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Last Chance to Vote in the November 2021 THF Monthly Kukai

This month’s theme:
leaves

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

1000 why
1000 because
falling leaves

2

A cold wind rustles
the falling, twirling light —
leaves rock the nest.

3

a coming out
of leaves this fall
debutante ball

4

a dancing ginkgo leaf
holds back
fall

5

a dry
leaf skitters by
trailing Autumn

6

a maple leaf falls
attached seed pods underneath
— bountiful harvest

7

a maple leaf stands
against old hurricane
in leave blower sound

8

a mint leaves
bathing in a cup of tea
the mug is leaved

9

a pile of leaves
caught up in a sudden gust
gone with the wind

10

a stingless bee
in a landfill
raked leaves

11

abandoned house
mourning as if
a leafless tree

12

aspen autumn . . .
on a bed of yellow
a lone red

13

autumn breeze
an old frog watching
yellow leaves fall

14

autumn dreams
fewer and fewer leaves
on the trees

15

autumn . . .
leaf after leaf disappear
all her memories

16

autumn
leaf by leaf throws
grass invisible

17

autumn leaves
billowing in the wind
my first pirouette

18

autumn leaves
drifting further away
from home

19

autumn leaves
going out
in a blaze of glory

20

autumn leaves —
in my mother’s graveyard
i choose a colour

21

autumn leaves
knowing when its time
to let go

22

autumn leaves . . .
no remnant too tattered
for the quilt

23

autumn leaves
painting the wind —
Miles Davis

24

autumn party . . .
dress code of
red and gold

25

autumn rainstorm
puddles filled with foliage
footprints side by side

26

autumn wind blows
lying carpets of leaves
transparent trees

27

autumn yellow
I sense a new quaver
in amma’s prayers

28

autumn’s faded hues
crunching beneath my feet —
sounds of nostalgia

29

bare tree
who will miss me
when I am gone

30

beggar maid . . .
blanketing her
the tree naked

31

beneath live oaks
remembering your life:
its brevity

32

between pages
of autumn leaves
one more
obituary

33

black creek swallows leaves nothing

34

breaking dawn . . .
he leaves home
shoeless

35

bright red leaves falling
my pen dipped deep in sadness
as their color fades

36

brisk morning
watching the fall montage
she misses her train stop

37

brisk walk
detoured into childhood
autumn leaves

38

brisk wind
raking leaves
from my neighbor’s tree

39

broken yellow shells
nestled within woven leaves
great horned owl watching

40

broom in a corner
leaves between unpicked apples
her house is empty

41

burning leaves how her nose crinkles

42

canopy of oak leaves
the sky through the spaces
in my sky

43

Chasing falling leaves
Why are you avoiding me?
Just out of my reach

44

choosing leaves
for my tiara
. . . chemo

45

counted into
this year of loss
frost nipped leaves

46

crimson leaf floats
winds swallow autumn’s bounty
bare limbs pierce ink sky

47

crimson leaves prints on pavement

48

crunching through leaves —
a childhood home
around the corner

49

daughter’s grad . . .
it will soon be
autumn for me

50

dead leaves . . .
on the branch of the tree
the snake’s tail

51

deep autumn —
leaves still hold
shades of summer

52

deep jungle —
the gift of leaf twirling
on my lap

53

deforestation
the tightness in fists
in each fallen leaf

54

delta variant
the ups and downs
of windswept leaves

55

dry leaves at my feet
how many years dreams people
all gone and going

56

dry leaves
rustling through the garden
separate beds

57

empty schoolyard . . .
the whisper of leaves
and long-gone friends

58

entanglement of light
north winds driving
autumn leaves

59

even though bright
sun is shining early autumn
almost all leaves fell

60

fall back —
still-attached leaves
gain an hour

61

fall . . .
leaves fall
upon leaves

62

fallen leaves
all the names
I carry with me

63

falling leaves
he collects conkers
for the son he never had

64

falling leaves
nobody knows
which one next

65

falling
yellow leaves
holes in the sky

66

fast tread on falling
those yellow crushed to corner
wind’s countless rhythm

67

feeling unique —
a bevy of fallen leaves
on the mottled path

68

fifty years of marriage . . .
flying above the lake
autumn leaves

69

filling the gaps in a class flying leaves

70

first exam —
beneath my feet
slippery leaves

71

first golden leaves
silence is moving to
a distant star

72

first rain,
trembling green —
new love blossoms

73

fog
the fallen leaves on the knees
of monument

74

forest walk . . .
stopping the rustle
a falling leaf

75

freshets of wind . . .
a red maple slam dunks
into a white plastic bag

76

frosted leaves
a couple dances
in the therapy pool

77

frozen dry branch —
holding the weight of mistletoe leaves
and a crow

78

full moon
on bare branches
something rustles

79

gentle breeze
live dance of
falling leaf

80

golden leaf
twists on the branch
not ready to fall

81

gone October . . .
the last of the leaves
yet to leave

82

green yellow red
maple leaves
go to the other side

83

He Leaves, Is Leaving
Demands Action, Now Or Then
Know I’m Missing You

84

heat lightning
the silver bottoms
of poplar leaves

85

her plum tree
holding on to the last leave
my unborn child

86

herbarium leaves —
life imprisonment
instead of death

87

hiking trail
a rainbow
of leaves

88

homecoming . . .
all over my old jeep
confetti of leaves

89

how the leaves
leave no trace when
blown from the tree

90

i see my own life
in the leaf you’re holding that
leaves us with the wind

91

impenetrable
oak tree blankets forest floor
the first shoot of spring

92

in a woven cape
with a golden fringe
the weeping cherry

93

Indian summer
all the shades
of cognac

94

jacaranda blooms
float to tire tracks, purple
on mud. you have left.

