Last Chance to Vote in the June 2023 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
daylight
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 | a cold wind in June: Canadian smoke in an orange sky | |
2 | a crack of daylight deep in the mine tommyknockers | |
3 | a nightingale’s song . . . ripples of light on the curtains | |
4 | a summers long day stretches the windows open high to catch a breeze | |
5 | after a bad dream brings the new daylight a wake-up call | |
6 | after dreaming the sun warms my back — how tall I am | |
7 | after the rain through the muscled wind first day light | |
8 | an old card under the glass case winter light | |
9 | at first daylight garden birds bring an aubade farewell, my love | |
10 | babbling from the baby’s room greeting daylight | |
11 | beams of daylight through the forest canopy thrush’s song | |
12 | beams through the roof alight in dust | |
13 | bedroom window delicate blossoms open filled with daylight | |
14 | Beetles Hiding in the grass Daylight | |
15 | before dawn goldfinch calling out the light | |
16 | between dream & deep sleep daylight | |
17 | blue skies a welcome reprieve from smoke | |
18 | bottle cap sun the first drop of rain | |
19 | broad daylight stain by stain the stream washes slaughterer’s axe | |
20 | buried in broad daylight the coffin shop without windows | |
21 | burning daylight — a calf grazes leisurely a tree’s shadow | |
22 | carrying sunshine in her arms the flower vendor | |
23 | cloudless sky under the wings of birds wandering summer | |
24 | clouds and sunshine on the mountain shifting shadows | |
25 | cockcrow mist starts lifting | |
26 | crack of dawn still there the barbed wire | |
27 | creeping over my covers daylight and a hungry cat | |
28 | creeping slowly up the mountain autumn dawn | |
29 | dappled light a wash hangs between tenements | |
30 | dappled light — scattered thoughts of you | |
31 | dawn mist — a slice of light the gulls caw | |
32 | dawn sun the rustle of a physalis husk being opened | |
33 | dawning — images in the sketchbook becoming blurred | |
34 | day light . . . early bird wakes as the night owl nods off | |
35 | day lilies sparkle in the daylight | |
36 | day moon hiding in broad daylight | |
37 | day moon the long stares at smart screens | |
38 | daylight another line incised on the cell wall | |
39 | daylight between twin peaks obliterated | |
40 | daylight breaks cracking open eggs for breakfast | |
41 | Daylight dances On walls, on floor, on ceiling Solar Fred Astaire | |
42 | Daylight even in the evening | |
43 | daylight fighting his depression in vain | |
44 | daylight fights for rest shadows of the trees tell all. whispering sunset. | |
45 | daylight glow . . . the random friendliness of an old man | |
46 | daylight . . . her first stroll after divorce | |
47 | daylight hours — the way she gleamed on the dance floor | |
48 | daylight I am present when a dandelion opens | |
49 | daylight I gather all the silence I can | |
50 | daylight in her cupped palms wilting parijaat | |
51 | daylight in the sunflower blooms a turmeric sky | |
52 | daylight — many more worlds in the morning dew | |
53 | Daylight on Sun hugs a drop of sweat | |
54 | daylight pops reaching a crescendo kookaburras | |
55 | daylight savings — missing birdsong to catch the sun | |
56 | daylight savings — moving the clock back only the dog is happy | |
57 | daylight savings the jingle of change in my pocket | |
58 | daylight seeps into the depths of the dark woodland shadows come alive | |
59 | daylight through the rubble voices | |
60 | daylight to its heart’s content a lily | |
61 | daylight . . . waits for us to awaken to it | |
62 | Daylight whispers soft, As nature awakes from sleep Basho’s muse takes flight. | |
63 | daylight’s finger tracing around the shape of our survival | |
64 | day-lit meadow former flower girls marry each other | |
65 | dew underfoot the night’s anxiety fades in the morning sun | |
66 | disability even the sky contemplates from one only eye | |
67 | dreaming in daylight of you and who you once were | |
68 | dusk goes lavender hills leach yellow light from day’s enfeebled fingers | |
69 | Each day is born bring unique fresh dawn darkness within gone . . . | |
70 | eased into daylight by the cuckoo | |
71 | entering daylight the gradual dispersal of a shared dream | |
72 | fading daylight what the hospice window knows | |
73 | fireflies flicker against a dark sky — vanquished by the morning sun | |
74 | first light among the rubble plum blossoms | |
75 | first light reflects on waves final arc | |
76 | first ray of sun hummingbird dive bomb abruptly awake | |
77 | fluttering sun on water — ripples. | |
78 | garbage day the nurse is talking to us about daylight | |
79 | Gloom recedes Birds sing I want to go home | |
80 | grey veiled sky daylight diminished smoke from distant fires | |
81 | haiku reading at a canalside tavern the ducks faintly white | |
82 | her inner gloom broad sun rays’ deep thwart | |
83 | how lonely . . . susurrus of daylight in the bamboo grove | |
84 | in broad daylight all those things that happened only in night | |
85 | in darkness a song — unseen, a bird announces the first light | |
86 | in daylight a poppy blooms just enough to remind us | |
87 | in such a rush we miss the flowers wasting daylight | |
88 | in the daylight there is not a star except you, my love | |
