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THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — March 2021

This month’s theme:
reawakening

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

1

a friend passed
i can hear the dawn chorus
for birds — it’s the beginning

2

A leaf bud
thrusts out
through dry bark

3

A tepid breeze.
Has flowered again
the violets scent

4

after a long winter inside
buds reawakening
to hope

5

after her long coma
a smile of daffodils

6

after seventeen years
cicada awakes
to sing her elegy

7

almost breathed last
drops of tulsi leaves
fresh lease into him

8

at breakfast . . .
how sweet is the smell
of a freshly baked cake

9

autumn morning
old couple hand in hand
walk in spring

10

awake composing haiku —
the gentle rhythm
of her breathing

11

awakened
at dawn by an old
rooster’s cough

12

ayahuasca truth
surfacing what’s been buried
healing of conscious

13

birdsongs again
i touch a new leaf
in the barren tree

14

black locust in bloom —
ready for love, not ready,
ready . . .

15

blossoming
the flower of my expectation
steps of the spring

16

bluebells and I
push aside the weeds
finally vaccinated

17

branching out
after a long dark winter . . .

first post-Covid walk

18

bud
at first sight
light clings

19

buds on the cherry tree
my two hundred thousand hopes
for the future

20

burgeoning light —
the resurrection
of old koi

21

butterflies this desire for rebirth

22

cherry blossoms
burst through winter’s ashes
buried no more

23

cicada shells
on a red pine trunk
the song of summer

24

coloured prayers flap
a child-monk
saves a goal

25

comfort in touch
handshakes and embraces
the ant farm angst ebbs

26

crows caw
awake another morning
rubbing my eyes

27

Cultivate your soul
With the same diligence as
Checking instagram

28

dancing with a class on zoom
after the vaccination —
daffodils blooming

29

dawn of March
the awakening
of cherry blossoms

30

dawn’s fuzzy squint
slipping into
the mirror’s smile

31

daymoon
in my lap
the newborn

32

delayed germination
the young girl
learns to play

33

don’t bud too early
cherry tree
winter lingers still

34

dreaming at dawn
on the wings of a heron —
distant bells

35

early spring . . .
the old tree gifts the sun
its budding leaves

36

empty cocoon —
the battered woman
gets her divorce

37

empty
my cup
awaits dawn

38

faith can
reawaken forsaken
souls

39

family reunion
granny hoots choo choo
on the baby walker

40

first buds —
abandoning sine die
the easel

41

first rain . . .
the petrichor reawakens
scorched dreams

42

first signs of spring . . .
a recovering stroke victim’s
lopsided smile

43

first snowdrop —
caught in the safety net
sunshine

44

five hours
of assisted breathing
new eyes

45

flowers opening
to a soft hum of bees
gathering light

46

forgotten cemetery —
primroses grow on graves
and beside them

47

gnarly fingers tangled and dead . . .
a speck of green unfolding
saves it from the bite of my shears

48

gradually —
less and less white
more shades of green

49

I watch the flames
Gulp my memories of her
From an era before the internet.
The slate is now clean, a new day.

50

keep walking
at the end of the silent hall
star . . .

51

landfill
next to a pair of boots
the first snowdrops

52

laughing
like he used to
Coke and Mentos

53

lighter days . . .
spring migrants building
their nests

54

Like snow
a crow lands in silence
on a winter branch

55

lockdown
over the closed tulips
spring stars

56

Lone tree keeping watch
Over ever changing fields
Now winter, now spring

57

Longing for the sky
the sun rises through the clouds
covered with its blood

58

mail truck —
the old hound raises
an eyelid

59

mask trampled by spring’s barefoot children

60

monsoon raga . . .
the soil’s breath
is moist

61

morning shift
coffee aromas
revive the ER unit

62

moss laden walls —
the weight of remorse
never leaves us

63

my son
wears my old jeans
same look but different . . .

64

nesting dolls
recalling the many selves
i used to be

65

new eruption —
Earth has many things
to claim

66

new morning light
quietly becoming now
moment to moment

67

new wisdom rising
women inherit the earth
peace prevails for all

68

No more getting high
The pain of this life — too much
It is time to change

69

pandemic
peering out from the cocoon
once more

70

playing children —
my musing
on the budding
roses

71

points of light
in the chill night sky
my moon shadow

72

police line in the wind an eternal return

73

prodigal acorn
fallen in the shadow
the blasted tree

74

Purity of rebirth
White breaking through white
Snowdrops

75

quack, woof, moo, meow
break the dawn
spring-ly hurly-burly

76

reawakened
all I see is the sky
beyond glass ceiling

77

reawakened soul
your glistening eyes reveal
incandescent hope

78

reawakening . . .
in the swarms of butterflies
intertwining worlds

79

reawakening . . .
my mother prepares food
for gods

80

reawakening —
out of hibernation the bear
resumes his old habits

81

reawakening —
Snow White’s apple
without pesticides

82

reawakening
to what is not mine
the passing clouds

83

resting on the couch
I dream of golden beaches
second dose

84

sign of spring —
first crocus shows
in white

85

singing birds
my mother comes
out of coma

86

spring again
on mother’s grave
purple crocuses

87

spring day
awaiting wings . . .
the chrysalis

88

spring fever
an old woman whistles
a bawdy song

89

Spring memory
and today
my senior years

90

spring morning
a restless blackbird
breaks the silence

91

spring nap
under open newspaper
the first mosquito

92

spring rain fell, now
gray wanes to green, no
longer confined inside

93

spring woods every little thing

94

still creek
day one hundred
sober

95

Still hearts don’t break
madness follows
Awaken

96

taking shape
a currawong on its branch
voices dawn

97

taking the garbage out . . .
a sparrow’s song completes
the winter daybreak

98

teacher teacher!
at last a great tit
breaks my writer’s block

99

thaw
out of the blue
she remembers me

100

the first flowers bloom
with faces toward the sun
an old love renewed

101

the gusting wind
reawakens
my wanderlust

102

this isolation . . .
the glimmer of a rainbow
on morning dew

103

Throughout their lives
humans are reawakened
to hibernate again

104

tiny crocus
moves frozen earth
breakthrough

105

tiny plant growing
on autumn dry leaves
spring showers!

106

to reawaken . . .
subconscious mind invites
to conscious

107

to the language
of clouds
we toast

108

tree swing
in the neighboring yard
memories . . . memories

109

tulips poking through
fresh cut grass lingers heavy
a day to be born

110

twilight dawn
these aha moments
after divorce

111

under the hedges
watching it move gracefully
meow — missing my cat

112

vaccination line —
all of the grandpas
hitting on grandma

113

Warm spring sun pulls back
white winter blanket, daffodils
shyly lift their heads

114

warming sun
familiar sprouts appear
from long isolation

115

watering the droop
of houseplants
my posture improves

116

whale watching the sea rise

117

winter morning —
the sun beams through the shutters
a new vision

118

Woke to cut-grass tang
and jackhammers pounding fists;
Newark re-opening.

119

zen awakening
I shoot the first butterfly
for this year

 

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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