Last Chance to Vote in the May 2025 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
white
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 billion dollars for another whitewash rogue protégé | |
2 | a chrysanthemum covered in frost — a smoldering volcano | |
3 | a coconut scraped & discarded — demotion | |
4 | a foot of floodwater invades the shed . . . moonflower opens | |
5 | a new year it lost in whiteness the fence between us | |
6 | A picture of peace Like the doves of the broad sky Image of silence | |
7 | acrimony somewhere in the closet a wedding veil | |
8 | air-raid siren . . . amid the blackout moonflowers | |
9 | al fresco . . . twinning with dandelions grandma’s halo | |
10 | all in white a feng shui spatial gift to my bachelor pad | |
11 | allergy swells against the urban whiteout the opera of spring in full sunlight is a real tear jerker | |
12 | almost dawn a white cane drives out the darkness | |
13 | along the margins, between words, letters even — not as broad as sky | |
14 | among the ruins only whiteness screams in the hands of children | |
15 | an accidental songbird scats a new tune white smoke in Rome | |
16 | an armless beggar rules the busy intersection stern man clad in white | |
17 | beep . . . beep . . . beep . . . holding your hand white noise | |
18 | beneath snowlight — something too soft to be seen | |
19 | black and white X-ray image — flowers outside | |
20 | black dress what’s left of my white cat | |
21 | black on a white background — gives voice to your gestures | |
22 | blackout drills regardless the snow falls | |
23 | blank page on the study desk — whiteout | |
24 | blank white canvas begs its spectrum arise and bloom its rainbow petals | |
25 | blood stains on the white sheet virginity test | |
26 | boulders in a stream glaciers drip melting snowflakes the sea absorbs all | |
27 | changing horizon streaks of black clouds turning white | |
28 | Cherry blossom falls white carpet covers the grass Summer’s picnic rug | |
29 | chess game memories my childish hiding of the white queen | |
30 | childhood friend after fifty years the shock of white | |
31 | chili beans — my boxers will never be white again | |
32 | clad in white at the swearing in ceremony — she hands the pen | |
33 | cloudy skies . . . snow angels dreaming of summer | |
34 | cockatoos the sound of white from a lemon tree | |
35 | Cracker Barrel muzak White noise | |
36 | crescent moon i smile at it unknowingly | |
37 | daisy petals . . . a little pile of white lies | |
38 | day moon mirrored in a deep blue mountain lake | |
39 | down the aisle the glide of a cloud | |
40 | droplets condensate as the fog lifts papal white | |
41 | early this morning — the white clouds chase the dark clouds, heading silently. | |
42 | earth day in the corner of my eye white butterfly | |
43 | edge of the forest on a round white stone “to my wife in heaven” | |
44 | empty canvas — painting the sky around the seagulls | |
45 | endless wishes dandelion fluff | |
46 | executive orders all the shades of white lies | |
47 | fading snowdrops . . . her son with hemophilia again under the drip | |
48 | familiar scent lily of the valley mother’s favorite | |
49 | fields of woodland wildflower butterflies in flight | |
50 | first snowdrop searching for spring | |
51 | foot prints on snow on sunflower husks under the feeder | |
52 | freeway white noise coloring the snowy woods coyotes | |
53 | furbaby mom the growth chart for his white tail | |
54 | garden adoption the red & white koi after the conclave | |
55 | Gaza taking deadly aim between the whites of their eyes | |
56 | grandpa’s shaving mug the rhythmic whipping of lather | |
57 | grey hair — with her first white a tug of war | |
58 | gunshot echo — a dove’s wing writes an unfinished psalm | |
59 | haiku journal empty white pages wait to be inked | |
60 | Her old wedding dress Silk cradling like a hug Angel gown | |
61 | her white eyes flit between the peers around laughing chatter | |
62 | hide-and-seek in the eulalia field . . . a mute swan | |
63 | hospital’s white silence — even the angels sneak on tiptoe | |
64 | in her purple dress my sister turns white — by name | |
65 | in the dark the whites of the dog’s eyes midnight storm | |
66 | in the gun rack of an old pickup truck a white umbrella | |
67 | it’s curious how evocative the color white can be . . . | |
68 | just from the whiteness of the morning window’s light — snow! | |
69 | lily-of-the-valley . . . scenting his burial flag | |
70 | looking for peace white doves scattered on the tundra | |
71 | made for crisp linen snow too crunchy underfoot the color of peace. | |
72 | many white lights they came in the dark of night disturbing the quiet | |
73 | may evening joy of people white smoke | |
74 | midnight laundry the white sheets spinning a ghost story | |
75 | more airstrikes grandpa repositions the peace lily | |
76 | more white in my beard here comes Santa | |
77 | most wanted on the matrimonial site — a fair bride | |
78 | mother’s milk taproot tethered to the soil | |
79 | mountain top cloud Silent white sea | |
80 | my garden trembles apple blossoms fall like tears April showers | |
81 | My twenty year old . . . White as an unspoken page, In his pristine silence | |
82 | On shore under clouds White wave caps frolic with joy Or rage during storm. | |
83 | over caste white sheets flap in the wind | |
84 | Pahalgam greens Stained saffron. White palls on blue fingers. (The terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, India killed 26 people (25 tourists and one local). The Indian flag is saffron, white, and green, with a blue Ashoka Chakra in the middle.) | |
85 | paintbrush in hand negative space turns fragrant with white narcissus | |
86 | pale white moon one more pill to make me forget | |
87 | parting clouds, moonlight carries the last snowflakes to my hand | |
88 | peace candle threading the shadows with light | |
89 | pearly-white grain mite thrives between cracked corn and wheat sheds its skin at night | |
90 | perseids night brightens the garden her white dress | |
