Last Chance to Vote in the July 2024 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
green
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 | ‘no mow May’ tiny gems bloom in the green | |
2 | a blade of grass swaying in the wind delicacy of a nuance | |
3 | a cardinal graces a limb another leaf falls nourishing earth | |
4 | a delicious coffee in the Green Hours restaurant with my old friends | |
5 | A frog camouflaged By a flock of moss, only Its voice is heard. | |
6 | a green grasshopper hovering over charred trees survived forest fires | |
7 | a green river the water is flowing further my pain with it | |
8 | a spit of land green domes cast shadows on a Russian cross | |
9 | across the smooth green the jack; my bowl now clacks yours so who’s the winner? (Advisory: https://olympics.com/en/news/lawn-bowls-rules-regulations-how-to-play) | |
10 | after dinner stroll lemon-lime bottle beach glass burped up in the surf | |
11 | Am I in control or just barely hanging on Asks green frog on leaf | |
12 | among pale new leaves the brilliant deep green streaks — hummingbird shimmer | |
13 | Amongst the trees I feel their embrace and my reverence. | |
14 | An American human in a heavy, green gown eats McDonald’s fries | |
15 | an endless desert — piercing the monotony a pair of green eyes | |
16 | an illustrious star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame . . . Kermit the frog | |
17 | ancient trees have gone — a green mesh now protects sprouting buildings | |
18 | another year remaining yellow the green hills | |
19 | antique water can morning reminder of one daytime chore | |
20 | autumn brown leaves gone, winter snow melted — green grow the rashes, O! | |
21 | autumn sunshine green garden deep meditation | |
22 | baby greens the finger and toe wiggle worms | |
23 | back from vacation her tanned skin looks as green as jade | |
24 | Baroque era after climate change green is the new gold | |
25 | between blue and yellow, all I see is yours | |
26 | . between leaves :: wind . | |
27 | black soil in farmer’s eyes a green spot | |
28 | blinded by algae pond | |
29 | bonsai all those years of him snipping my roots | |
30 | breathing together the leaves that catch the sun among those that don’t | |
31 | camouflaging with the leaves a praying mantis | |
32 | chubby green hornworm munch fuzzy tomato leaf backlit by the sun | |
33 | clearing mist a leafbird’s ballad spills the beans | |
34 | cold drizzle the yellowest green of spring | |
35 | concrete jungle all the colours except green | |
36 | Contrary Buckeye Drops her leaves When others grow them Winter rains draw them out Tender, viridescent, reassuring | |
37 | crickets in the grass but she hears those soldiers’ boots trampling everything | |
38 | dark cloud broke the sun peeps at green meadow again | |
39 | deep green — her eyes shinier than Northern star | |
40 | earnest truths in green grow on forgiven ground soon, some create shade | |
41 | election year . . . do you know why green is blue | |
42 | emerald dusk — the murmuration of starlings | |
43 | emerald fields still searching for the perfect shade of home | |
44 | end of the war — his wound still green | |
45 | envious neighbour my green fingers covered in dirt | |
46 | even in black & white i could tell that his jeans were green | |
47 | ex-boyfriend’s wedding — his bride boasts an emerald greener than my eyes | |
48 | fading greenness . . . the global warming of summer grasses | |
49 | fallow fields burst forth with green shoots . . . a farmer’s delight | |
50 | fava beans peeling layers off to get to goodness | |
51 | fire dry hills crowded with grass and brush greenless | |
52 | first colour of creation embryo green | |
53 | first crocus the scent of spring faintly green | |
54 | first kiss . . . green light enters in the dark room | |
55 | first school bells — enlivening the roadway with greenery | |
56 | Flat, green meadow sweet two trees lean in a dip, friends whispering. | |
57 | florist arranges the holly and the ivy in bleak midwinter | |
58 | forest run — the mist departs baring the green | |
59 | forest walk in each shade of green a hidden haiku | |
60 | forest walk the scent of new greens trail me home | |
61 | forest walk . . . I put down my Spotify for the birdsong | |
62 | fresh grass I trust the spring | |
63 | From green sunset to blue zenith, night descends. | |
64 | from the tuff flows sweat of the earth. thanks from the moss. | |
65 | garnished greens the careful arrangement of a summer’s day | |
66 | gauze light hangs wooly on mountain — making jade | |
67 | going green a way to give earth our apologies | |
68 | going off green his thousand piece puzzle of peas | |
69 | granny smith in the orchard hanging out her best wares | |
70 | Green Teenager’s face rollercoaster | |
71 | green apples . . . grandma’s creaking bones | |
72 | green belt our city’s obsession with slimming | |
73 | green caterpillar crawling from the lettuce blinded by dressing | |
74 | green eyes of the monster who covets blue | |
75 | green eyes . . . your youthness’s taste in our son | |
76 | green field as the sun sets I watch shadow invasion | |
77 | Green fields. Trees and flowers. Life itself. | |
78 | green light . . . if only it was as easy to move on | |
79 | Green mangoes — Tangy like your kisses. | |
80 | green olives in my gin and tonic the dream of her eyes | |
81 | green on green grasshopper’s safe siesta | |
82 | green under green under green into the dark forest | |
83 | green with ghosts temple bells lie in the dust | |
84 | greenhouse emails from her foster kids striking roots | |
85 | greening an ancient myrtle the silence of moss | |
86 | greening — the neighbor’s hedge higher and higher | |
87 | greening spring at the old pond springing green | |
88 | Hands in his pockets The great egret stands frozen In a pool of jade | |
89 | Her neighborhood was Never on the other side Concrete parks can’t be greener | |
90 | her new shoes the color of envy | |
91 | hillside trees each its own shade of Spring | |
92 | hoping her favorite fast food restaurant turns completely green | |
