Last Chance to Vote in the November 2022 THF Monthly Kukai
This month’s theme:
feast
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 beggar feasts on the leftovers chronic hunger | |
2 | A dead cricket Hundreds of ants screaming Come on, there’s a feast | |
3 | a dead woodpecker who once feasted on insects devoured by them | |
4 | a farewell to night like so many others . . . the last supper | |
5 | a feast for her eyes the last ripening apple laying on the ground | |
6 | a feast in a little bucket ebb tide | |
7 | a fermented feast under the juniper trees all the birds are drunk | |
8 | a fly feasting on my grandfather’s favorite pastry . . . echoing eulogy | |
9 | adulthood an abandoned balloon on the party’s edge | |
10 | after rain — a blackbird giving thanks for the worms | |
11 | afterwards there was a venison feast canine night | |
12 | alone for christmas she toasts her dead baby | |
13 | alone . . . making the feast of leftovers | |
14 | apple orchard sunrise . . . feast for the belly and the eyes | |
15 | aromas wafting golden brown turkey carved buttons surrender | |
16 | asleep but eager for the bottle — early morning stars | |
17 | at the moon party the smell of rice porridge during the baby hug | |
18 | battle seeds over sunflowers field bombers | |
19 | bees last mums feast | |
20 | billionaires: black holes gulp star after star | |
21 | blood moon . . . feasting my eyes on the impossible | |
22 | bursting with mums and gourds the cornucopia | |
23 | buzzing bees covered in pollen family’s feast | |
24 | cheering and jeering i won a kukai contest in past november | |
25 | cheesecake choux pastry tempura prawns ramen soup. Disastrous weigh-in | |
26 | children arriving hungry — free school meals | |
27 | circa 1970s fairy bread, chocolate crackles and pin the tail on the donkey | |
28 | college carousal dwelling with the bubbles | |
29 | conscientious feast we cannot afford waste bones are licking | |
30 | Covid lockdown new year’s scraps shared by the scamp and stray | |
31 | cruise ship buffet the fat couple balance their diet | |
32 | dead raccoon — a roadside feast for ragged crows. | |
33 | depending on Ukrainian grain feast or famine | |
34 | diabetic forbidden cookies ants feast on crumbs | |
35 | dinner party — waiters quickly remove the empty plates | |
36 | early morning a child’s first step in the world | |
37 | elections — hungry voters treating the politicians | |
38 | embracing a double life avatar party | |
39 | empty koi pond — heron has feasted only leaves remain. | |
40 | end of war . . . dancing in the field children and fireflies | |
41 | fallen apple bird and worm face to face | |
42 | family feast a shower of words settle on the salad | |
43 | family feast again and again robins return to their nestlings | |
44 | family feast on Thanksgiving . . . one empty chair | |
45 | family feast — one seasoning makes all the difference | |
46 | family feast the cat squints at the table | |
47 | family feast we all chew over false memories | |
48 | family gathering today I let them know . . . | |
49 | family’s feast in the corner a recliner chair | |
50 | feast and famine Thanksgiving on skid row | |
51 | Feast captivates all unites east; west lifts wide wall . . . | |
52 | feast night your place at the table empty | |
53 | feast or famine in the space of just a few city blocks | |
54 | feast table homeless man chooses bread crumb | |
55 | feast table the quiet solitude of flowers | |
56 | Feasting among flesh Animals are ravenous Friends disappearing | |
57 | feasting on forgiveness at the autumn banquet | |
58 | feasting on remnants the slumdogs | |
59 | feasting on the skimpily dressed dancer — wife’s dig in the ribs | |
60 | festive night on the watchman’s plate full moon | |
61 | first feast and still this emptiness | |
62 | first frost reinstalling our bird feeder | |
63 | first strawberry the blue-tongue skink’s mouthful | |
64 | folded hands point the way thanksgiving day feast | |
65 | fresh drizzle on the peacock’s ocelli festival rangoli | |
66 | full harvest moon . . . the refugee children have a craving for pizza | |
67 | funeral procession mourners on their way to feast | |
68 | gathering ingredients for the family feast the imprint of harvest | |
69 | geese formation . . . muffled talk and laughter from the dining room | |
70 | Grandma’s pie pastry I cut in shortening with two bread knives | |
71 | gray kingbird feasts — an unseen harvest among stripped branches | |
72 | grinding shish kabob parsley mint burghul wedding entourage | |
73 | hard-boiled eggs at the funeral banquet the Etruscans and us | |
74 | harvest of thankfulness without greed or gluttony shared labor | |
