air | |
37 | bolts of butterflies trees into clouds — heavy summer air | |
38 | bone dry . . . hemmed in by highways taking the night air | |
39 | brain booster breathing in fresh forest air — free for all | |
40 | Breath of life hides behind masks — Resuscitate! | |
41 | Breathing in — breathing out — invisible life . . . | |
42 | breezing through me summer wind | |
43 | burning forest gasping for air fawns run to highway | |
44 | Butterfly flutters In my eyeline she wanders Sun lights open wings | |
45 | caresses cross young lips the sacred breath of lovers memories of air | |
46 | charity auction hot air balloon ride with him | |
47 | charred trees our lungs refill with a rattle | |
48 | city joggers above the rush a single cloud | |
49 | clean air summit — one person in every car | |
50 | clear spring sky and it’s snowing aspen seeds | |
51 | coming storm her funeral procession one breeze shorter | |
52 | coming up for air the second time | |
53 | counting breaths to ten waiting for the summer heat to blow away | |
54 | death leaves a package I dare not open: my last breath | |
55 | deep dark depression highlights the yellow gorse bush oh sweet summer rain | |
56 | deprivation of air feather and stone fall both hit the ground | |
57 | difficult to breathe tension escapes through laughter begin to unfold | |
58 | driving away little dangling trees scent the air | |
59 | fair winds . . . sailing to the islands on a beam reach | |
60 | false positive pockets full of air bouncing peace treaties | |
61 | farm sunset a harmonica colours the air | |
62 | first snow baby’s breath hush . . . | |
63 | first to caress the martyr’s forehead — a breeze from home | |
64 | fractured noon cicadas saturate the air bone-deep noise | |
65 | frigid air breath betrays the hiding place | |
66 | from air to err, all flames smoke again and hot again need air, 35 index | |
67 | from fog with a hint of blue sunny song | |
68 | From the north, sudden clouds on a hot afternoon. Cool breeze down my neck. | |
69 | gasping for air a stranded fish’s panic attack | |
70 | half-sung nursery rhymes air raid siren | |
71 | handing out air on strings a clown at the circus | |
72 | hats off to swirling air | |
73 | haze of confusion a single moment of truth breath of fresh air | |
74 | Hazy charcoal sky trapped under a smoke-filled cloche, I sip shallow air. | |
75 | he feels the cool air on his breast climbing higher the eagle cries — ecstasy | |
76 | heaviness of air succulents blooming unnoticed | |
77 | her dreams float conquered, reached high skies shattered in ocean | |
78 | high on the mountain my skull rolled away such clear air! | |
79 | hitting a toy drone the balloon vendor’s breath becomes air | |
80 | hot air grabbing the headlines egomaniacs | |
81 | hot air balloon shrinking cow’s moo | |
82 | hot summer — airing out the family house | |
83 | Hurricane Allen paramedics sent a kiss of life | |
84 | i see you in the fallen leaves cos you are dead | |
85 | in the air all that noise of her win — haiku challenge | |
86 | Inhaling the rarefied air immersed in haiku | |
87 | into the city the overhead roar of an airplane | |
88 | last light on evening primroses moths stir in the air | |
89 | last monarch — the change of seasons in the air | |
90 | last star — his I can’t breathe too heavy to wish away | |
91 | late winter gales the gallop of her pacemaker | |
92 | lighter than air in spring cherry blossoms | |
93 | lill boy paints rainbows en plein air — leaky garden hose | |
94 | listening to the aria in halcyon stillness Serenade | |
95 | lost in fields of air shrugging off all criticism walking on high clouds | |
96 | mackerel colored sky wild geese on light wings | |
97 | Manikarnika — the incense takes turn to scent the air | |
98 | meditating — the smell of nearby pond comes to me | |
99 | midnight breeze — thoughts levitating between REM and non-REM | |
100 | Misty morning air, lonely piper’s tune — Irish home. | |
101 | morning mist rosebuds float the rainbowed air | |
102 | mountain air — a stranger’s burn barrel rusted through | |
103 | mountain pass — a white butterfly crosses twice | |
104 | mountain peak — holding my breath for the sake of the edelweiss | |
105 | no one speaks the air settles into dust | |
106 | Not finding the leak in the water line. Applying pressure, instead of water. The leak whistling in the dark. | |
107 | off the meds riding high on the swings the other mother’s staring | |
