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Last Chance to Vote in the December 2022 THF Monthly Kukai

This month’s theme:
celebration

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

      20 year old cognac
celebrating
this 30 year old marriage

2

      a quiet celebration
with healed scars
and a one-year chip

3

      a soldier
falling into opened arms
returns home

4

      a thousand party lights
reflect and shine
on the bald head

5

      a yellow flower
in the beggar’s bowl
sunny Christmas

6

      anniversary
a celebration
of wedding vows

7

      anniversary
the new frame
of Grandpa’s picture

8

      bachelor party
his dog doesn’t allow
the stripper inside

9

      beach party —
a double burst of sarcasm
in the pizza’s crust

10

      beneath the tree
brandy snifter empty
fat tabby naps

11

      Birthday dinner . . .
no one
but the waning moon

12

      birthday gathering
guest of honour fades
into the background

13

      blurred lines
the erased name
on my invite

14

      bouquet
catching
her smile

15

      bourbon and soda water
poured into a rocks glass topped with cherries . . .
the new year begins with a kiss

16

      breathing
light blue mask
a memory

17

      busy schedule
i celebrate with children
the rainbow

18

      cake and candles
the toddler’s scream rises
above the song

19

      carnival
these dresses in the wardrobe
waiting for a wonder diet

20

      celebrate good times
come on! let’s have a good time —
just an old song . . .

21

      celebrating fifty . . .
i shed the weight
of my last name

22

      celebrating
my unmasked face . . .
vibrant rainbow

23

      celebrating
the new year
a boiling egg explodes

24

      celebration done
we crush soda cans
with our heels

25

      celebration —
the tree grows
a new branch

26

      celebration
the whoops ha’s and smiles
in the grebe dance

27

      champagne
stars falling off
the sky

28

      cherry blossoms . . .
laughter drifts
down the river

29

      Christmas breakfast
in the photo mother lifts
her last cup of tea

30

      Christmas Eve
in our family the sound
of a new accent

31

      Christmas Eve
the stories we tell
our children

32

      Christmas in pieces
my Kris Kringle wish
a kintsugi class

33

      Christmas lights
a child again watching
someone else make the magic

34

      Christmas morning
forgetting again
batteries

35

      christmas morning
the rescue dog licks
his approval

36

      Christmas night
the crying of a newborn
in bomb shelter

37

      Christmas time
lanterns, lights, flickers
in the street

38

      Christmas truce —
in a front line fir tree
a vigil candle

39

      Christmas wreath —
I don’t think she would
have wanted “MUM”

40

      class reunion —
group photograph heavy
with the scent of marble

41

      competing with the stars fireflies

42

      confetti bomb —
a thousand starlings
take flight

43

      contest win
the shape of zeros
made by lips

44

      Crickets singing joy
Grass dancing in the wind
A nature party

45

      crystal ball dropping everything to celebrate the journey

46

      dawn shines even
after the darkest night
dreaming peace

47

      desert festival —
folk music undulates
across the dunes

48

      Diwali celebration
the slum illuminates
in its own lights

49

      

double delight
below daughter’s name
smaller ‘& Dad’

50

      every Sunday
another candle:
light is coming

51

      falling kites
rag-pickers embrace
pieces of rainbows

52

      family reunion
in their hands
champagne glasses

53

      feeding birds
on Christmas morning —
my gift to me

54

      first rain
a celebration of summer
in our autumn

55

      first rain
after the drought
a festival of flora

56

      first steps
dance down the hall
successful surgery

57

      forks placed to the left
candles lit
hiding in the loo

58

      four notes
the celebration
begins

59

      fox cubs frolicking
at soft dawn —
first snow!

