Last Chance to Vote in the February 2025 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
sky
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 | “the sky’s the limit” . . . of oxygen ’til we use it up | |
2 | 4K sky over distant shores new shade of blue | |
3 | a bit of sky in my garden . . . blue iris | |
4 | a child on swing trying to touch the sky | |
5 | a flying eagle kissed the blue transparent sky a sigh of the thoughts | |
6 | A Golden Eagle Unwinds the Sky | |
7 | A lonesome Seagull Sails the monotonous blue Piercing straits of white | |
8 | a new expression for old religious language- mind of Son of Sky | |
9 | a pigeon fancier under an empty sky our silent hopes | |
10 | a soaring kite until the sky swallows . . . first stars | |
11 | a whole life in a patch of sky bedridden | |
12 | Above and beyond Blessings from a deep blue-sky Majestic colors | |
13 | abyssal blue — lying in the grass I wait to fall into the sky | |
14 | air show the sky is filled with emotion | |
15 | Airplanes fly! Scattered rice on blue cloth Out of reach | |
16 | albatross — a fish from sky towards another sky | |
17 | amid the stars a coracle ride | |
18 | At a graveyard: darkening sky and shadows bringing lunancy. | |
19 | autumn sky I eat an almond with its skin | |
20 | awakening the stars — a field of dandelions unchained | |
21 | bare tree limbs appendages of nerves against a gray sky | |
22 | beach day the sky bigger and better | |
23 | beyond space the reddish dirt of mars | |
24 | beyond the rain there is always blue a rhapsody | |
25 | big sky fills little puddle | |
26 | black and blue usually unappealing but then — the sky | |
27 | black winter sky at the edge a touch of red so full of hope | |
28 | blue sky the male quail nods to the female peering from a bush | |
29 | blueness laps at the shore of icy peaks jellyfish clouds | |
30 | box of crayons blue is missing so is the sky | |
31 | broken sky shards of glasses all over the road | |
32 | carrying the sky into our heart a skylark’s song | |
33 | cathedral of peace — redwood trees reach for the sky | |
34 | chemtrail a sky line of conspiracy | |
35 | city’s border — a caught leaf flutters skyward from the barbed-wire fence | |
36 | clean sky . . . still trapped inside his head a perfect draft | |
37 | clear morning the sky pulling a boy’s kite | |
38 | clearing light: beams skies in color | |
39 | cold moon a lone crow flies in its light | |
40 | coming storm the first few drops tickle my toes | |
41 | cool night sky in the moon’s curve an osprey nestles | |
42 | Cotton strips Blanket the blue sky Threadbare quilt | |
43 | cranes are flying the first this year spectacle under the open sky | |
44 | criss-crossed skies another shower of chemtrail conspiracists | |
45 | deep in the sky a lark’s song and more than can be heard | |
46 | dimpled sky furrows of clouds on a sunny day | |
47 | distant thunder the sky pulls a sheet over the hills | |
48 | dream building toy blocks scrape the sky | |
49 | dusk sky dreams and fears on his coffin | |
50 | electrical storm atmospheric tantrum petulant sky child | |
51 | empty sky now fills the canopy beech stump | |
52 | empty summer sky I scribble on it my rejected poems | |
53 | en deshabille the sky cuddles beneath quilts stratocumulus | |
54 | endless blue every day at supper his empty seat | |
55 | endless journey ever changing images vastness of sky | |
56 | evening sky — a star is so bright like fireflies | |
57 | eyes skyward — looking for answers before smartphones | |
58 | eyes to the sky hanging by a thread this spider as well | |
59 | Fear of ice red sky at night watched yesterday | |
60 | February sky lit with a struggling sun diagnosis hopes | |
61 | finding form in emptiness starlight | |
62 | flat on her back smoking regrets a pink cloud winks | |
63 | flock of crows — long flowing trails of wildfire | |
64 | forest canopy just enough breeze to stir the sky | |
65 | from a hill above us only sky | |
66 | giant gentle hands that hold the moon and my stars souls of ones I miss | |
67 | glimpses of sky among the rubble cornflowers | |
