Last Chance to Vote in the December 2024 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
gift
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 | “gifts from the past” her father chuckles as he wraps her old ice skates | |
2 | a child unwraps his gift a butterfly from his palms | |
3 | a fur toy for the streety cold mums | |
4 | a gift in my hand after nine months | |
5 | a gift given in rivulets snowmelt | |
6 | A gift unopened I have kept it, just for you. My heart gathers dust | |
7 | A gift. Heart whispers, “Thank you.” | |
8 | A gifted necklace Gateway jewelry From you | |
9 | a homeless child smiles at the autumn full moon . . . bmw-s | |
10 | A man from art class, a lawyer, George, gives me a gift hundred dollar bill! | |
11 | a parol twirls in the amihan breeze December bells | |
12 | a soldier back home with a present for his child . . . Christmas ceasefire | |
13 | a star is born its halo illuminates the world | |
14 | a walk through the twelfth door each day in its empire light in its room | |
15 | Above blue whispers forgiveness A gift a black heart Consolation lures grace of evil | |
16 | All given away The richest man has no-thing Gifts? Obligations. | |
17 | an old hat and scarf — first snowman | |
18 | an outreached hand speckled with glitter inviting all neighbours | |
19 | Arid land prospered Nile bestowed fertility Gift for Egypt | |
20 | at the temple a sparrow bathes in buddha’s hands | |
21 | Baby wrapped in white A precious gift from above A new life begins | |
22 | baptism gift Mom’s dedication inside my Bible | |
23 | billiards game a shooting star hits my dreams | |
24 | boomerang his choice until he’s told its purpose | |
25 | borrowed womb a river carries a stranger’s star | |
26 | braided wig . . . a Christmas gift to her mother | |
27 | brain rot — you or me? isn’t this the gift I gave you last year? | |
28 | bright morning a peacock landing on the roof | |
29 | Cherry blossoms finally from my barren womb the joyful kick of life | |
30 | children’s birthday — the boy wants the gift back for himself | |
31 | chocolate lab she gifts us a sloppy kiss | |
32 | Christmas eve i open the door for the plumber | |
33 | Christmas eve the last boy in the row asks for a mother | |
34 | Christmas lights — under his crossed-out name, mine | |
35 | Christmas morning — the toddler plays with gift wrappings | |
36 | Christmas package the statue I gave her returned | |
37 | Christmas spirit the refugee girl shares her last sandwich | |
38 | Christmas store wrapping gifts after gifts enthesitis | |
39 | CKD he greets the donor with a hug | |
40 | cloud-knitted blankets tuck under spruces’ chins and snuggle mice feet | |
41 | Cold deer bones in frost Like a gift from time itself — fate wrapped in her death | |
42 | cold feet — feeble crone seeks gift of time | |
43 | cold moon good hunting to the perfect gift | |
44 | cold morning I choose the mug because he gave it to me | |
45 | daily gift delivers a blessing morning dew | |
46 | Daily planning for joyous learning, Unwrapping gifts of knowledge for life’s success — Rejected! Teachers slowly dying — Epidemic! | |
47 | days and weeks without much sleep — first smile | |
48 | death | |
49 | December unwrapping his budget | |
50 | december darkness my wife made the tea I didn’t ask for | |
51 | dedicating his first book to his one-time teacher — the gift of words | |
52 | deep autumn — she leaves more apples to the blackbirds | |
53 | empty tajine bowl — from the bone a gift for the cat | |
54 | even after leaves fall prescient moments unfold gifts for spring’s earth | |
55 | fall drought, thirsty trees then gifts of water, blessed rain exultant snowfall | |
56 | festive season the surgeon gifts a few more years | |
57 | first Christmas unwrapping the joy in a baby’s smile | |
58 | first gift on the windowsill a titmouse | |
59 | first kin to uni father’s prized watch my time now | |
60 | first snowflakes in the small palms war-torn street | |
61 | for God so loved the world . . . cold night shelter | |
62 | forgotten past future hope only this present Emmanuel | |
63 | free rose with purchase only a scent of profit | |
64 | generation gap the harmony from within mothers womb | |
65 | gift after grandmother’s death even dearer | |
66 | gift I think of poison | |
67 | gift camera value related to eye of user | |
68 | Gift invaluable No need to judge by price Heart’s solace — | |
69 | gift of forgiving what should’ve never happened being human it did | |
70 | Gift of life Tied up in love — Chokehold. | |
71 | Gift of nighttime stars trail their brightly shining seeds Dark dust grows lighter | |
72 | gift of sight . . . the mirror’s mockery goes unseen | |
73 | gift of the sun’s rays on a blistering day gift of the shade | |
74 | gift wrap line he hugs his mom | |
75 | gifts I didn’t get them growing up Is that why I don’t give them? | |
76 | gifts for a newborn hold it up to a window | |
77 | gifts under the tree the feel of father’s pat on the back | |
78 | green Christmas presents wrapped in preloved shawls | |
79 | grief volcano her doctor a silent witness | |
80 | his Christmas tree she crouched beneath it covered in ribbons | |
81 | holiday parade sweet tasting windfall for the homeless man | |
82 | home alone decorating the tree with gifts to himself | |
83 | hot chestnuts in the street child’s eyes all the warmth | |
84 | hototogisu gift of my solitude winter moon | |
85 | I can turn any ring into a fidget ring a gift, if you will | |
86 | I give my two friends their birthday muffins | |