60

      full moon —
smooth and spindly hands
raise a glass

61

      get-together
we compare who’s wearing
a better smile

62

      giggling
at the courthouse
mom’s 3rd marriage

63

      Gloomy sky
Oh!
that bird still lingering

64

      harvest season
dancing with the wind
old scarecrows

65

      hidden presents
tied up with string
celebration

66

      holiday bonus
a toast with
cheap champagne

67

      holiday fireworks
the toddler
in me

68

      holiday shopping . . .
the mannequin beckons
from swimwear

69

      home sleeps —
warm sighs
dance together

70

      Indian wedding
my feet find the beat
before me

71

      joy unbounded
a get together
no comparison

72

      lantern festival —
our wishes slowly rise
over the Chiang Mai’s river

73

      Let the party start
Roasting turkey-stomach growls
Front doorbell warbling

74

      life is a window shopping

75

      longed for baby
her father’s words
‘our missing piece’

76

      memories of us
melt away —
frozen tree branches

77

      midnight toast
a stray shrapnel strikes
the cuckoo clock

78

      million stars
shine bright
celebrating each night!

79

      missing her presence as Christmas unwraps

80

      mixmaster
carnival ride
to the future

81

      moon and i
hear hoot owl
in neighbor’s tree

82

      morning rice field
frogs after the rain
voice of independence

83

      my birthday party . . .
how many candles on the cake
this year

84

      My mom’s birthday
Bittersweet “celebration”
No candles to blow

85

      New Year’s Eve on tv
she toasts with many faces —
a single glass

86

      new year’s eve . . .
preparing
pots and pans

87

      New Year’s toast
a tipsy tip of the glass
to an Earth atilt

88

      no stars in the sky
light up the evening
glitter and paillettes

89

      Old man at the home —
friends laugh in pictures
at Christmas dinner

90

      our female firstborn . . . planting a lilli pilli

91

      our great earth mother
shares secrets to keeping safe
new world celebrates

92

      out of storage
the dead dog’s
Christmas collar

93

      out of tune
the rusty horn
still squeaks

94

      overcast evening
kookaburra banters
the Christmas garden party

95

party in full swing
I talk
to the moon

96

      sharing champagne
with a new lover
the same moon

97

      Showers of stars
Skyrockets ablaze,
Hope for a new Year.

98

      silent night . . .
three docs singing carols
from ward to ward

99

      snowflakes
carry moonlight
to my hand

100

      spicy nachos
a mexican wave rolls
round our table

101

      spring birds reemerge
to reanimate my world
in celebration

102

      still ringing
carol of the bells
burned out church

103

      such a fuss
on New Year’s Day
little sparrows

104

      surprise party —
the guest of honor
first to arrive

105

      Thanksgiving Day —
instead of a turkey
this baby girl

106

      Thanksgiving Day
we gather, celebrate
being alive

107

      that time of year
once again untangling
the fairy lights

108

      the moon and I
celebrate our scars —
perigee moon

109

      the old man dancing
with every lady who came
to his last farewell

110

      The seventh year of Separation
The repeated twinkling
of the postman’s bell

111

      the sound of freedom and celebration

112

      To celebrate a miracle
Eight candles blazing bright
Respite from Winter’s dusky murk

113

      toy store
buzzing with laughter
National Kazoo Day

114

      trampled
sunflowers
kissing in Times Square

115

twin rainbows a celebration of adjectives

116

      two homeless people
at Christmas they put a plate
for a homeless dog

117

      unwrapping her third
extra-large pack of chocolates . . .
gifts for adults

118

      Walking down the street
with my shadow
not feeling alone

119

      walking on the beach
midnight sky, sea dark as ink
we reach for the stars

120

      wedding anniversary
bottle brush blooms
join the party

121

      wedding day
diamonds glisten
atop the snow

122

      what a hoot!
the laughter shared
by candlelight

123

      white Christmas
decorating Christmas tree
without grandma

124

      wind in the willows no other life but this

125

      with a good mate
a feast —
praying mantis

126

      world championship
no cause for celebration
soccer in Qatar

127

      Xmas tree
a moth enjoying
a candy cane

128

      yuletide —
the light glows
outside and inside

 

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!

 

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