THF Monthly Kukai — November 2025

 
 
Welcome to the THF Monthly Kukai.

This month’s theme:
brown
 
 
 
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: eye

In October there were 185 submissions from thirty countries across six continents.
One hundred sixteen voters casting ballots determined the following results.

First Prize (tie)
 
needle’s eye . . .
granny threads
another memory
     — Neena Singh (64 points - 4; 6; 3; 4; 3)
 
Sewing takes time and attention, and that opening image with the ellipsis sets the tone for what follows. The affectionate name for the grandmother speaks of history and love and caring. Needlework, whether sewing, quilting, or embroidery, is often the domain of women — a time for doing the work at hand and for catching up on each other’s lives. In the last line, there is the memory of those gatherings, but also all the stories. A quiet and deeply felt senryu.
 
First Prize (tie)
 
spring shower
the weight of a raindrop
on an eyelash
     — Firdaus Parvez (64 points - 6; 2; 6; 2; 4)
 
How much does a raindrop weigh? It is so slight as to be almost imperceptible, but it is not nothing — as we realize in the beautiful closing image. The opening kigo is well chosen. Spring showers are short-lived, just as a drop on an eyelash would be.
 
Third Prize
 
eye contact
the weight of their last
goodbye
     — Rupa Anand (59 points - 2; 4; 6; 6; 3)
 
Quite a mood is created in this senryu. The scene is not hard to imagine. Two people saying goodbye, both knowing it will be final. We don’t know what is behind the parting, and that is one of the strengths of the poem. The reader brings his or her own experience to it. Here, the use of “weight” is metaphorical. It also calls to mind its homophone, wait. There is both a weightiness and a suggestion of waiting as that last look is exchanged, and that is reinforced by the line break. We pause on “last,” not wanting what comes next. Very effective.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
arranged marriage
the eyes of the young bride
full of tears
     — Deborah Karl-Brandt
 
On a day that is usually joyous, a different picture is suggested. Perhaps these are tears of joy, but the word “arranged” indicates this might not be what the bride would have chosen. The use of “young” also gives me pause — how young? 
 
autumn leaves the sun sets in mother’s eyes
     — Mona Bedi
 
Autumn is the season of impending loss, and the verbs in this monoku reinforce that feeling. “Leaves” works as a noun and a verb, and both readings underscore the sense that the mother is aging. A quiet sadness infuses this haiku.
 
blizzard wind
the old tree squints
its eye knots
     — John Hawkhead
 
Eye knots . . . what a marvelous image to leave us with! As anyone who has lived in snow country knows, blizzard winds are biting. Tree knots can be either burls or knots formed where branches used to be. They are misshapen, circular and sometimes swollen growths — and I can imagine how it would look like the tree is squinting in the bitter wind. Kudos!
 
windfall pears
something watching
from the hedge
     — C.X. Turner
 
There’s something enticing about windfalls. But what makes this haiku is that second line. Humans are not the only animals interested in these gifts delivered by the wind. In this haiku, we don’t know what is watching and waiting. Perhaps a squirrel? Maybe a rabbit, raccoon, or deer? Or could it be a fox or a bear? The not-knowing can be read as magical . . . or a bit ominous.

Beverly Acuff Momoi is THF Monthly Kukai Commentator. She is an award-winning poet and author of how the wind sighs and Lifting the Towhee’s Song. From 2019 to 2021 Beverly served as a panelist for the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards.

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!