THF Monthly Kukai — October 2025

 
 
Welcome to the THF Monthly Kukai.

This month’s theme:
eye
 
 
 
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: pink

In September there were 185 submissions from thirty-seven countries across six continents.
One hundred one voters casting ballots determined the following results.

First Prize
 
this wish of going light cherry blossom
     — Nitu Yumnam (42 points - 7; 1; 1; 0; 0)
 
In this seven-word haiku, the pivotal word is “going,” placed in the exact center. Paired with cherry blossom — symbolic of the fleeting beauty of life — it suggests leaving or traveling light. When I read it as a single breath, without pause, “light” lifts it into a spiritual realm. However, monoku can accommodate different readings. Could this be read, “the wish of going / light cherry blossom”? Or with a pause after “light”? And do these cuts affect our sense of it?
 
Second Prize (tie)
 
nursery rhyme
squeals of delight
from this little piggy
     — Carol Reynolds (38 points - 3; 3; 2; 2; 1)
 
“This little piggy” has been delighting babies and their parents for more than 200 years — and as this senryu captures, it never fails to draw “squeals of delight” as toes are counted and feet are tickled. After counting down toes, it ends with “this little piggy” now the gurgling baby.
 
Second Prize (tie)
 
swimming upstream
a salmon shares the sunset
with the blushing sky
     — Paul Callus (38 points - 4; 2; 2; 1; 2)
 
I was struck by the sibilants in this haiku and how they reinforce meaning. Salmon swim upstream to lay eggs and ensure the survival of the next generation, and in the music of those repeated “s” sounds, there is a hushed reverence.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
cotton candy
childhood
on my hand
     — Martina Matijević
 
Oh, this immediately took me back . . . that sticky pink between fingers with its cloying sweetness. And how many different senses are conveyed in that one image — sight, smell, taste, and touch!
 
bubblegum pink
steadying the bicycle
my father’s hands
     — Jenn Ryan-Jauregui
 
What a great color for a first bicycle, and it sets the tone for an engaging scene. I see a happy-go-lucky child, learning to take risks, secure in knowing that “father’s hands” are there to steady the ride.
 
out of the blue
a pink finch
at the window
     — Dorothy Mahoney
 
Rose finches! I was unaware of their existence until I read this haiku and googled “pink finch” to see if it was real or surreal. How fitting that first line is with the juxtaposition of surprise and color.
 
wishing on stars
she folds pink booties
Into a drawer
     — Mary Beth Defer
 
Yearning for a daughter . . . There is something poignant in that shift from the opening line with its sense of hope to the closing drawer — the difference between wishful and wistful.
 
cherry blossom rain . . .
the scent of her scarf
still on my hands
     — Ivan Gaćina	
 
Scent is so evocative, and when paired with the transience of cherry blossoms, it gains more significance. I don’t know if the poet still has the scarf or if this is a scent memory . . . either way, it is deeply resonant.

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!