75 | his last meal two servings of turkey on his hospital plate | |
76 | How can I enjoy inexhaustible bounty while my brother starves? | |
77 | hungry fox eating a crescent moon pizza | |
78 | I feast on your love At the banquet of our life Savoring each bite | |
79 | i visit early buffets place one entree on eleven plates feast on your tired eyes | |
80 | in the root cellar crisp cool apples winter’s pies | |
81 | jingle bells someone to tell why did the cranes leave | |
82 | laughing eyes . . . first party with the mask after the lockdown | |
83 | Like a cat has a stealthy feast Leaves prey in agony | |
84 | like Mum before me I scatter handfuls of seeds and hope for cardinals | |
85 | long wait for a table he feasts on her honey coloured eyes | |
86 | lunch break . . . eating the travel in the sandwich | |
87 | meager feast growing impatience digging for cash | |
88 | midnight fireworks in the baby’s eyes — angels | |
89 | missed feasts so many holes in the homeless man’s belt | |
90 | new year’s feast stain of father’s whiskey on his empty seat | |
91 | Ngorongoro at the bottom of the crater two sips of water | |
92 | no feast — the harvest moon enters the umbra | |
93 | out of the bag the christmas survival book dirty santa | |
94 | outdoor dining sharing with the sparrows | |
95 | overturned truck dog food scatter on the road stray dogs’ feast | |
96 | plastic heaped upon the shore the turtles’ last supper | |
97 | Platters of harvest so abundantly displayed: gifts from soil and toil. | |
98 | polish cemeteries in the lights of lamps a feast for the dead | |
99 | politics of war the vultures continue to feast | |
100 | precious little ones she-mama on city streets tonight’s feast begins | |
101 | preparing a feast an old woman breaks bread on her lap | |
102 | quayside bistro — his eyes on the fish | |
103 | rascally squirrel scampering in my persimmon tree . . . feasting on the ripe red fruit! | |
104 | remnants of the vampire’s last feast candy wrappers | |
105 | rescued turkeys celebrating life vegan feast | |
106 | reunion feasting her eyes on grandchildren’s growth | |
107 | rumors of war — the buzzing clouds of flies | |
108 | sacrifice festival — the last supper for billy goat | |
109 | scavengers — feasting on yesterday blood moon | |
110 | setting sun mosquitoes and mosquitoes damselflies’ feasting time | |
111 | spit roast the blade-thin silence before a cry | |
112 | Stealing fingers Half consumed delicacy smiling sinners | |
113 | stolen holiday little kids coming back with empty hands | |
114 | sweeter than dessert two hummingbirds on the feeder | |
115 | table full shuddering breath freezes mother alone | |
116 | table piled high beautiful nutritious food from abused workers | |
117 | Thanksgiving a feast on the smells of laughter | |
118 | Thanksgiving a seat at the table for God | |
119 | Thanksgiving dinner . . . setback ‘til halftime | |
120 | Thanksgiving dinner the widow cooks again a turkey for two | |
121 | Thanksgiving every last chair filled | |
122 | thanksgiving feast the turkey shares their nut roast | |
123 | Thanksgiving I’ll never have to tell Dad I’m a poet | |
124 | Thanksgiving looms have to fake liking turkey | |
125 | thanksgiving mother’s place at the table now mine | |
126 | the anonymous mouths our dollars feed rescue mission feast | |
127 | The Earth will feast On the fallen leaves Of Autumn’s garden | |
128 | The last popsicle Discovered behind the peas Sugar craving gone | |
129 | these obsolete wars! feasting party to party flies and worms | |
130 | this planet a regenerating feast until humans | |
131 | to see the women smiling each other | |
132 | tornado of vultures — one dead dog | |
133 | tree of red berries aflutter with birds — winter feast | |
134 | tryptophan . . . overdosing on Thanksgiving | |
135 | Turkey Day the dog bows down to pray | |
136 | under the blanket torchlit myths . . . aroma of roasted peanuts | |
137 | uninvited guests feast on wedding cake before the bride arrives. | |
138 | variety food variety gathering all in one place | |
139 | vegetarian thanksgiving another turkey pardoned | |
140 | village feast — goings-on at the chieftain’s backyard | |
141 | voracious barn owl feasting on newborn kittens respite for rodents | |
142 | wedding dinner everyone finds something to complain about | |
143 | wedding feast she eats what he likes | |
144 | wedding feast the bride feeds the doves for the last time | |
145 | wildflower meadow a haze of enchantments | |
146 | winter feast cutting up apples for the deer | |
147 | worn silver past repast |
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!
