THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — January 2022
This month’s theme:
snow
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 | 1 even in old age 2 beauty in your bones and lines 3 and your weathered skin | |
2 | a bear’s breath in forest snow my silence | |
3 | a bed of snow for the homeless seeking shelter | |
4 | a damp envelope . . . from mountain love you daddy the ink blurs | |
5 | A long letter dreams, memories snow all around | |
6 | a pandemic snow covers city streets tonight calm before the storm | |
7 | a walk at dawn — crisp now falling from the trees | |
8 | after each first time he gazes out the window “where did the snow go?” | |
9 | after the snowstorm: the robin’s footsteps follow the sun | |
10 | against a snow sky crow’s wings brush a haiku | |
11 | Aleut . . . so many words for snow | |
12 | all night snow this dialect of silence after mama left | |
13 | all that’s left . . . a carrot and two old boots in a puddle | |
14 | angels pour stardust on the frozen ground at night — the magical snow | |
15 | another inch of snow last night’s bad mood hasn’t melted | |
16 | another lockdown no one to resurrect last year’s snowman | |
17 | Attacking the ground As snow troops it’s way downward In a losing battle | |
18 | bird feeder — a chickadee’s beak laced with snow | |
19 | blades of grass tickle the melting snow | |
20 | blizzard warning stuck in deep conversation | |
21 | blue skies – fresh powder playing hookey – carving turns coon eyes – tell small lies | |
22 | clear winter day at the laundromat fresh powder | |
23 | coastal rain awash in dreams mountains of snow | |
24 | Cold snap the missing child’s imprint on the swing | |
25 | cold weather . . . covered with snow even the moon | |
26 | covered ground of my bygones new year snow | |
27 | crash landing a single flake ripples an avalanche | |
28 | dark snow . . . the footsteps of his excuse | |
29 | day after snowfall — neighbor’s wife sweeps snow from his coat with a broom | |
30 | deep in wild woods under crunching snow my love hibernates | |
31 | deep snow the Robin’s prints end at the bird bath | |
32 | down the forest path children making angels in a blanket of snow | |
33 | drawing the sheet over her face . . . snowfall at dusk | |
34 | dressed warm in wool heaven is this snowy ride silent snowy ride | |
35 | dusting of snow every tree a study in grace | |
36 | each flake a quiet thought first snow | |
37 | fading in a swirl of snow his memory | |
38 | falling into past tense — first snow | |
39 | falling snow no sound except the sound of snow falling | |
40 | falling snow . . . the absence of you | |
41 | falling snow the slow erasure of our beliefs | |
42 | falling snow — the thing with feathers still sings | |
43 | falling snowflakes freckle her face winter run! | |
44 | farewell poetry in the silence of the grave early snow | |
45 | finger painting roses on the window snow day | |
46 | first snow . . . becoming intimate with the wind | |
47 | first snow cut in straight lines | |
48 | first snow — even the darkest thoughts become white | |
49 | first snow . . . how long the wait to touch our baby | |
50 | first snow — how small we are | |
51 | first snow melting as it falls | |
52 | first snow teachers keep the infants in at playtime | |
53 | first snow — the smell of resin soaked in clothes | |
54 | first snowflakes first signs of thaw between us | |
55 | first thaw sparrow footprints running off | |
56 | first warm day all the snowmen oblique | |
57 | footprints in the snow alone first time alone her and the urn | |
58 | for an instant we are all children . . . first flakes | |
59 | fresh snow a chance for all creatures to write their stories | |
60 | fresh snow fills the empty nest — nightfall | |
61 | fresh snowfall — he digs a womb colder than his mother’s | |
62 | from the gray clouds lightfall — snow curtains | |
63 | frozen in mid-air smoke from a stack — high above a snow-topped grid | |
64 | giggles rising higher than our snow pile | |
65 | heated argument of past now snow | |
66 | heavy snow even my racing thoughts fall silent | |
67 | howling blizzard my mind chatter won’t be silenced | |
68 | In bed with a book My brother’s steady breathing . . . Silence of winter | |
69 | in deep snow snow angels . . . no footprints | |
70 | in winter moonlight ghost trees whisper secrets to the wind | |
71 | into the stillness of snow blue shadows | |
72 | light snow clinging to the white oak a few dry leaves | |
73 | l i n g e r i n g b l i z z a r d the depth of the snow cover | |
74 | Looks like a blanket — it’s not | |
75 | lost and found melting snow falls into the sound of ravine | |
76 | melting snow — cold hungry tears of a homeless child | |
77 | midnight mass a snowflake dissolving on my tongue | |
78 | midnight snow the hush gives way to a lullaby | |
79 | missing dad I lend his hat to the snow-man | |
80 | moon shadows on quiet snow only my breath | |
81 | morning snow smoke from the chimney of the old man’s house | |
82 | mountains muffled in scarves and beanies | |
83 | my cat lingers on the windowsill first snow | |
84 | My grandfather rises with the lark to hum its song. | |
85 | nameless monk in the monastery yard it’s snowing | |
86 | no two are ever alike — snowflakes | |
87 | nose to the sky — It melts in your mouth a snowflake | |
88 | not just for some white carpet | |
89 | on New Year’s morning a year ago I woke up with a hangover | |
90 | Only one mitten Where did the other one go? Alone it’s useless | |
91 | overnight snow the wind first to play | |
92 | papering a broken window . . . snow in the air | |
93 | peaks in the snow on the deck chair next to me lady in topless | |
94 | planting cyclamens knowing they always welcome whatever snow brings. | |
95 | Play in the air Let the leaves fall to the ground I miss my friends. | |
96 | pond snow light conversation afloat | |
97 | quilt of white stitched by rain drops . . . ice tonight | |
98 | remaining snow from the hospital window . . . her cancer surgery | |
