THF Monthly Kukai

THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — February 2023

This month’s theme:
chocolate

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.

Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. If you know who wrote the poem then that entry is no longer anonymous. Please respect the Kukai and do not vote for that entry.

The Ballot

 

1

      A cold breeze . . .
is that the end
of the summer

2

a girl and a boy –
they share both their feelings
and chocolate

3

a hot chocolate
the cat on my knees —
the last snowfall of this winter

4

      a kiss from the cup
breathing in the frosted hush
sipping chocolate

5

      A lonely koi breaks
the surface to feed.
The water ripples softly

6

      a once-hard, brown shell
divulges to the tongue
its minty interior

7

      A space
for the love they owe
Mars men

8

      A sweetness on her tongue
Melting
I give her half of my heart

9

      a young boy’s eyes misty with DDT —
hands bursting with cocoa beans
another clutches fist-fulls
of plastic wrapped labor
countries between them

10

after bad day
on the evening —
salvation on chocolate

11

      after divorce
he bought her a chocolate
bitter sweet

12

all these flavors . . .
“Chocolate!”
quick decision when you’re five

13

April sun
the chocolate bunny
turns into a puddle

14

      assorted chocolates —
I’m unsure of
where we stand

15

baking fudge brownies
her love language
chocolate

16

Birthday
grandma’s chocolate
melting into his laughing mouth

17

bitter cocoa
the dark ingredients
of child labour

18

      bowl of M&Ms
the clatter
of tiny moons

19

      box of chocolates sender unknown

20

bustling chocolaterie
the street urchin prays
for a Christmas miracle

21

candy floss the little cavities in between

22

      child’s soul
in the young soldier’s hand
a chocolate

23

childhood fair
my classmate smells of
vodka chocolate

24

      children’s cold hands
chocolate hot fragrance
from faience cups

25

      Chocolat —
looking for Juliette Binoche
behind the counter

26

      Chocolate cookie
tasty communion wafer
my prayers are answered

27

chocolate cream
her tongue at the bottom of the dish
in secret

28

Chocolate Day —
for a while
I forget everything

29

Chocolate day —
I forget my
sugar level

30

chocolate fondue
on Valentine’s Day
an ex-lover texts me

31

      chocolate kiosk
baby picking up hazel nuts
on mother’s lips

32

      chocolate kisses
for thirty years
togetherness

33

      chocolate melted
on my doorstep
his heart

34

      chocolate memories
the swirl of hot fudge
in mom’s old mixer

35

      Chocolate mustaches
Adorning three upper lips:
An old photograph

36

chocolate piece
saved in a pants pocket
the furnace clicks on

37

      chocolate Rx
Anthropocene cure for all
planet celebrates

38

      chocolate sauce
. . . still licking
the dried out spatula

39

      chocolate sky
a hint
of bumbershoots

40

      chocolate
the first colour to fall
on his ear

41

      chocolate —
the world language
of children

42

chocolate treat —
slowly melting
my old grudge

43

chocolate
under the sun . . .
his promise

44

chocolate
you are the icing
on my cake

45

chocolate-covered
I devour each one
of his lies

46

      chocolate-covered peanuts
binging on
your kisses

47

      chocolatey bitter
sweet imagined
kisses

48

cholesterol care;
one dark chocolate
per day,
treatment of
delight!

49

      Cocoa dream,
Growing on her tongue
With every bite.

50

      cocoa pod harvesting ten-year-olds with machetes

51

      Cold chocolate Sundae
Trick and treat my hangovers
Warm hopeful spring

52

      colourful candies
the beggar boy’s grin
ear to ear

53

      cow boy cookies
with chocolate . . . spring in
my children’s hearts

54

crumbs in your beard
empty plate, cigarette
desire sated

55

      cupboard corner
the foil wrappings
of my secret guilt

56

      dark chili chocolate —
the aftertaste of
cheating on my wife

57

      dark chocolate
the acquired taste
for her tantrums

58

      dark chocolates
the bittersweet taste of love
melts in lover’s mouth

59

      de-addiction . . .
I replace you
with dark chocolate

60

      dog and i lick
our last choco stick . . .
euthanasia

61

      Each chocolate truffle
so beautifully crated
bears witness to tender loving hands