89 | judging the light is first and then standing up to begin the morning | |
90 | koel calls the casuarina fringing dawn | |
91 | last mourner gone only shafts of daylight . . . and dust | |
92 | loneliness stalled for an hour daylight saving | |
93 | longest day unexpected soon the call of evening bells | |
94 | marsh morning a sparrow’s song opens pampas grass | |
95 | medicine box on mom’s lap . . . endless daylight | |
96 | mexican wave of birdsong morning circles the earth | |
97 | mid-spring sun a snail also hidden | |
98 | missing the stars in the night sky only daylight now | |
99 | monsters hidden between sun-drenched leaves . . . until night | |
100 | more daylight over the hill, the meadow more than we need | |
101 | morning fog – a symphony of greyscale | |
102 | morning light enters the attic — dust particles | |
103 | morning light hums dreams dance in dawn’s shadow young hearts sing | |
104 | Morning News, Ugly truths shown in light of day. | |
105 | mornings after a rosy blush deepens on the horizon | |
106 | Nearing mid summer Queasy in bed by lime light No right time to sleep | |
107 | Never disturbed By daylight Inner light | |
108 | night flicked away a cygnet peeps out from maternal feathers | |
109 | Nightdark Should be its Opposite | |
110 | nightmares my dreams avoided seen in daylight | |
111 | out of coma all the new shades of the daylight | |
112 | penetrating layers of photosynthesis beaming sun | |
113 | pigeon stroll with every peck a rainbow | |
114 | Pink ballet slippers Dawn is my dance partner Our rhythm charms clouds | |
115 | polar midsummer — midnight is bathed in daylight | |
116 | rainy night a guard sips coffee under a daylight bulb | |
117 | rays of sun through clouds of wildfire | |
118 | roadside tea stall empty paper cups full of gossips | |
119 | shucked corn heaped in the truck daylight | |
120 | shutters clattering open above the cobblestone daybreak | |
121 | sit with me in early daylight smiling mountain | |
122 | sleeping through you shortest day | |
123 | smoke filled sky the daylight sun turns sunset red | |
124 | solace in a buttercup dissolving shadows | |
125 | spring daylight . . . stretching to include the moon | |
126 | spring sunshine . . . a glimmer of mischief in her hazel eyes | |
127 | stirring at first light undercover of cedars doe slips from her fawn | |
128 | stolen moments sunlight sneaking through Venetian blinds | |
129 | story time . . . grandma’s broken chair slips her into tears | |
130 | summer heat — in the poppy field ZzzzzzzzzzzzzzZ | |
131 | summer sun watering the garden with a rainbow | |
132 | Sun br eA k s the top off Mount Wachusett shadows on the >>>>> | |
133 | Sun falls slant On the many browed hills in fine lines of light | |
134 | sun forgets to leave leafy branch with bated breath — damsel in daylight | |
135 | sun is shining between the folds of absence | |
136 | sun streaked sky silver sheen of an airplane wing | |
137 | sunlit bees dance on the hive’s ledge . . . the crowd gets excited | |
138 | sunrise beneath the curtains light scribbles the floor | |
139 | sunrise coffee two women chat about nothing | |
140 | sunshine washed over her face melting the freckles bittersweet is the tan | |
141 | Sweet dawn parting kiss to Night Blooming Lotus Buds | |
142 | the clang and caw of temple bells sunrise om | |
143 | the day is coming crickets and peepers stop their noisy battle | |
144 | the day’s last breath inhaling color | |
145 | the dragonflies have got it all zipped up | |
146 | the end of the night more and more daylight in the patient’s mirror | |
147 | the long dormant bloom of a sacred lotus . . . daylighting the creek | |
148 | The morning sunrays bring a new day, ev’ry day Strapped on its shoulders | |
149 | the scope of the universe galaxies of dust in a pocket of sunlight | |
150 | the silent dawning of a sparrowhawk’s silhouette | |
151 | the siren call of birdsong first light | |
152 | the sun . . . an explosion of light at dawn | |
153 | the sun is up insignificant bits float on the light | |
154 | they say adjust the clock . . . save daylight | |
155 | This bright morning the leaves of the peace plant are suncatchers. | |
156 | this extra daylight leaving me feeling so much more unproductive | |
157 | this she knows for sure real magic begins at night daylight brings the peace | |
158 | transatlantic call putting daylight between us | |
159 | Tuesday five a.m. Sunlight’s blushing appearance Peeking through gray clouds | |
160 | two dancing shadows disappearing in the daylight | |
161 | unexpected the trills of a crow breaking dawn | |
162 | unsighted awaiting daylight warmth | |
163 | up in smoke all along the coast burning daylight | |
164 | wall to wall blue sky Earth approaches Equinox while bombs fall in Kyiv | |
165 | watching sunrise waiting watching sunset | |
166 | Watching the sunrise He flagged down a breeze called Spring Next stop, the solstice | |
167 | Wearied frOm travel The small bird returns tO me Over and over again | |
168 | wee hours a black bird chirping dawn on my mirror | |
169 | whispering roses . . . their true colors are exposed in the daylight | |
170 | whose shelter needs no cover daylight brings water | |
171 | yellow sunlight birch trees spin themselves dense |
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!