68 | gossamer sky — no end to the clouds or to my dreams | |
69 | Graduation day, Clouds in the Sky | |
70 | gray dawn awakening the blues | |
71 | grey suburbs under grey skies . . . sunny forsythia | |
72 | hazy sky rockets in flight gauze curtain | |
73 | heat — only a small sign of life little lark | |
74 | heat haze — a ship dissolves into the horizon | |
75 | her eyes two pieces of sky Achinora | |
76 | her eyes . . . birds fly across the short horizon | |
77 | his departure the fractured sky in my son’s eyes | |
78 | houseboat dad says the sky’s the limit | |
79 | how to live this life as a footprint in the sky | |
80 | I am alone in this vast unknown where the sky meets me | |
81 | I love you three words left in a hurry fading contrails | |
82 | i rest my eyes looking at the sky — fire under the ashes | |
83 | i see Night Sky Night Sky sees me, in starlight your crescent moon rising | |
84 | if only the clouds were blue September sky | |
85 | illuminated manuscript — leafless birch branches etch the sky | |
86 | immigrants dilemma learning the language of a new night sky | |
87 | in the spring sky the first flight of fledgling barn owls — praying parents | |
88 | incoming storm the face of the mountain grows darker | |
89 | infinite inspiration incognito | |
90 | ivy climbs and climbs higher and higher never reaching the sky | |
91 | jacaranda sky the filigree of greening branches | |
92 | jigsaw puzzle a child gathers pieces of the sky | |
93 | last year’s nest punctuates the winter sky | |
94 | late snowfall sky gathers in the deer prints | |
95 | leafless trees the clear blue sky in a lacy tracery | |
96 | light blue atmosphere unexpected turning pink baby you are here | |
97 | lipstick shades — birds’ beaks kiss open the dawn sky | |
98 | listening to the sad tune — a cloud-hung sky | |
99 | lost balloon little girl reaches to catch the sky | |
100 | Lying in the grass listening to a high skylark crossing fighter jet | |
101 | maroon sky in the surf thoughts of escape | |
102 | midwinter sunset coming or going the goose’s cry | |
103 | migrating geese my place of birth is no longer home | |
104 | mist child: pink sky blue fuji | |
105 | Monday morning blues of sky I smile | |
106 | moon-drunk sky I invite Issa’s ghost for one cup | |
107 | Moonless sky Cicada’s song A long night | |
108 | more and more snowflakes and less sky | |
109 | most love I’ll never touch their blue | |
110 | moving day the blueness of sky deepens | |
111 | My hens run for cover From the big bird in the sky Medical helicopter | |
112 | my lumpy lawn adding depth to the sky — first molehills | |
113 | night sky a falling fireball | |
114 | night sky connecting the dots bedtime story | |
115 | night’s great light . . . iridizing clotted clouds behind her | |
116 | no need to look up the sky starts on top of the sand | |
117 | okay, okay! but when I throw the crumbs magpies prefer the sky | |
118 | On the horizon earth meets the sky what a utopia! | |
119 | One + one equals two this is mere proposition still the skies come down! | |
120 | one morning I see sky coms all the way to earth we walk in sky | |
121 | out of wintry sky white goose cleaves the murk of a March thaw Spring at last | |
122 | out there where sky meets sea a single sail | |
123 | over easy egg . . . agape as the mackerel descends by daybreak | |
124 | overcast . . . the odor of air before snow | |
125 | Palestine: a burnt face out of the eastern sky | |
126 | Pearl-grey sky — Drowsy sun in a cloud basket. | |
127 | Petaled Sky of ice Hope unspent | |
128 | pink and grey crayons melt with orange and yellow sunset canvas | |
129 | poem-deep where the sky disappears inches from the poet | |
130 | practicing kanji the brush drips tracing clouds | |
131 | puddle bath — robin’s wings rippling the sky | |
132 | Rain Skyfall broken pieces scattered on earth | |
133 | Rain after fire A view once blocked by buildings Puddles reflect the sky | |
134 | rain clouds just beyond the horizon this sky of longing | |
135 | retirement watching the sky in child’s eyes | |
136 | sandhill cranes paint the February sky chortling north | |
137 | sapphire sky wishes glisten I choose mine | |
