THF Monthly Kukai — September 2024

 
 
Welcome to the THF Monthly Kukai.

This month’s theme:
blue
 
 
 
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: apple

In August there were 212 submissions from thirty-three countries across six continents.
One hundred twenty-five voters casting ballots determined the following results.

First Prize
 
falling far
from the apple tree
her bruised childhood
     — Jenn Ryan-Jauregui (65 points - 8; 2; 2; 4; 3)
 
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” is an idiom familiar to most of us, but here the poet asserts the opposite before making a metaphorical leap from fruit to childhood. What does it mean to describe a childhood as bruised? At a minimum, it conveys a very difficult start in life, and the word “bruised” could be interpreted as abuse. But the opening line lets us understand this is about resilience and suggests a very different future. A thought-provoking and compelling haiku.
 
Second Prize
 
his apology —
a worm wriggles out
of the apple
     — Hazel Hall (57 - 4; 4; 5; 3; 0)
 
What are we to make of this? Is there something about this apology that is distasteful, that spoils the relationship — just as a worm might if it suddenly appears in a beautiful apple? The expression “wriggles out” perfectly describes a worm’s actions and, at the same time, casts doubt on the apology. Something that wriggles is not straightforward, it twists and turns, and when you wriggle out of something, you are trying to get away with something. It suggests deceit. I wonder if the poet means to call to mind Adam after eating the apple. That works less well, but it does add another layer of meaning. Very nice!
 
Third Prize
 
apple peel
twirling sunset
in my hand
     — Satyanarayana Chittaluri (54 points - 2; 3; 7; 3; 5)
 
There is wonderful movement in this haiku: it takes us from the small to the grand, then brings us back to the personal or human experience.  The brilliantly colored apple peel comes about through the interaction of sun and water and time, and that synergy is beautifully reflected in this haiku. The second and third lines are exquisite and call to mind the opening lines of William Blake’s Auguries of Innocence: "To see a World in a Grain of Sand/And a Heaven in a Wild Flower/Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand . . ."
 
Fourth Prize
 
the bruises
you refuse to see . . .
apple pie
     — Christine Villa (51 points - 2; 6; 4; 2; 1)
 
Quite a juxtaposition — from bruises in the opening to apple pie at the end — and the second line, which bridges the two, is deeply disturbing. Apple pie has come to symbolize home and family and a sense of wholesomeness, but it is often made from windfalls, the less perfect, damaged apples — and it is the third line that makes this haiku particularly effective.  It could be read as making the best of a bad situation. Or it could be about denying the reality of someone’s pain. The ominous mood is underscored by the sibilance of the repeated "s" sounds in the first two lines. A very powerful haiku.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
apple picking . . .
a child’s laughter
scents the air
     — Neena Singh
 
Synesthesia, or what Jane Reichhold termed sense-switching, gives a poem added dimension. Here the boundaries are blurred between the aural and the olfactory — laughter is experienced as scent. Lovely!
 
over the fence
the neighbor-friendly
apple branch
     — Steve Bahr
 
What a great second line! It tells us that trees can bring us together. There is a generosity in the way branches reach out, across fences, and invite sharing — with birds and squirrels, as well as other people. This haiku is joyful and reminds me of walks in my own neighborhood.
 
apple blossoms
the doctor gives me
six months
     — M. R. Defibaugh
 
When apples and doctors appear together, the expression “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” immediately comes to mind. But with the last line, we realize this is a very different story. In six months, the blossoms will bud and bear fruit, ripen and be harvested. Bitter though this harvest might be, because the second line is a pivot line — it can be read up or down — what lingers is the longing of those lovely blossoms. Beautifully done.

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!