THF Monthly Kukai — March 2023

 
 
Welcome to the THF Monthly Kukai.

This month’s theme:
grass
 
 
 
Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. Please respect this to offer the reader (and voter) the opportunity to choose only the poem.

The THF Kukai Overview

A kukai is a (usually quite casual) poetry contest. The administrator of the kukai (that’s us) assigns a theme for a given writing period and posts to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) on the THF site, which is then redirected outward through our various media outlets. Poets write work to this theme during the allotted time and submit it to the administrator. The work submitted is gathered into an anonymous roster and posted to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) for public viewing. At that time all participating poets and other interested readers may vote for their favorites. Votes are tallied and the results made public. The top winners will be acknowledged each month, and offered their choice of prizes from a list compiled by the Foundation. Please remember that everyone who votes is a winner — the process of choosing your personal favorites is not just fun, but also one of the best ways to improve your own haiku practice!

Results of Last Month’s THF Kukai

theme: chocolate

In February there were 190 submissions from thirty-three countries across six continents.
One hundred eighteen voters casting ballots determined the following results.

First Prize
 
bitter cocoa
the dark ingredients
of child labour
     — John Hawkhead (90 points - 9; 5; 5; 4; 2)
 
The surprise ending in haiku is a device that can sometimes feel formulaic, especially when overused by a particular poet. This could hardly be further from the case here, where the bleak final line compels the reader to reevaluate everything that has preceded. It’s a set-up, for sure, and one more often used in the service of humor than with serious intent. Which makes it all the more effective in this context.
 
Second Prize
 
wiping chocolate
from a face
that once wiped mine
     — Holly Brennan (86 points - 8; 8; 3; 1; 3)
 
This very simple poem reminds us of the fact that a form of second childhood awaits for very many of us. We will be fortunate indeed if the caring that we receive proves to be as gentle and thoughtful as that depicted here. Once again a revelation is withheld until the last line, though in this case it comes as a confirmation, accompanied by a feeling of fitness and inevitability.
 
Third Prize
 
assorted chocolates —
I'm unsure of
where we stand
     — Chris Langer (81 points - 8; 3; 5; 4; 6)
 
And the reader all the more so! But that’s fine; we can enjoy our speculations without any of the mild anxiety that the poet seems to be experiencing. My own version of the scene is that it is too early in this relationship to know whether it is all right to reach for my favourite praline whorl without offering first choice to my companion.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
half moon cookie —
our tongues meet
on the dark side
     — Laurie Greer
 
Once again it is one of the lower-scoring winners that gets my vote as best of the month. From the simple image of a traditional type of cookie (the appearance of which as a Brit I had to double check) the author achieves both sensuality and something close to lascivious innuendo. All is made respectable –– if you so wish –– by a scene that would charm almost any observer.
 
child's soul
in the young soldier's hand
a chocolate
     — Mirela Brailean
 
bowl of M&Ms
the clatter
of tiny moons
     — Barrie Levine

Remarks are by Dee Evetts, THF Monthly Kukai Commentator. He is an internationally known haiku poet and author of “The Conscious Eye” series on contemporary themes in Frogpond in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Writing for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai

On the first day of each month The Haiku Foundation will announce the kukai theme for that month. This theme should be the topic of your poem, and may be stated (by using the theme word or words) or implied. Form may be traditional (three-line, 5-7-5) or free (various numbers of lines and/or syllables). Season words (kigo) may or may not be used at the poet’s discretion. A poet may submit one poem per theme. All poems must be the original, unpublished work of the author. In order to maintain the spirit and fairness of the kukai, a poem that has appeared anywhere with its author’s name cannot be allowed for submission.

Please use the Kukai submission form below to enter your poem, and then press Submit to send your entry. No other submissions will be recognized or honored. Once a poem is submitted it cannot be revised. All poems must be signed (that is, no “anonymous” poems will be accepted, and the Submit button will not be available until both Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in). Poets will not receive acknowledgment of their submissions. Poems will be accepted from the announcement of the theme through midnight of the 15th of that month. All poets are eligible to participate. Administrators of the kukai are ineligible to submit poems. Your submission form to us should look something like this:

line one
followed by line two
and then line three

or

this poem is all in one line

or

            jjjjjjjjjjj
kkkkkkkkkk
                    lll
   mmmmm

[all lines right-justified]

If your poem has special formatting requirements you should note them as in the third example above.

Good luck, and have fun!