95

last autumn —
the sparkle of the wedding ring
lost in the leaves

96

last letters
in the postman’s quiver
few rusty leaves

97

last year’s nest —
all the dead leaves
full of life

98

late November
an oak leaf clinging
without attachment

99

leaf by leaf
light leaves
the linden tree

100

Leaf by leaf
of bamboo forest are dying out
the pandas

101

leafing through
piles of recipes —
wrapped sushi

102

leafless trees —
the same mom’s question
if it’s spring

103

leaves fall to the rhythm of nature
and with
tears

104

leaves —
foliage of closed chapters
. . . new story

105

leaves in the wind —
in an old tattoo two hearts
still entwined

106

leaves just turning,
she reads to her grandbaby
for the first time

107

leaves
leaving limbs leafless
reveal last summer’s nests

108

leaves of red and gold
embrace the fence row —
the silence of robins

109

leaves
squashed by my boot
a promise unfulfilled

110

lifted leaves piles
autumn wind stronger
than my hernia

111

lime leaves
half green/
half yellow

112

lingering grief
I open up to
the fallen leaves

113

loneliness . . .
just the crunch of
fallen leaves

114

losing her memories one by one autumn leaves

115

losing you . . .
the last leaf holding on
to light

116

maple leaf
impressed in cement
free fall

117

maple leaf
pressed in a book
forever red

118

maple leaves late autumn suncatchers

119

mid-morning jog
one-on-one with
a falling leaf

120

midwinter
moonlight drips
from the fig

121

mid-winter walk
among dried leaves and snowdrops
surely, a wild plum

122

moon’s bright
sifting through tree’s
leafy fingers

123

morning stroll
the feel in his fingers
of an autumn leaf

124

Moroccan wind
palm leaves bow
at call to prayer

125

muffled quiet
after the leaf blower
tinnitus

126

my raked pile
blowing away
memories of her

127

my soul steps aside
and the splendor of the leaves
takes its place within

128

nacoochee ablaze
magnificent fall attire
leaves of red, her hand

129

new moon —
tea leaves in my cup
mean nothing

130

oaks hang on
last to let go
leaves

131

October breeze
in my barren balcony
a leaf’s final rest

132

on the red carpet
a row of skeletons
as Autumn leaves

133

one yellow leaf on
the rear window of the car
next to the green one

134

our downward spirals
the last aspen leaves and I
mulching the garden

135

pandemic winter
the playground fills
with dry leaves

136

paper leaves
fall inside
senior center

137

Perfect red leaf falls
from pages of an old book . . .
and from my memories

138

piano notes —
a leaf and the moon
in the puddle

139

pine leaves
in every morning
natural’s weight of the eyelids

140

quilting . . .
autumn leaves
upon the grass

141

remembrance day
mother gathers her voice
as father leaves

142

riverbank
the wind deposits a thousand
copper leaves

143

russet leaves . . .
the rustle of moonlight
in my yard

144

rustling leaves
the moon flits
in and out

145

season finale —
the maple leaves
take a bow

146

seeing red
after a long day
fall maples

147

shadows
of falling leaves . . .
we talk of old songs

148

shortened daylight
leaves cascade from tree to ground
from orange to brown

149

shrill notes sound
in a flute’s spring song —
a dried leaf clings

150

sidelined
on the porch
autumn leaves

151

still pond
a yellow leaf falls
on itself

152

submerged in dried leaves
beneath them earthy and warm
childhood memories

153

sun-sliced tree
fallen leaves jog
along a pathway

154

sweeping leaves
the red carpet ready
for her homecoming

155

symphony
sound of a mountain stream
and rustling leaves

156

taalpatra . . .
does the ink
change a leaf’s tale?

157

tea leaves
transforming a woman
Into butterfly

158

the autumn wind
becomes someone
then leaves

159

the colour red —
you always favoured
prolonged goodbyes

160

the last leaf . . .
free falling with
the first snow

161

the road to my
father’s grave
leaves under leaves

162

the spring wind
turns the last frozen leaf
end of a chapter

163

through the branches
autumn sunrise
leaves glisten

164

too beautiful
to rake
autumn leaves

165

Tree books
full of colored days
the wind blows
leaf by leaf

166

twigs sleep
with budding leaves
alarm set for May

167

Vegetative leaves
Convert into flowers —
Ritually.

168

war headlines . . .
the tea leaves release
a bitter flavor

169

we put extra leaves
in the dinning table
holiday guests

170

While gazing at
bric-a-brac,
Meteor.

171

whirling leaves —
the red rowan’s fruits
covered in snow

172

wind scent
through the autumn leaves
a child’s laughter

173

winter branches
my fingers reach for yours
love always leaves

174

winter
brittle leaves in
her old diary

175

winter foliage —
among so many bloody leaves
only one green

176

winter time
the storm wakes up
the leaves

177

with or without me autumn leaves

178

With the leaves
falling on you —
a new farewell

179

withered leaves . . .
all that remains
of our dreams

180

withered leaves
once you used to say
I’m beautiful

 

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!

 

This Post Has One Comment

  1. vote hesitancy—
    no haiku of interest
    in the first fifty
    November kukai entrants
    submit lacklustre efforts
    —Gloria Rhea Grante | 24 November 2021 1730PST

Comments are closed.

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