108 | offshore wind a butterfly seeks shelter in her small hands | |
109 | one last breath into her lungs kiss of life | |
110 | one mouthful after another of the food of life and so it goes on | |
111 | Opening my door Hot air rushes . . . Washing my face | |
112 | over the cliff’s edge the air smells of strawberries . . . the tiger below (Zen Buddhist parable) | |
113 | overcast . . . a wood burning stove perfumes the atmosphere | |
114 | passport checks — heavy dread of long slow queues relieved now I’m in the air | |
115 | peace talks hanging in the air origami cranes | |
116 | pebbled and dusty road I inhale some some settles on me | |
117 | Pilot leaps into air | |
118 | playing the flute . . . breath becomes song | |
119 | pneumonia child’s eyes asking air from mother | |
120 | poetry slam the next in line gathers up a deep breath | |
121 | pranayama gliding on the inhale frangipani | |
122 | prayer meeting drowning in fresh air | |
123 | quiet breeze — the scent of citrus from inside the teahouse | |
124 | respirations beholden to oxygen sensors . . . | |
125 | sadness in the air brushing my cheeks your passing | |
126 | scads of thuds from the orchard sudden chill | |
127 | Seltzer bubbles rise in vaseline-glass goblet — Grandmother lives on | |
128 | silver ribbons flap on the neighbor’s a/c — the pigeon next door | |
129 | Sizzle, broil, and bake Unbearable summer heat — praise be to AC | |
130 | smoke filled air chokes summer forests burn | |
131 | sneezing a flurry of leaves from the oak tree | |
132 | snow line a monk greets the climber | |
133 | soaring eagle as if there were nothing but sky | |
134 | something unseen something that can’t be touched and yet, always life | |
135 | spontaneous glee suspends children airborne minnows scatter | |
136 | squirrel eats exposed thunderous air | |
137 | stained glass sky bluejay cries shatter the air | |
138 | steep hill trek tumplines of fresh oranges waft down the valley | |
139 | sudden breeze in the hot summer noon a fanning butterfly beside | |
140 | suffocating air muggy, thick, struggle to breath lungs plead for relief | |
141 | sultry night a metal clasp taps against the window | |
142 | summer heat a whistle of falling bombs | |
143 | sunny morning — opening the door to a parcel of air | |
144 | surging from sky Blue to deep blue it swings — a roller coast | |
145 | suspended in air dust dances in a sunbeam | |
146 | sweet desert petrichor announces arrival summer monsoon | |
147 | the air smells of honeysuckle along worn path | |
148 | the air still a light breeze sways down a banana leaf | |
149 | the air was admitted to intensive care. | |
150 | the air you and i breathe one and the same | |
151 | The incense smoke drifts Graciously held by Zephyr Silent prayers born forth | |
152 | the ripe wheat filling the air the smell of baked bread | |
153 | the whooshing of a contrail through the pines’ mourning doves | |
154 | the wind takes the butterfly and smoke with it | |
155 | through the wafting breeze a honey bee hides its succulence | |
156 | to be taxed soon clean air | |
157 | unanswered emails I follow my white breath into the winter woods | |
158 | Unto to the last sigh from the very first breath of air Story of life | |
159 | up in the air our red-hot romance ready to fizzle | |
160 | vibgyor in the air festival of colours spring beckons | |
161 | waiting room — the leaflet trembles in her sigh | |
162 | wakening with sun rising over Atlantic breeze flowing through house | |
163 | war in the air — father was unharnessing the horses from the plow | |
164 | war news — the white flag waiting for wind | |
165 | way back home always one step ahead of me my breath | |
166 | whirring in my face, still sweating | |
167 | Wild summer fire pine needles swirling like sparks high up in the air | |
168 | wildfire smoke — breathing air that tastes like crushed charcoal | |
169 | wind chimes the lambent pulse of air | |
170 | wind phone the air fills with grief | |
171 | wind’s way my paper plane crashes in the lake | |
172 | winter air purifying my thoughts untrodden snow | |
173 | wintergreen mints our planet concurs with every breath | |
174 | You do not inhale. Really the sky exhales into you. You are being breathed. | |
175 | your ashes hang suspended lingering longer | |
176 | Zephyr dries my cheeks Dad’s hand again brushes sand from my sea wet feet |
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!