62

      early morning
the first thing I saw
a sunlight

63

Early rays
Allopreening of love birds
ripening cocoa

64

      Easter bunny
A chocolate memory
From childhood

65

eating alone
a box of chocolate . . .
valentine’s day

66

      everywhere
we went together
chocolate drops

67

      fair trade —
so much more than
a fistful of candy

68

      family feast
it’s me now making
mom’s chocolate cake

69

far from home
her eyes
the colour of Tim Tams

70

February 15
valentine’s day
for a chocolate vendor

71

February 15th —
a colleague gives me
a box of chocolates

72

      first chocolate bar
waiting for the spark
in the toddler’s eyes

73

      first ice cream
the gleeful grins
of chocolate

74

      first-ever chocolate bar
on ghana cacao farm
child-slave’s smile

75

flavonoids
tempering my guilt
dark chocolate

76

      from garbage
the only chocolate i got on birthday
finally spring

77

      from my aging fingers . . .
young dark chocolate tresses slip

78

      frozen solid
in the old pond
a golden wrapper

79

Geese fly honk honking. It’s rained today

80

      goo-goo eyes
glancing at the dessert cart
through our dinner date

81

      Greedy receptor melted
porous piece
of quick happiness

82

      half moon cookie —
our tongues meet
on the dark side

83

      haunting memories
father’s daily dose of love
heart melting chocolate . . .

84

heart health question
jelly bean or Hershey square
Doc says chocolate

85

      heart-shaped box
empty spaces
where the truffles should be

86

hide and seeking lives,
sweets that smell of childhood stars —
eating memories.

87

hot chocolate
marshmallow top hat
so rich

88

      hot chocolate
the time we
build together

89

      hot chocolate
with haiku
cafe poet

90

hot chocolate
with mini marshmallows
she finally comes inside

91

      Hotel Chocolates
Left on my pillow by a
Stranger-turned friend

92

      I love you . . .
on the chocolate wrapping
the taste of strawberry

93

      I watch again
“The Sweet Life”  —
low carb diet

94

icy tundra thaws
foil covered cacao-melt
makes failsafe peace-pipe

95

      In the bird box
Chocolate eyes
Possum returned.

96

      in your belongings
chocolate foil
reflecting

97

      ‘just one more’
stuttering thoughts
7 chocolates

98

      kids’ play written in mud
twists and turns
of chocolate

99

      kisses melt
in my mouth —
little mountains

100

left behind
the crackers
the kisses

101

      lights out . . .
the sweet snap
of a chocolate bar

102

melted heart
of the cocoa bean
creates happiness again

103

      melting chocolate —
coating my lips
her flavoured kisses

104

      melting chocolates
he again forgets
our anniversary

105

      melting
in my mouth his kiss
of chocolate

106

      mesmerizing
the shop window fountain’s
flowing chocolate

107

      midnight sky . . .
a mug of hot cocoa
warms my palms

108

      mindfulness
one chocolate chip
melts on my tongue

109

mint truffle fingers sprinkled love letters

110

      moment of prayer the chocolate sundae

111

      moose in winter
stripping birch bark —
chocolate taffy

112

      Mother’s marijuana
next to her chocolate stash
the good old days

113

      my daughter replied
running gives us endorphins
so does chocolate

114

      my girlfriend’s chocolate
she melts in my arms, messy
but so delicious

115

      Nestled in his basket
She cannot bring herself
To bite off his ear

116

      new lens
our skin colour
is chocolate

117

new pants
no longer new —
smudged brown whorls

118

      nightingale’s song . . .
first lines
of a love poem

119

      Nostalgia
Chocolate wrappers
My book marks.