91 | pigeons’ tracks in the white snow a path to your heart | |
92 | prism refracts all colors i, it, hit, whit, white | |
93 | Pristine white collar clouds of white cover the skin of beautiful men | |
94 | receding wave the whiteness of her breast scar | |
95 | reclassified since my hair turned white people call me Darling | |
96 | reflecting combining all . . . white? | |
97 | refusing to wear white my daughter demands a green ghost costume | |
98 | remembering mother your white cyclamen still flowering | |
99 | removing his scarf to put it on her autumn snow | |
100 | Robin the snow whiter | |
101 | scarlet sin turned white as fleece the lamb’s blood | |
102 | sea of clouds morning glory rolling down the hillside | |
103 | serene and pure an all-white robe a widow mourns. | |
104 | she always wore white scrubbing floors or gardening — bleach it clean she said | |
105 | shroud of a kafan while also the bride’s veil, colors speak in tongues | |
106 | shrouds come in all sizes — Gaza | |
107 | silent white snow defiled upon arrival welcome to New York | |
108 | silver moon reflecting on the river white noise | |
109 | similar white dentures my friend and his brother | |
110 | skein of swans against electric blue sky ah . . . this ache to paint | |
111 | sky — white debris is being filmed by drone | |
112 | smile — face shining with white pearls | |
113 | smoke plume Chicago born papal choice | |
114 | Snowdrops Tender as milk Mark the spot of hope | |
115 | snowfield — a crow moves the whole idea of purity | |
116 | snowy owl on the barn roof a screech from the weather vane | |
117 | soldier graves tucked in winter’s white blanket final surrender | |
118 | soundless — a black squirrel bounds across the snow | |
119 | southern magnolia in full bloom the bride’s décolletage. | |
120 | sparkling horizon . . . the vocal repertoire of white whales | |
121 | spring apple blossoms fall flesh | |
122 | spring funeral his cherry tree in white late fiancée as well | |
123 | spring nightfall in the moon’s absence I gaze at a white rose | |
124 | spring sunbeams hiding in the birch grove the last snowbank | |
125 | spring thaw the white of an eye through thin ice | |
126 | stark white a blush spreads across the rubble | |
127 | Stones crushed into new. They stand taller, paler now. For purposes not known. | |
128 | sudden snowstorm the cabbage field a flurry of moths | |
129 | sun and moon both are “white” the parents I never had | |
130 | sunny spring morning smoke from the Papal Conclave blends in with the clouds | |
131 | the blank page stares back . . . checking the style guide for white | |
132 | the expectant graduate posing in white cap and gown bloom to bloom | |
133 | The forgotten shade The one humanity shares Eye color’s backdrop | |
134 | The glare of beauty ink all over it I cry Darkness ruined it | |
135 | the puzzle word he seeks irritates him — pollen | |
136 | the returning hum of honey bees pear blossoms | |
137 | the trees budding white under white cumulus buds May sky cotton clouds | |
138 | the white romper and her arms around the baby found in the ruins | |
139 | these billowing greens of the Northern Lights my slow white breath | |
140 | those crumpled wings of white origami cranes . . . news of war again | |
141 | thousand shades of white searching for a feeling not on the color wheel | |
142 | tiny white whiskers scraping my cheek a rumble of purring | |
143 | too much white on the x-ray remembering her crown of baby’s breath | |
144 | truce’s day — a mother cradling a white teddy bear | |
145 | wandering the white desert of snow afternoon sun | |
146 | war rubble the cold whiteness of bones | |
147 | war sirens . . . white peace lilies withering | |
148 | war zone getting extinct white pigeon | |
149 | war zone on a soldier’s helmet a white butterfly | |
150 | waving a white flag — finally someone got tired of this war | |
151 | when the white sunbeam paints an arc of bright colours — lo! It’s a rainbow. | |
152 | White skin color isn’t | |
153 | white azaleas tremble in the wind spring confession | |
154 | White blossoms — all the spaces in your last letter. | |
155 | white butterflies are chasing each other should I follow them? | |
156 | white card what about tariffs on foreign poetry | |
157 | white chalk on blackboard — teaches the children to focus on the good. | |
158 | white cherry blossoms do not recall winter snowflakes soundlessly falling | |
159 | white chrysanthemum silhouetted against its own light | |
160 | white fountain reaches white clouds another dream come true | |
161 | white hides silently — a child tries to find it on the clouds they’ve drawn | |
162 | white house narcissus floral mirror unbroken our nemesis | |
163 | white lies in half-dead truth my lost friendship | |
164 | white light of the flower moon . . . red, blue and green | |
165 | white lilies white silk lining the white of her casket | |
166 | White mirror Mallard swims upstream Cuts it apart | |
167 | white morning the river’s mile-long sigh and mine | |
168 | white out covering mistakes of the past | |
169 | white out the only tracks in snow behind us | |
170 | white peony the unfolding of new love | |
171 | white petals from the dogwood follow us inside | |
172 | white privilege the death of light | |
173 | white smoke rising lion on the balcony roaring peace | |
174 | white static — half-open mouth of the mannequin | |
175 | white-out of her mirror blurred scars | |
176 | White-tipped ears tapir, Spare piece eavesdropping numen Imbibing nightmares. | |
177 | whitebaiting along the Delaware Bay, kids eat Goldfish | |
178 | whitewashed building the history they can’t fully cover | |
179 | Winter silence wakes morning hearts wildly happy for pure white snow | |
180 | without racism for white or black the same shadow | |
181 | woman in the sun — the white breast of the magpie | |
182 | yin and yang the mystery of life in black and white | |
183 | zen garden — following a white pebbled pathway |
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!