87 | If only I could wrap up The sparkle in my child’s eyes Forever | |
88 | in my dreams I see your smile . . . Christmas morning | |
89 | in my stocking youngest nephew’s favorite stone | |
90 | in the air, a swift plummets down and gets adrift a shark spots the gift | |
91 | in the old dictionary a bookmark: leaf of maple — mother’s gift | |
92 | in the trenches — the warmth of memories in a scarf | |
93 | inmate care package the suffocating scent of wild violets | |
94 | invitation to make a difference is gift | |
95 | it must be a book of poems wrapped in ribbons and bows | |
96 | it was the storm who brought me this gift the rainbow | |
97 | ivory earrings — the thud of an elephant’s fall | |
98 | kicking and screaming little thighs and lungs everything | |
99 | knowing what she likes not knowing what size she wears gift card for Christmas | |
100 | late Spring bursting with new growth . . . all benign | |
101 | many citrons from a friend we share them with others tiny radiant suns | |
102 | me to you you to me house of pleasure | |
103 | memories recounted at father’s bedside gifts of borrowed time | |
104 | midwinter gift — cherry blossom flowers out of season | |
105 | more sugar less spice before the end of the year — new Elf on the Shelf | |
106 | most precious jewel pressed now for fifty-six years — sun-kissed daisy chain | |
107 | Mother’s birthday Gift on her grave With my love | |
108 | Mother’s hand Lightly touching Sleeping daughter’s cheek | |
109 | Mother’s lullabies her first gifts can still sooth my troubled head | |
110 | my daughter’s thanks the nicest gift in my life | |
111 | my world best thing I can give you a haiku | |
112 | mystery of music overflooded with gifts | |
113 | no fruit just a sweet scent — a gift of the desert | |
114 | nursing home at dad’s dark window a bonsai | |
115 | oh! you shouldn’t have no . . . really . . . you shouldn’t have | |
116 | our differences bridged for love of the same man | |
117 | peeling layers of darkness I emerge — gift of a new dawn | |
118 | peering deep into space — gift of sight | |
119 | pen and paper the gift for a lifetime | |
120 | petrichor in desert wind the in-between of life | |
121 | pink twilight mother searches the attic for the Barbie | |
122 | quiet morning after overnight snow a gift-wrapped world | |
123 | rain long gone — leaves still gifting the sky to the earth | |
124 | received like a gift — my children’s laughter | |
125 | red at night or red in the morning always a gift | |
126 | red-tinged clouds frame evening star and new moon — sugar plum fairies dance | |
127 | resuscitating their marriage :: the solitaire for his sister | |
128 | Road weary the evening frogger mistakes me for cricket | |
129 | rolled-up paranthas the father now mothers | |
130 | scrubbing the floor with cold hands a cat whisker | |
131 | she squints sleepily from her window bed a dead mouse by my chair | |
132 | silver ribbon coiling round a gift — little skink | |
133 | small little red bird gifted me a bright ribbon this cool wintry morn | |
134 | strange gold uncovered In darkest spots | |
135 | strange inheritance . . . the freedom wrapped in classic books | |
136 | stroke of midnight when your kiss ushered the New Year | |
137 | stuffed turkey — festive jumpers fill the landfill | |
138 | successive gifts the sun rises again in my child’s smile | |
139 | sudden stop by the old school teacher his wife still feeds me | |
140 | suicide traces . . . moms medications in a gifted mug | |
141 | sunrise from some where somehow birdsongs | |
142 | surprise gift a patchwork quilt made by strangers after Black Saturday bushfires | |
143 | Tentative first breaths New lungs A gift for all seasons | |
144 | The gift of love greatest of all | |
145 | the alligator scarf regifted back to me where it’s meant to be | |
146 | the gift of an unnamed smile refugee moon | |
147 | The kind candle shares its flame with other candles without growing dim | |
148 | The Lark Ascending a teenage busker’s gift for the violin | |
149 | the most universally unwanted gift fruitcake | |
150 | the number one gift is when my cat comes to me gives a nudge and purrs | |
151 | the one window in the cancer center bathed in sun | |
152 | the silent listener — donating time to a person in need | |
153 | the soft berm gets a gift where a line of cyclists are full of | |
154 | the sole of my shoe bearing an unwelcome gift from the neighbor’s dog | |
155 | the unforgettable of a christmas gift a son’s born | |
156 | thirty years without expiration dates my gift | |
157 | thorny gift his first bunch of roses and the last | |
158 | tippy toes awakening as a mom “sleeping beauty” kiss | |
159 | tornado funnel lawn furniture thief gifts to neighbors | |
160 | traffic jam exhaustion two yellow butterflies spiral dance above | |
161 | Unconditional Love for you, my guitar a gift No strings attached | |
162 | unopened gift — baby’s first Christmas covered in dust | |
163 | waning moon your silver torc bangle bequeathed to me | |
164 | winter chill a homeless shares his torn blanket with a stray dog | |
165 | winter solitude the teapot he gave me becomes a fountain | |
166 | without a sting or bite — fireflies’ gift of light | |
167 | wrapped in gossamer last night’s dream | |
168 | wrapped with a smile compassion inside welcome the love | |
169 | Xmas gift . . . no dad in the trenches | |
170 | yellow gold now easily flows new kidney | |
171 | You gave me scissors, but I liked a silk dress. |
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!
