THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — January 2024
This month’s theme:
red
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 bull dreams of home paint flakes off the swaying door and his anger grows | |
2 | a dozen roses the color of “I’m sorry” returned for store credit | |
3 | a gloss of light rises through hot water red porcelain walls | |
4 | a maple leaf flies layers of red organics fall is among us | |
5 | A model for life Hidden in plain sight for all Sacrificed for me | |
6 | a red ribbon on the puppy’s collar I own you | |
7 | a sea of red as far as the eye can see — Cardinals game | |
8 | accidentally passing red signal a cockatoo ahead of me | |
9 | across the street behind the chain link fence — cigarette flare | |
10 | after hearing how pretty she is at sixty — red cheeks | |
11 | after the morgue, my father’s house: heating pad still warm on the bed blood on all the towels | |
12 | against the white shed a red-bladed sled waiting for snow | |
13 | airy poppy flower she in a red dress on the subway grate | |
14 | an old scar doesn’t itch anymore blood-soaked earth | |
15 | around a red tent snow swirls in city square | |
16 | asian koel on traffic signal expecting to stop traffic with his eyes | |
17 | at ceremony her first bridal red attire menarche | |
18 | autumn maple | |
19 | bare branches: in the mirror a red bird | |
20 | before it turns red — her pretty pink world | |
21 | berry bramble on a chain-link fence giving myself permission . . . | |
22 | birthday wishes — placing a red rose by her just as granddad did | |
23 | bleeding children red, the color of bloody war year of the dragon | |
24 | blood moon the secrets we hide behind | |
25 | blood soaked tissue another conflict with medication | |
26 | blood-stained feather she closes her baby’s eyes | |
27 | bloody moon . . . farewell painted with her lipstick | |
28 | blooming red flower over the tropical hills the rose of sharon | |
29 | blush his tell when he lies | |
30 | blushing while explaining a whopper | |
31 | boxed amaryllis now reaching toward the light, bursting into red | |
32 | break from work the desk lamp beach red as my eyes close | |
33 | bright firecrackers their light wakes the dark night sky welcoming dragons | |
34 | broad ambitions of a limited world — sunset | |
35 | caught outside city gates on the wall captain on guard loose the arrows red moon | |
36 | cellophane wraps another apology hot house roses | |
37 | Cherry blossom lips Scarlet cheeks blush, sun kissing Joy! Springtime passions — | |
38 | child bride a red spot amid petals | |
39 | colorblind — i stop for the green light | |
40 | coral tree — muscled limbs upholding all those flowers | |
41 | Crimson cardinal through frost covered pane admires the poinsettias | |
42 | crimson rivulet — the hole in his breast pocket where her photo is | |
43 | Crimson sky ease pain All I hear, how my heart breaks Deafening silence. | |
44 | Dark, cold land Known as Ice Flowers Red lava. | |
45 | deflowered — she pulls up her long red socks | |
46 | dinner at the bar Red Lobster diners surround satisfied solo | |
47 | Disney park queuing . . . fuming red under my Donald Duck hat | |
48 | Doppler’s legacy — poppies shed their milky skin in her last two breaths | |
49 | doting cardinal — the way we would whistle cooking together | |
50 | dots of fire-red glow last night’s least sparkling embers dark before the dawn | |
51 | Each morning a red prickle on my finger tip, better the wound of a red rose. | |
52 | el niño the cardinals converse in the rain | |
53 | endless desert a red gas can in her hand | |
54 | every night blood moon . . . war zone | |
55 | faded poinsettias my red dress out of season at the posh college | |
56 | familiar this scenario red flag | |
57 | femininity her school uniform covered by few other | |
58 | fighter jet the cry of a red panda by the waterhole | |
59 | finding in a chest Santa’s red clothes loneliness | |
60 | fire always red view of her lips | |
61 | fire poppies — a firefighter happy | |
62 | first grandchild . . . delicate scent of red apples | |
63 | first hot dog . . . a bit of ketchup on her lip | |
64 | first snowfall a red cardinal visits the hush of grey sky | |
65 | florist’s — guy chooses red with spikes | |
66 | former Ho Chunk camp poppies bleed into the earth | |
67 | friend’s wedding — remembering the girl with the bold red lipstick | |
68 | from each branch a paper heart beating in the wind | |
69 | From love to anger, red is all around us here. Essential to life. | |