120

      not to sound racist
he says I look as good as
chocolate

121

      now so dear chocolate cake

122

old age
a box of chocolate hearts
float on the river

123

оn the seashore
talking to the seagulls
a chocolate girl

124

one chocolate malt
two paper straws
four knees touching

125

      ongoing war —
in my father’s survival kit
the chocolate

126

      our kiss
tasting of chocolate
Valentine’s Day

127

      outside arctic winds
inside sipping hot chocolate
childhood memories

128

      picking out the chips
from the chocolate chip cookies
my inner child

129

      Poor child
Looking at chocolate
Through the Window

130

      procrastinator
the chocolate ladybird
melts in my hand

131

      recess at school
thin mints melting inside
my pockets

132

refugee camp —
the forgotten taste
of hot chocolate

133

roses and chocolate —
hoping for a way out
of the doghouse

134

      Saturday evening
just hot chocolate is
so attractive

135

      scent of chocolate
my expanding
waistline

136

sharing
a chocolate heart
broken in two

137

      she responds to
‘chocolate colour girl’ now —
migrant bird

138

      Since Montezuma
A small treasure in a cup
— oh hot chocolate

139

      skating on the marsh
white fluff
circles hot cocoa

140

      Snowing outside —
Mom pulls out of the oven
the hot chocolate bread

141

so close to the top
us and the last chocolate crumbs
in the snow

142

      so sweet chocolate
in a bitter day
my childhood

143

      solid heart
or hollow head
Pour me

144

      soothing and warm
liquid Aztec gold
in my mug

145

      spring protest
chocolate flowers
in the guns

146

spring solitude
fifty shades
of chocolate

147

      sprouts in the soil . . .
the crunch
of a chocolate mint drop

148

      starry sky —
love me don’t love me
there is no trace

149

      stopping my Lexapro
I try chocolate
off label

150

      strawberries and chocolate —
how many hidden secrets
in his betrayal

151

      summer’s day
running down my arm
chocolate ice cream

152

Sunday morning
our cocoa mugs, she says,
remind me of us

153

sweet chords
crystalize warmth
on spring tongues

154

Sweet frozen treasure.
Chocolate ice cream adorned.
Red cherry and nuts.

155

      sweet geometry —
a child draws a diagonal line
across a chocolate

156

      Sweetness
short-lived
until tooth ache

157

talk of separation . . .
dividing by two
the chocolate coins

158

      taste
of the moment melting . . .
chocolate

159

testing Aunt K’s recipe
Better than Sex Chocolate Cake . . .
the heavenly truth

160

      the birthday cake
1/2 white 1/2 brown
for my mestizo child

161

the box of chocolates
with a dedication
bitter memories

162

      the cello’s soul
dark chocolate chords
untuning time

163

      the chocolate
remains melted —
an argument over

164

the chocolates
that my grandmother liked
are more bitter

165

      the eager glance
he casts on her
chocolate cake

166

      the last day before
the wedding cake
bittersweet

167

      the nibble taken
from each chocolate
your utter disdain

168

      the size of the box
the number of chocolates
doesn’t add up

169

Theobroma
from humble beginnings
to God like status

170

      this tiny chip of heaven
slowly melting on my velum —
how can I make it last?

171

      Two million children
will not go to school today —
bitter chocolate.

172

      Under my pale arm
the most delicious sight of
your chocolate skin

173

Unlike my love life
You are reliably sweet
Each night before bed

174

      Valentine’s chocolate
those perfect hearts
I once tried to shape

175

      Valentine’s cordials
again — CVS bargain,
as stale as his kiss

176

Valentine´s Day . . .
between you and me no need
for chocolate

177

      Valentine’s day
her chocolate heart
at melting point

178

      valentine’s day
my wife professing her love
of chocolate

179

Valentine’s Day
on the chocolate box
« From me to me »

180

      valentine’s gift
for my chocolate skin
fairness cream

181

      Valentines Day
bickering over
the last chocolate

182

waiting
my heart shaped chocolates
melt in the box

183

      Waning moon
biting through my cramps
with chocolates

184

warm chocolate
drips from a strawberry
swift lick

185

      when the day grows dull
and the night goes on too long,
there’s always chocolate

186

      Wife
loves chocolate
reminder

187

      will substitute words
lovingly dipped
in carob confection

188

winter evening
he takes chocolate
prophylactically

189

      wiping chocolate
from a face
that once wiped mine

190

      you’re dark brown and hot
sweet like my hot chocolate
on a cool winter

 

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!

 

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Thanks for doing this!
    So many I liked.
    Picked out 14 that stood out, then it was tough to winnow. I catch myself thinking of edits, too.
    Here were some I liked a lot that didn’t make into the final five:

    101 lights out . . .
    the sweet snap
    of a chocolate bar

    151 summer’s day
    running down my arm
    chocolate ice cream

    183 Waning moon
    biting through my cramps
    with chocolates

    122 old age
    a box of chocolate hearts
    float on the river

    85 heart-shaped box
    empty spaces
    where the truffles should be

    78 frozen solid
    in the old pond
    a golden wrapper

    74 first-ever chocolate bar
    on ghana cacao farm
    child-slave’s smile

    22 child’s soul
    in the young soldier’s hand
    a chocolate

    14 assorted chocolates —
    I’m unsure of
    where we stand

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