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Last Chance to Vote in the September 2022 THF Monthly Kukai

This month’s theme:
sunset

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 crimson sun
colors the lilies . . .
Easter Eve

2

      A Day dies
in a symphony
of color and light.

3

      a golden sunset
slips gently
into tomorrow

4

a summer sunset
the woman slowly turns gray
over her child’s grave

5

      across the pond
last light fades
a duck sleeps in the reeds

6

      all the reds in a sunset —
you refuse to move in with
your daughter

7

      almost sunset
our joint tax returns
in the shredder

8

alpine sunset —
starting to feel
like fall

9

amber falls
warming the earth
for night

10

      another ending
this scarlet sky
almost painful

11

      another last look
out the rear windshield
the shrinking sunset

12

      another sunset
the old age home
echoes silence

13

      arabesque of vines entwine
a Jackson Pollock twilight
splashes praising grapes

14

      around the corner
another great performance
my sunset is yours

15

      As day leaves the sky
one tiny sun-suffused cloud
lights the birds’ farewells

16

at the violet hour
I give in
to infinity

17

      august heat
heavy
as sundown

18

      autumn dusk —
five geese fly over water
disappear

19

      autumn dusk
my expectations
as low

20

autumn equinox . . .
sun hides
behind a tombstone

21

      autumn sunset
at the lifeboat memorial
a whirlpool of leaves

22

autumn sunset
colors their faces
at the funeral

23

autumn sunset
the doctor shows him
her faces

24

      autumn sunset . . .
we dine
in silence

25

      autumn
the sunset becomes
a season

26

azure sunset
on the ferry crossing
her head in her book

27

      backwater cove . . .
an old man fishes out
a bit of sunset

28

      Beach sunset
strolling sands,
holding hands.

29

      beach sunset
we become
our shadows

30

      blurry sunset
as my life sometimes —
I miss my love

31

      bopping on the waves
a golden sail at sunset
young boy coming home

32

      Bullseye brilliance
slipping to the bottom of
a dark humdrum

33

Cicadas ebb and flow
echo spreads among the trees
— swaying with rhythm

34

clouds at sunset . . .
all the places
we promised to visit

35

      Comes the eruption
Hues of orange-red engulf
Today’s memories

36

      corn harvest
glowing in stripes
of sunset

37

      Cotton candy colors
I wish I could eat the clouds
Go to bed hungry

38

      crimson glow
a gentle reminder . . .
her idle moments

39

      crimson leaves curtsy
above Westminster Abbey
her last fascinator

40

day ending
mopped the floors
glowing finish

41

daylight exits
burning palette
for new season

42

      December sunset
on the highest bare branch
a cardinal looks west

43

      desert sunset
a communion of stars
in the silence

44

      Divine Mother Kali
on the horizon
her wild red tongue

45

driving at sunset
scent of cow shit dances
on the spring breeze

46

      dusk cloud
entering his dream
of her

47

      each sunset —
a bookmark
to end my day

48

      early autumn —
all the colors of sunset
in a wine blend

49

      end of summer
the widow turns her chair too
to the west

50

      evening encounter
shades of purple and orange
his swollen eye

51

evening sky
a last hint of red
on her lips

52

      evening walk
pink sunset
binds my legs

53

      eventide
a swatch of sunset colors
setting the sea on fire

54

      Fading day light
more graceful; vibrant
man reaches twilight years . . .

55

      fading sun . . .
the desires
I once had

56

      fiery rays
stab the dusky sky
sailors delight

57

      first frost
my eyelids dropping
with the sunset

58

      for a moment
the dipping sun
in her eyes

59

      glowing skies
farewell the dying day
melancholy

60

      half light
blackening jasmine’s
heavy scent

61

      he sweeps a path
through his shadow
autumn sunset

62

      horizon sun
her dog awaits
at the house gate

63

      hues till dusk prepare
a world whose energy wanes
Regeneration

64

      I’m the beaten path
who should sunset this marriage
Autumn’s trail flutters

65

      into the sunset —
dropping Dad off
at the nursing home

66

just before sunset
the sky over the graves is
the most beautiful

67

      last quarter
the sun sinks
through my basketball hoop

68

      last turn
sunset stretches
a cockatoo’s wings

69

      late summer sunset . . .
plump grapes oozing
memories

70

      London rests,
Golden hour
Raise a glass!

71

      Look up from eating:
behind pines on top of dune,
red sun descending.