99 | Sent from heaven Brief illusion of purity Dirt remains | |
100 | shadow theater blood on snow | |
101 | shortened walk a shaggy-haired dog shakes off winter | |
102 | silence – \\slanting \\\snow | |
103 | silence snowflakes wake up winter | |
104 | snow after snow how pristine the color of his lies | |
105 | snow and ice — bamboos bend under the weight | |
106 | snow angel — her smile travel across miles to grandma | |
107 | snow angels glistening crystals cover their gown | |
108 | snow blossom on a bare branch a crow’s nest | |
109 | snow covered dawn we stop to watch satellites | |
110 | snow crunches the blue shadow of my sole | |
111 | snow day long slow thawing under the quilt | |
112 | snow day reconnecting with Bert and Ernie | |
113 | snow dump instead of streets, sledding hills | |
114 | snow . . . everything got shape except my thoughts | |
115 | snow fall ring of serenade its own promenade | |
116 | snow falling through the streetlight all is calm | |
117 | snow fantasy a blanket to smother thoughts funereal | |
118 | snow flowers . . . every moment as if it were the last | |
119 | snow flurries . . . every time i call her only static | |
120 | snow flurries old man pushes the cart | |
121 | snow flurries . . . the length of our resolutions | |
122 | snow fort — we light a candle and plot the revolution | |
123 | snow globe of a day . . . staying inside don’t shake me | |
124 | snow globe the wind outside shakes the flakes | |
125 | snow . . . I ask about the weight of happiness | |
126 | snow in california a memory on a greeting card | |
127 | snow in Hobart . . . early fall brings fun in the chill of spring | |
128 | Snow melt The seasonal creek Sings over rocks | |
129 | snow silence . . . birds huddled in hedges saving their songs | |
130 | snow upon snow . . . elderly neighbors disappear into themselves | |
131 | snowball fight my hot apple cider gets cold | |
132 | snowball fight she takes another shot of advocaat | |
133 | snowbed emerging through a hole a dead firebug | |
134 | snowblind gazing at crocuses lunar new year | |
135 | snowed in a few more flakes for the coconut cake | |
136 | snowfall . . . opening the poetry book to tundra | |
137 | snowfall . . . the video holds my breath | |
138 | snowflake so light the branch so heavy | |
139 | snowflakes fall softly into their silence | |
140 | snowflakes on the eyelashes of a little girl — winter flower | |
141 | snowflakes — the silent words of silence | |
142 | snowy day the way back home twice as long | |
143 | snowy forest wandering to the place where there were fireflies | |
144 | snowy mountains along a winding road a foot trail begins | |
145 | Snowy wilderness through the window Still in pajamas | |
146 | spring chill snowflakes ride on cherry blossoms | |
147 | standing in a puddle of tears — snowman | |
148 | Step by step What are you talking about? Creaking snow | |
149 | sudden sunshine wrought iron gate makes snowflake shadows | |
150 | summer snow the child teaching her grandpa how to laugh | |
151 | Sunrays peep into heap of snow flakes melting frozen thoughts . . . | |
152 | swirling snow mom’s voice calling from a fairy tale | |
153 | tear drops falling down drizzling snow flakes of my soul warm and soothing though | |
154 | the silence of an owl snow | |
155 | the day’s edge — in another window vanilla snow | |
156 | the first snow — even the barbed wire seems tinsel | |
157 | the future tense of the snow after the whistle of the neighbours | |
158 | the night of childbirth I miss my hometown’s first snowfall | |
159 | the sagging of pine branches first snow | |
160 | the silence of snow a grandmother and toddler in faded photos | |
161 | the silence of softly falling snow night ski | |
162 | the silence ______________________ stranglehold of snow | |
163 | the snow-covered park I am still waiting for someone to pass first | |
164 | the snowdrift blankets the cabin steaming cocoa | |
165 | the straw hut though abandoned . . . icicles all around | |
166 | the walk home after Handel’s Messiah snowflakes | |
167 | the whitened road turns to pink slush it hurts | |
168 | The world outside As smooth and white As blank as my sheets of paper No school, no homework either! | |
169 | these last days the folds of a pinecone gathering snow | |
170 | thinking of grandma tiny doilies falling from heaven’s pillows | |
171 | through the deck slats melting snow | |
172 | together touched by snow two red berries | |
173 | traffic flowing over snowbound cars racing clouds | |
174 | turning the lights off snow in full moon | |
175 | Twenty eight degrees Winter paints the ridges white Cailleach smiles | |
176 | unbuttoned coat a boy holding an umbrella over the snowman | |
177 | Under the streetlight reflections on fallen snow | |
178 | virgin snow the innocence of the first snowdrop | |
179 | walking across the snow’s crust — sixty winters passed | |
180 | waltzing around my snowman and I wind | |
181 | where once love was now snow | |
182 | white meadows . . . my fears white as salt | |
183 | White trees grass flowers A gathering of every Color of the Earth | |
184 | white world beyond his single pane, he rubs his cracked and leathered face thick snow blankets both his roofs | |
185 | whiteout two blasts off the port bow | |
186 | whoosh a pine showers me with snowy hoots | |
187 | winter blues the long shadows of trees in the snow | |
188 | Winter has arrived If snow is from heaven why am I cold | |
189 | winter morning snow’s sparkling . . . perhaps brighter than the evening stars | |
190 | winter snowstorm power outage . . . silence restored | |
191 | winter solstice kids kick the daylights out of a chunk of snow | |
192 | winter trees the catch of snow becoming unbearable | |
193 | yet to experience my first snowfall snow moon |
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
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Nearly 200! It’s good to have that much participation, but is almost too many to choose from. I don’t envy you the task of sorting through all the responses for the top selection.