138 | share my sky she said clouds roll in | |
139 | silence speaks softly to the azure world in fading light | |
140 | silhouette of trees whisper to a scarlet sky | |
141 | skating across the calm sky — a water glider | |
142 | sky pregnant with snow waits | |
143 | sky of blue . . . a see-through drizzle on the horizon | |
144 | Sky so azure blue Yellow fields with sorrow sway Black earth soaked with blood | |
145 | sky wide the fountain full of wishes | |
146 | Sky’s transforming hue, Blue, black, vermillion dance, Shaping human thought. | |
147 | skyscape its changing orange hues after a firestorm | |
148 | snow covered path under gray clouds — no sky | |
149 | snow sky another shade of monochrome | |
150 | snowy skies . . . the evicted neighbor under my porch light | |
151 | spring sky falls rise in rainbow mist | |
152 | spring in the air . . . grandson’s yellow kite flutters my sky | |
153 | spring sky — a flash of the young crow’s baby blues | |
154 | starry sky between you and me the void gapes | |
155 | stars in the sky — on the red carpet the moon alone | |
156 | Stars sing at midnight quietly hum sweet bird songs While dawn skies burst through | |
157 | stormy sky the wind tells its story slanted rain | |
158 | sudden dusk birdsong strewn all across my backyard | |
159 | summer sky down the stream reflect a canvas | |
160 | sunken sun a lingering taste of orange sherbet | |
161 | surprises me with its day moon the sky blue sky | |
162 | swallow in flight crosses the sky | |
163 | Sydney summers day flying artists have written in the sky: STAY COOL! | |
164 | t h e s k y k e e p s m e grounded | |
165 | the barren trees are begging bowls, Winter sun | |
166 | the basement room just a little bit of sky every spring day | |
167 | The bear is done as I die my eyes are the sky’s | |
168 | The big sky, yes, and a Hawk screaming above the clouds, a boom! quiet . . . | |
169 | the bob of a cork a cloud glides past the moon in the late night sky | |
170 | the curve of the bay — my thoughts drift with the clouds | |
171 | the face of a cuffed migrant picker ashen sky | |
172 | the glow rises in a child’s eyes sky lantern | |
173 | the golden sky . . . never knowing when you will see it | |
174 | the itch to ruffle the blue of the blue sky | |
175 | the same sky always above this unsame world | |
176 | the smell of rain before the first drop falls anticipation | |
177 | threatening sky dark blustery winds politicians | |
178 | thunder egg — a magpie turns the sky inside out | |
179 | tranquil night the stars embellish the sky the moon is awake | |
180 | Tree shadows grow long, Leaves deepen their shaded hues — Yet you are the sun | |
181 | trigger finger — pointing at a moonless sky | |
182 | trying to move at the speed of clouds . . . morning walk | |
183 | two white clouds above the battlefield truce talks between our gods | |
184 | ufos frolick this way and that | |
185 | unblemished blue then swirling wisps of white lingering gossip | |
186 | universe constellation of mystery | |
187 | unlimited sky . . . how long will it take to really belong here? | |
188 | up before dawn to stretch reluctant muscles morning sky blushes | |
189 | vanishing horizon :: the autumn nightfall seamless | |
190 | vast sky — swiftly flying this fleeting mind | |
191 | war-torn sky — the distant memory of blue | |
192 | wet skin — the sky becomes the earth drop by drop | |
193 | where did they go . . . searching the sky for answers | |
194 | White herons in linear grace in blue translucence | |
195 | wide open big blue eye staring down at me | |
196 | wildfire — grateful for the one star I can see in the smoky sky | |
197 | Wind blows cold and gray Gray, gray everything is gray Buildings disappear | |
198 | winter night sky Venus and Mars pair up we call it quits | |
199 | with or without cranes . . . ashen sky | |
200 | without saying a thing her eyes hold the pillar of a persisting dream | |
201 | wizened sky footprints in the wash still printing | |
202 | wringing the blue sky the grey twister of my anxiety |
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!