72

      migrating birds . . .
all the truth
about sunset

73

      more colours
than I expected
autumn sunset

74

      my grandson
in silhouette
saffron sunset

75

      my kitty sitting
in late evening sunlight
too old to stand

76

      nightfall . . .
the whispered words
in her doll’s ear

77

not
on my watch
sunset

78

painting the town red
on the last day of summer
a smoky sunset

79

      Perpetual eve
Sunflower tints thwart the shore
Sky drapes in saffron

80

      pink sunset
the hedgerow quiets
with crickets

81

      red sky at night
sailors delight
or evening dust storm

82

      red sun drops
in the slot of the sea
smuggler paid

83

      red sunset
the alluring shades
of a new day

84

      Reflect off water
Bounce into my eyes and spark
The coral presence

85

      retired sun
papa and my walks
a bag of peanuts long

86

      ridge top
a sinking sunset
seesaws the moon

87

      ripe sunset
the child picks up an orange
from the bowl

88

      romantic
inspiring
Instagrammable

89

saffron sunset
the clouds lining their pockets
with gold

90

      scarlet lake
the assassin creeps
behind a hill

91

      sea at sunset
I don’t see anymore
my shadow

92

      sea mushroom —
in the stem of his hat
a floating couple

93

      setting by the shore
orange sun reflects
its weariness

94

      setting sun I own being alone

95

      Setting sun —
The lone tomato
turns gold.

96

      shimmering salmon scales
the sunset surfaces
again and again

97

      shiraz sky
fractured through a filigree —
of budding willow

98

      sinking sun
the things we lost
in-between

99

      skid row sunset
the hustle and bustle of
soup kitchen staffers

100

      sky ablaze
scattering embers
pale to stars

101

      slowing
the more I watch it
summer sunset

102

      slowly
relinquishing its territory
owl-light

103

      smiling faces
the sun sets
on how it used to be

104

spring sunset
still looking for
a blood donor

105

      summer breeze
the sunset on the
one-way street

106

Summer cicadas
I sit watching the pink fade
From the sunset clouds

107

      summer end
a monarch settling
among the stars

108

      Sun sets, so moon can rise

109

      sun spots —
the horizon at sunset
shattered dreams

110

      sundown
already longing
for sunrise

111

      sundown
in time, he rakes
all of his shadow

112

sundown
the sickroom blinds
stay open

113

      sunrise sunset
all the lives we live
in between

114

sunset
a bittersweet birthday cake
you’d adore

115

      sunset
an elderly couple
clasping hands

116

      sunset clouds —
the canvas in the process
of soaking magenta

117

. . . sunset
dawdling on this path
halfway through

118

      sunset . . .
daylight settles
in the camera’s lens

119

      sunset —
goldfish dart
in a koi pond

120

      sunset hues
penetrating through his letter
foreign sepia memory

121

      sunset hurrying the footprints in the snow

122

      sunset in Nashville
go for a walk
evening mists

123

      sunset in the park
the pale king runs out
of squares

124

      sunset —
knowing I’ll never see you
again

125

      sunset
my boyish eye
fleeing towards you

126

      sunset —
my phone battery
is low

127

      sunset . . .
nothing left to say
except goodbye

128

sunset . . .
our animosity
on lockdown

129

      sunset reflected
within
my empty wine glass

130

      sunset
skeins of geese
honk their goodbyes

131

sunset squall
the luminescence
of a mussel bed

132

      sunset
sunrise in child’s eyes —
mom’s arrival time

133

      sunset:
the last bag of tea
pushed under

134

      sunset
the scarecrow ready
for a sleepless night

135

sunset . . .
the sleepy volcano
erupts again

136

sunset —
the sparkles of her eyes
tomorrow again

137

      sunset
work begins
on a sandcastle

138

the smoke from the mountains blazes redder, deeper sunsets

139

      the sound of sunset
rises
in a forest of pines

140

      the sun in a blaze
slips into the sea
if this is not true,
what is?

141

      the sun sets
on a day of birdsong
spring evening

142

      the sunset
catches
a wave

143

      the world turns
the swirl of leaves
flow over waterfall

144

      this and that . . .
I can’t pack these sunsets
for new windows

145

      town sunset
the old cinema curtain
slowly rolls up

146

      training wheels removed
riding off
into the sunset

147

      twilight awash
with magenta & plum
distant wildfires

148

      walking slowly . . .
too long
this sunset

149

      war-torn land
the sunset too
goes down bleeding

150

      where war prisoners laboured
chinks of sunset
in the drystone walls

151

      wildfire smoke . . .
a more vibrant sunset
in between coughs

152

      winter sunset —
the abating glow
of her ardent love

153

      winter twilight
her husband’s close look
at the newborn

154

      with light brush strokes
setting sun
paints the clouds

155

      Without her
sunrise and sunset
in grayscale

156

      world rolling backwards
I lose my balance —
sunset

157

      you linger after sunset the soft glow

 

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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