Last Chance to Vote in the January 2021 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
optimism
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.
The Ballot
1 | 1 20 2021 12:01 | |
2 | 88 today I register for vaccine at the cancer center | |
3 | a bull belly deep in the summer pond yellow lilies | |
4 | a fresh year new hiking boots waiting in the box | |
5 | a polytunnel in late autumn delayed delivery | |
6 | across the counter a tumbler . . . half-full | |
7 | after earthquake the little girl drawing her house | |
8 | after the storm hovering over fallen flowers a butterfly | |
9 | all along the fence with his ticketytock stick a dream-humming boy | |
10 | always half full moon in my glass | |
11 | an old man excitedly talks on future discoveries | |
12 | An old man walking Stomps and drags the fine gravel Walking to heaven | |
13 | another vaccine rolling out my dusty wings | |
14 | At crowed swamp — A baby coot follow its mother. | |
15 | at the end of my nightmare . . . mother’s smile | |
16 | baboon mates he reaches to feel her behind paw slapped away | |
17 | balmy afternoon not yet spring grasshopper | |
18 | blooming lilacs at the crossroad a new path ahead | |
19 | break of dawn the cat sniffs at first snowdrop | |
20 | bulbs buried in fall push leaves up through frozen dirt — wishful thinking | |
21 | burial — in the fresh snow round trip steps | |
22 | cactus flower — each poem I write a dressing of a wound | |
23 | cancer ward . . . at last the moon decides to leave | |
24 | changing winds . . . the snow-peaks opening slowly | |
25 | chemo fog . . . she plants hyacinths in winter light | |
26 | chorus line a skein of geese pulling grandma’s yarn | |
27 | Christmas morning out of the thick snow the head of a snowdrop | |
28 | cold champagne . . . actually writing a resolution list | |
29 | cold morning in the flight of a swallow pieces of sky | |
30 | Come back the child calls to the rising balloon | |
31 | crocus buds I choose hope | |
32 | December daffodils shiver in my garden — yellow coffins | |
33 | desert sun . . . the caravans sing a monsoon song | |
34 | down east the murmuring chirps of winter birds | |
35 | dreaming sparrow in the middle of winter cherry blossom | |
36 | elderly now still he plants an orchard | |
37 | emergency room hanging from the doorknob my foolish smile | |
38 | even in raindrops the sun shines through . . . smiling | |
39 | every place is Shangri-la the first time | |
40 | finally dawn first dream of the year bodes well | |
41 | first green shoots of spring — vaccination appointment | |
42 | first light the woodpecker’s drum roll | |
43 | flies hatching . . . circles dappling the surface . . . another last cast | |
44 | frosty dawn my old orchid shows off her new buds | |
45 | Full moon bludgeoned me shining like a well-lit dime my trash cans glowing | |
46 | garnishing the canvas tote carrot tops | |
47 | Grandmother’s smiles The sun overcomes dark Joy overloaded | |
48 | gum trees old bark peeling in the sun | |
49 | Gypsy psychic Promising me three good things — Just twenty bucks | |
50 | heavy is a heartbreak | |
51 | her gentle sway enticing spring daffodil | |
52 | her last line no period | |
53 | icicles there outside my window a pansy | |
54 | January 15th I’m still true to my New Year’s resolution | |
55 | kaleidobrandscope kiss, eat, drink, love, buy, fly, smile all together mood | |
56 | katydid imago bursting to sing this new me | |
57 | late to work perfect rain pictures backup plan | |
58 | life support . . . titillating his foot | |
59 | lifting spirits the bittersweet flight song of a skylark | |
60 | little memories eating mud curls and jumping in puddles | |
61 | lived amidst (a)long pandemic my aged mother | |
62 | lockdown a ladybug on my sleeve | |
63 | lockdown evening enough space for a rumba in our kitchen | |
64 | low expectations optimistically normal’s the new great | |
65 | meat on the grill — our dog patiently sits next to me | |
66 | meteor yesterday and today the same wish | |
67 | more confident wearing two masks her tinder date | |
68 | my pink glasses the world smiles back on me | |
69 | my reflection pouring into the gutter still clings on to me | |
70 | my writing slow as that snail sun tea | |
71 | new calendar with clean pages possibilities | |
72 | New mirror the pressure around my optimism | |
73 | new year’s day . . . my gratitude list lengthens | |
74 | New Year’s Day — the calendar full of promises | |
75 | New Year’s morning the look of wonder in my grandson’s eyes | |
76 | New Year’s resolution Whatever Will Be, Will Be I sing the song | |
77 | ode to joy on repeat vaccination | |
78 | Of wind and wings the new day shines. Let’s start again | |
79 | on the branch of the tree fallen in the storm that damn wren! | |
80 | opening any-way to light | |
81 | pandemic blues . . . and yet the silver line in her hair | |
82 | purple sunset the dancers in wild trance rushing wind | |
83 | refugee camp . . . a wedding sepia photo in her locket | |
84 | refugee camp shrouded by dreams of early return | |
85 | rehab session I’ve still got one he smiles and hops away | |
86 | Rose Island . . . a turtle hatchling overtaking itself | |
87 | Rosebud in winter Blossoming despite the frost Harbinger of hope! | |
88 | sawing till dusk polished table for son only lineage | |
89 | seen on our masked walk a fairy door on a tree — an entrance for hope | |
90 | shooting star actually, I’ll do it myself | |
91 | skid row a Sunday comics kite flies above the shanty | |
92 | smiling kitty waiting goldfish swimming | |
93 | snowdrops out of the ground . . . sun to come | |
94 | snowflakes drift from children’s snow angels across the village | |
95 | step by step the egret walks on the leaves | |
96 | Sunflower seeds turning east, turning west A storm sprouts bright | |
97 | suspended in day fog the lighted windows | |
98 | Tears . . . death rain . . . life love . . . forever | |
99 | the leap from dubious hope to irrational exuberance | |
100 | the morning brings light dark of evening comes early it is dawn again somewhere | |
101 | the shearers strike . . . a deal | |
102 | the smallest cacti bloom largest fairy garden | |
103 | there are many ways to get to Rome | |
104 | third trimester she knits a blanket with glee | |
105 | through an eagle’s feathers . . . the song of the wind | |
106 | to do list persimmon orchard | |
107 | twenty twenty-one starting with the man in the mirror | |
108 | under feet of frozen soil an acorn awaits | |
109 | wait, my friend! below a kingfisher’s branch ice melts | |
110 | wheeoo-ti-ti-whee in the evergreens the thing with feathers | |
111 | winter thaw getting vaccinated on inauguration day | |
112 | winter wind pink balloons tied to the mailbox | |
113 | within her pelvis crib of the universe sea stone fern dirt earth |
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!