93 | hospice window my mother counts shades of green | |
94 | how green our earth was climate change | |
95 | I gather my strengths — even from a broken stem the Olympics of the crickets | |
96 | I saw a small plant green stems in the record store window giving light | |
97 | in a field of greenery solo performance — red poppy | |
98 | in the dark silhouette a crow tastes the green winter ends | |
99 | in the depths of your greenish blue eyes kigo | |
100 | in the galaxy on one spinning ball a green patch and its mower | |
101 | incessant rain the frog’s croak fades away | |
102 | irish tricolour green orange everlasting peace | |
103 | Japanese tea ceremony he asks for decaf | |
104 | kintsugi jade green and gold chrysalis before hatching | |
105 | lawnmower getting greener every day | |
106 | leaf mold elbow deep in scent of summer | |
107 | leaves change after the first frost — stags roar | |
108 | lux aeternam for this cat called Kiwi a garden of ferns | |
109 | midwinter move from MN to CA when I was 13 everything so green! | |
110 | Misty shower Blurry shades of green Miniature silhouettes stooped afield | |
111 | mom’s green thumb the weeding was left to us kids | |
112 | morning mow . . . the green scent brings dad back | |
113 | mornings in green — the Thai Stick taste of loneliness | |
114 | mossy headstone the anonymity of a war veteran | |
115 | mountains cloaked in green cool mist swirling around me forest’s hushed embrace | |
116 | My colour is yours The feeling of jealousy Radiates from me | |
117 | nap in the shade a blade of grass for a bookmark | |
118 | navy blue — green was her mother’s colour | |
119 | new greenery — waiting for the results of a diagnosis | |
120 | no wrinkles chili just ages green to red | |
121 | on the village green a garden gnome’s head fallen tree branch | |
122 | one toad, two toads, a basket of freckled green in the Guangdong market | |
123 | operating theater door through the piece of glass burning forest in moonlight | |
124 | pale moon peeping to see the green paddy field trampled by the warpath | |
125 | plain living wash day denim blues blacks and whites wave to fields of green | |
126 | planting green and gold . . . her thumb blends right in | |
127 | privacy fence — neighbors install a new lawn during the sprinkler ban | |
128 | raw green digging into memories the old gravedigger | |
129 | red white n blue day — till the greens of a greenfinch in leafing hawthorn | |
130 | rendering the breeze green trees | |
131 | river picnics — sun spotlighting green — a kingfishers’ dive | |
132 | Robin Hood — the pine tree showers the Earth with needles | |
133 | safekeeping the pine’s lost needles pincushion moss | |
134 | school break — children snoozing under a banyan sky | |
135 | seagrass green I choose for one evening colour of the eyes | |
136 | shades of green — the chameleon spoilt for choices | |
137 | shards of life between the soldier’s teeth a blade of grass | |
138 | shinrin-yoku so many shades of green to banish my blues | |
139 | short broadcast from the green bush a sparrow’s song | |
140 | silphium — green stalks stretch skyward sunrise blooms | |
141 | so many shades of green summer daydreams | |
142 | sparkles of emerald on the lake with blooming water lilies | |
143 | Spinach Broccoli My little son’s upturned nose Waiting for ice cream | |
144 | spring greens a pandemonium of parrots sprouting in palms | |
145 | stink bugs fifty shades greener | |
146 | summer breeze fresh cut grass | |
147 | summer descends an emerald cragtooth maw bates stormhaze sighs | |
148 | summer grass making daisy chains . . . childhood memory | |
149 | summer grass my green-stained shorts a fashion statement | |
150 | summer limes freshly cut grass | |
151 | summer noon green chili soup hotter than the sun | |
152 | summer scorched the promise of green beneath dry grasses | |
153 | sun falls behind trees ignites the water’s lavish swirls green, then gold and red. | |
154 | sunlight changes the shaded textures of green | |
155 | surface algae floats waiting to be skimmed emerald ring sinks | |
156 | survival the green frog chorus plays mud creek | |
157 | Tax season is here. Heart chakra takes the day off, While greed reigns supreme. | |
158 | The color of envy Is also the vibrant palette I gaze at and long for: Summertime through my window. | |
159 | the field is furrowed he bends his neck for dinner some green leftovers | |
160 | the green is removed roots replaced by sandy stucco pens | |
161 | the lawn mover completing it’s laps fills up the green bin | |
162 | The man behind me blows his horn The light has turned green | |
163 | the pine green ground moss adds rich color to the earth seeks no boundaries | |
164 | The toads green back — puffs Sits against the wind-swept trees On, a mighty oak | |
165 | trailer fishtailing on the Pennsylvania Turnpike the dogwoods are green | |
166 | traveling clouds changing shades on the grass — the shades of green with me | |
167 | treachery and alcohol green card problems | |
168 | unfurling greens her germination capacity questionable | |
169 | unripe mangoes — an empty swing sways in morning beams | |
170 | up before sunup she wants to see her gween gween now a butterfly | |
171 | Upon foliage — An unearthly shade of green — The rays of Sunlight. | |
172 | upon the green bowl players intent on hitting the jack | |
173 | valley death’s shadow cacti | |
174 | various shades of green all lighter than their envy | |
175 | Velvet cow makes cream New grass is tender and green Calf waits hungrily | |
176 | walking meditation the green buzz zzz zzz of a bush cricket | |
177 | water rationing must be her green thumb keeping them green | |
178 | wet summer the grass greener than grass | |
179 | white Christmas all the greens forgotten in the fridge | |
180 | wrapped in plastic my Girl Scout uniform fifty years | |
181 | yellow-green, green, blue-green redshifting to gray what’s close . . . slipping away | |
182 | zazen . . . a praying mantis deep in devotion |
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!
