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THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot August 2020

This month’s theme:
do(ing) the right thing

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

1a fifty bill
that could buy dinner –
“hey mate, you dropped this”
2a mask –
is it so much
to ask?
3a new dawn –
yesterday’s people
that I forgave
4a new morning
the same girlfriend
the same sofa
5a right path
reading self help books all night
spilled pills on her floor
6A tiny kindness
Moves from one soul to others
Nicer than COVID
7activated
standing up
and speaking out
8an overturned cup –
every cell knows
what’s needed
9ants
looking for supply . . .
social stomach
10beggar bird –
breaking bread with him
in the parking lot
11between
who is right and what is left
conscience
12black orchids
never get as much water
as white tulips
13blowing a dandelion
the third world peace
14calling out all lies to my name
I write a crossed cheque
to self affirmation
15calling summer night
with frogs and birds orchestra
fucking mosquito
16coffee break
a crumb
for the sparrow
17colorful flowers
are dying
hey, gardener, wake up!
18convincing myself
everything is fine
tree without cherries
19Courage to dispatch
My misconceptions so they
Stop slithering back.
20covid lockdown
the click of the wall clock
wasting away
21Covid stockpiling –
we buy more canned corn
for the food pantry
22crippled beggar –
sprinting to catch
a city bus
23crossing
edmund pettus bridge
yoked horses
24curtain
full of hope
new bride
25damage control
I pledge to be kind
to myself
26deep autumn
grandpa avoids stepping
on dry leaves
27distant hooting –
he leaves the aviary door
ajar
28divorced dad
my daughter dresses herself
for preschool
29do
unto
others . . .
30doing justice
to the disinherited –
the devouring fire
31doing the right thing –
and yet in that fist of dust
burying my heart, too
32doing the right thing
is not a covid challenge
self swapped for other
33domestic violence
she calls the police
for pizza
34ecology of everyone the essential in us all
35election day
searching for the fine print
on the ballot paper
36election day
thumbing ballots
amid all fears
37ethics
schmethics
the wild
38first rain of autumn
cardboard house by the river
lonely beats the chill
39forgetting
all the mirages . . .
sixtieth birthday
40freed bird
letting her tell
her story
41from a little hand
the ladybug falls
on aphids
42further surgery
his mother’s sadness
that he stepped in
43half of the night
lake ripples rush to land
palm tree breaks
44heat
in the open
I’m hiding
45his begging face
swollen with tears
she drops a twenty
46hunger pangs –
the homeless man
feeds the strays
47i do
not know
your name
48I don’t know what’s right –
the woman herself appeared
on the summer road
49in fourteen lines
a tempest sonneteer
wears his mask
50in search
of right  owner – bundle
of currency
51in the shade
of the trees my mind
runs free
52in the virgin snow
someone wrote with pee –
love
53last ripening fig
squirrels’ peace offering
after the raid
54last tree standing –
the woodcutter chooses
heart over head
55legal lawlessness
slowly stains the pure white gloves
inhuman Earth
56let it be . . .
swallow nests
empty again
57letting go
for love
empty nest
58liquor store –
I pass by
on the other side
59malpractice
record and admit
testify truthfully
60marital status . . .
she writes
live-in relationship
61mowing the lawn
leaving a flower
a butterfly
62muggy night
under a sweaty mask
we shall overcome ♪♪♪
63not drinking –
at day’s end
integrity
64piggy bank –
I paste a tag
‘for sanitary worker’
65Poet’s death notice:
She always did the right thing
Gift: burnt the bad ones
66Pooping in the litter box
the cat races around
and goes for a joy run
67quail eggs
in the abandoned nest –
I withdraw my hand
68quarantine
we settle
into silence
69recipes
from around the world
COVID-19 food bank
70recycling . . .
where did it come from
where will it go
71refugee camp
a boy sets free a butterfly
caught in barbed wire
72refugee drowning
my mother slips in and out
of her accent
73ripe peach –
the flavor of summer
along the elbow
74rush hour / moving a tortoise / out of the road
75scarves and mittens . . .
this year she makes masks
for the homeless
76see(ing) the dumpster
and offer(ing)
better free food
77Selma bridge
the gates of heaven open
for John Lewis
78she catches
her brother’s smile
a marrow match
79she counts the cash
before the wallet’s return . . .
Good Friday
80she mailed her vote wearing a mask
81shift of wind –
the first fig
gathered for you
82shortage of masks
she makes two
out of her bra
83sick cat
the long scar
on the vet’s arm
84simple gesture
the smile in the eyes
of a stranger
85sommer prayer –
also this night the roses
they remain roses
86stepping aside
to let the old dear pass
only my reflection
87Striped caterpillars
cross the gravel driveway – stop
if you hope for wings
88sudden knock at the door
dogs barking, baby crying
food delivery.
89summer trim
       it’s best to prune
         the rough edges
90sunspots
full feeling as I watch
the urchin eat
91sweeping up
shattered glass
out of work
92teacher throws away
incorrect haiku; with care
he uncrumples it
93the breadth of oceans
is unbridgeable distance –
we stopped talking
94the eagle and cat
blood on their claw and tongue
true to who they are
95the rattle of kibble
into a bowl –
my cat’s meow
96the right thing here
the wrong thing there –
depending on the weather
97the way ahead
a spider probes
with one leg
98this weight
of doing nothing . . .
too much
99thunder shower . . .
the sound of
cat’s love-making
100to live hurting no one
101too close  two eyes in the popcorn bucket
102trail of ants . . .
my walk becomes
a silly dance
103turning the car
back home
my forgotten mask
104voice
in the gloaming . . .
lodestar
105volunteer rota
mignonette seedlings
dot the rose bed
106waiting for tomorrow’s
morning glories
bamboo brushes
107we backtrack
to offer a euro
merci/mercy
108wearing mask
i hope Covid-19
will avoid me
109what about love?
bringing understanding
not violence
110what it is –
divided plants now bloom
in each other’s garden
111who’s to say
which way she should go
goalkeeping child
112Wind storm –
Dragonfly looks for space
In my room.
113witches bend
crooked chimneys
smoking right

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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