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Last Chance to Vote in the September 2020 THF Monthly Kukai

This month’s theme:
uncertainty

Voting closes for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai tonight at midnight (east coast time). So make those final decisions and let us know who 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.

The Ballot

1A black hole in this pandemic
2a fawn
sniffs morning air
squeaky porch chair
3a great falling wave
your armchair at dusk,
landless bird
4a lily by the road
shall I pick it
or shall I go
5a red leaf
clings to spring promise . . .
viral winds
6adrift
counting faces
in the clouds
7after she leaves
I wonder what
I meant by that
8after years
the thrill of her hands —
friendship or love?
9alien parts drift
on a black and white screen —
the first ultrasound
10all the cranes
over the border
war headlines
11at least half
the reduced plank
ding dong
12At the end of the trail,
the beginning of the fog
Alone man
13authentic Chinese restaurant
a fortune cookie
I can’t read
14Autumn birds gather,
Is it time to go south yet?
Shall kids go to school?
15autumn leave
winds in every direction
16autumn sunset
a crossroad
takes shape
17autumn wind
she flips the calendar . . .
cancer ward
18autumnal equinox
relationship
at the tipping point
19bands of Autumn light
shadowing through pines
uncertainty at dusk
20bare olive tree . . .
the sense of uncertainty
of a sunset
21bluejay whisper
I’m not sure if he wants
this baby
22bombs fall
on my green youth
no direction home
23bumper crop . . .
composting the fruit
of my labour
24certain leaders
leading the rest of us
to an uncertain future
25changing my mind
for the umpteenth time —
whistling wind
26coastal walk —
the same sand
under new feet
27Covid 19
the uncertainty of
a boundless sea
28curtains
in the last chance saloon
a gambler draws
29daisies in the wind
does he love me
or not
30daisy petals
paying this bill
or that one
31damselfly hovers
just above the blossom
indecision
32Dandelions fur balls —
My Vulnerability exposed to
Million ways.
33decision day
the wiped mirror
clouds again
34deep winter
end certain without
my being aware
35desirous looks
my husband
no longer aware
36Doors shut, open, shut
World conundrum continues
Will virus relent?
37downsizing —
the quails in a cage
stare at the queue
38Easter morning . . .
they might be redbirds singing
Savior, Savior
39ebb tide
the randomness
of beach pebbles
40Eldorado’s dream —
in the darkness of the abyss
the peaceful shelter
41election year
what happens
either way
42empty days . . .
stars filling up
my soul
43end of life
directives
the core of a star
44erasing
any doubt it’s spring
blackbird song
45Estrangement winter
Do trees stripped of leaves  still live
Shame of nakedness
46farmer’s last bet . . .
the drilling continues
another hundred feet
47fever pitch
what will my daughter
inherit
48field of daisies
he loves me
he loves me not
49first cicada
do you still hesitate or . . .
just start protesting
50fresh pencils
shoes squeak
six feet apart
51Gnawing hunger
During times of pandemic.
He trades his mask.
52halfway across
the squirrel pauses
election day
53hanging noose
plea for mercy — decision
awaited
54hanging on
all our heads the dead line
for pandemic exit.
55Heisenberg put on
his pants one leg at a time
was it always right?
56her arthritic hand
caresses the family album . . .
this uncertainty
57his terminal cough
waking me every morning
              for 35 years . . .
58hot night
listening for the creak
of wicket
59how long before
our water cooler chats . . .
work from home
60hurricane warning —
girl hugs her teddy
with uncertain eyes
61I am waiting you
in the cherry alley
refugee
62if a sparrow flies
into the poem, who am i
to stop it
63kaleidoscope . . .
her eyes flip around
the patterns
64lapachos in bloom —
the result of the swab
does not arrive . . .
65large slug crosses path
I wince at its ugliness
who am I to say?
66limb o’ the tree
rooks rock
with the wind
67

listening
to his labored breath
to dial or not to dial

68lockdown —
striving to prove to God
that I exist
69longest night
I dither
over your DNR form
70loves me
loves me not
I skip one petal
71marshmallow
now or l a t e r —
decision trees
72midwinter evening
the confusion locked
in Mama’s eyes
73mirage
in the desert
camels carrying water
74morning dark like night
pyrocumulonimbus clouds
turn the sky deep orange
75moving forward —
I lift one foot
and keep it hanging
76my wife says
no cars coming
I still peek
77never lost
my best friend
imagination
78new virus
the time it spends
figuring us out
79nine lives
counting on her
to say when
80not knowing
if lockdown will keep us
together
81not placed in
just passing through . . .
flowers change
82nothing certain . . .
the pupils drawing
peace pigeons
83old love letters
all the men
I did not know
84on the edge
of twilight sleep
the surgeon’s words
85on the hills
shadows wander up
sundown
86oncology . . .
‘it’s not good’ he murmurs
his eyes saying more
87one word
may be too much
autumn wind
88pacing back and forth —
thinking of the future and those
hard days ahead
89picnic in the park —
even the pigeons
keep their distance
90playing
God with nature . . .
weather news
91raised awareness
a butterfly’s
hit and miss
92red, amber, green:
all three blinking
at the crossroads
93reggae bar
rhythms freeing me
of dread
94results day . . .
clouds shape-shift
on the horizon
95ruled shadows cutting
leaves paved valley
announcing autumns
in displaced summer
96scattered look
whitewashed floor
of uncertainty
97severe drought
wears farmers out . . .
For Sale signs gather dust
98so many questions
about our life here on Earth
wise choices, blue sky
99suddenly quiet
even the highest leaf
so still
100summer’s last firefly
but i keep watch —
crow still cawing
101swallows again
. . . from afar . . .
other migrants
102tarantula web . . .
the uncertainty
of nearby lives
103the hospital bed
Is this it? The sureness of things passing as things always have. The
   sound of a door opening —
a dog’s bark
104the maybe
or maybe not of life —
dandelion fluff
105the moon hangs barely
onto the shadow
of the scarecrow
106The morning’s news:
Headlines collapse into black heaps
Like fainting goats
107the name
of a nameless flower —
air of rain
108The sky is gray
Before the door of autumn
Umbrella folded
109the wait
butterflies
or knots?
110through lockdown
did I grow old
or did I grow lazy
111through this floating world
my wondering life passes —
will the moon go too?
112time of uncertainty —
the past more and
more brighter
113tonight
she is less specific . . .
someone else too
114uncertain path —
abandoned in rain
wedding veil
115uncertain times
in her fairy garden
a gnome goes fishing
116Uncertainty . . .
being still
still being
117UNCERTAINTY
In the land of mortals,
Lord’s answers are left unheard and sands are ceaselessly shifting.
118uncertainty is
when my Black life might matter
time will not tell us
119visit to a ZOO —
I hear
opening the cage
120waiting room . . .
the shape of a prayer
between her lips
121weather forecast
the deep of her thought
still uncertain
122wedding day —
is love
really enough
123wedding vows
where was she
between I and do?
124what next
the planet
groans
125what’s left of the path still autumn
126when will they be blue again, the skies
127white night
if not snowman
maybe a beggar
128whooza good boy?
the purrs of grandpa’s
plush doggie
129wildfire —
the monsters in the closet
have fled
130winter’s grail
    the dormant rose
       appears dead
131withered rose —
the uncertainty of sky
on my shadow
132you make me mine
deeper for courage —
deep bows uncertainty

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!

 

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