70 | from my Valentine red roses without thorns true love | |
71 | frozen berries overhead — the waxwings twist to the south | |
72 | garden pond a scarlet dragonfly steers a turtle | |
73 | gather with laughter . . . breathtaking by afternoon red weeping cherry | |
74 | Golden Sunset Light Enveloped By Burning Red Bids The World Goodnight. | |
75 | graffiti on pristine coastal rocks seeing red | |
76 | half watermelon painted with red crayon winter sunset | |
77 | Healing or dying The needle leaves only a Small red mark behind | |
78 | her red wedding kimono faded tear spots | |
79 | home fireplace embers pulsing red hugging her cat | |
80 | how does it know the colors of Christmas poinsettia | |
81 | hunter’s moon . . . the blood brothers missing in action | |
82 | In the donations Forgotten by your sister The infamous scarf | |
83 | in the world of white cardinal roosting on a bare branch | |
84 | its echo in the rooster’s head — rising sun | |
85 | January 1 — the same red dress from last year | |
86 | last Christmas with a red guitar on fire | |
87 | lifting me up when i’m down oh red red rose! | |
88 | lipstick on the wedding crystal — blushing bride | |
89 | lonely waiting for red queen solitaire | |
90 | long day the soldier’s bandage still red | |
91 | looking at the withered red rose she feels loneliness . . . | |
92 | lost in a jumble on the temple steps tiny red slippers | |
93 | lunar New Year even redder the beauty of the temple | |
94 | mackerel in a muddle red bucket | |
95 | maintaining his youth the old man’s red car | |
96 | masks everyone just mumbles louder | |
97 | may it remind me of blossom not blood this sunset | |
98 | meadows painted red the art of war | |
99 | memory recall that favourite red sundress I sewed in the 70’s | |
100 | morning rain pine needles as red as her hair | |
101 | mum’s smile always with me . . . poppy field | |
102 | my first date’s flushed cheeks not all down to my charm . . . chili peppers | |
103 | my girlfriend likes dry red wine — my drying rack is ready | |
104 | my reverie . . . a red ant on the sun kissed mango | |
105 | narrow road to the north a little red car with the top down | |
106 | new moon yes no taillights cross the wide plain | |
107 | New Year’s morning the jabbing red face of a vulture | |
108 | night of war — a red flower among the rubble | |
109 | no danger sign by you but my pounding heart knew before I did | |
110 | No job for Christmas My haiku is a three line Big Horror story | |
111 | not her favorite color upon pressing red blouse | |
112 | off the back of brooches do we scratch as soft silver . . . winter sundown | |
113 | old age home a carpet of red leaves to an oak tree stem | |
114 | old battlefield among the warriors’ dreams red poppies | |
115 | on the crater edge counting petals of fire, “He loves me,” she whispers | |
116 | on the horizon passions flare a crimson hue as winter cautions | |
117 | on top of the hill the traffic stops — supermoon | |
118 | one breath and away a riot of robins | |
119 | pacific sunset red is not the word | |
120 | petunia dawn . . . the winter chill in her cheeks | |
121 | pohutukawa dusts your skin red moon | |
122 | rain drops accompanied by stars on the red carpet | |
123 | rainy season round the corner on my kitchen wall moving red army with food supply | |
124 | Red the color of newborn baby | |
125 | Red China the wall between us also seen from space | |
126 | red dots in the snow it’s just wedding confetti mixed with signs of war | |
127 | red dress girl watching Schindler’s List with my daughter | |
128 | red earth how quietly the maple leaves leave | |
129 | red envelopes . . . celebrating the year of the dragon | |
130 | red eye of the loon never close enough | |
131 | Red eyes the autumn leaf smiles | |
132 | red faced . . . I realise the stranger isn’t you | |
133 | red glow from the fireplace — a blanket of warmth in winter air | |
134 | red moon — the missing girl found dead | |
135 | red moon — wandering above no man’s land | |
136 | Red Sea red Black Sea | |
137 | red silk lantern . . . browsing the net for a new home | |
138 | red sky another reef knot in the rigging | |
139 | red sky — a magpie finally settles on a power pole | |
140 | red sky greets the sun what if the gods are restless? time alone will tell | |
141 | red soil the sway of wheat fields in mother’s eye | |
142 | Red stone meets blue sky. Morning sun paints the canyon. Day greats the desert. | |
143 | red sunset my empty glass of wine full again | |
144 | red wheelbarrow aloft in our memories | |
145 | redbird drinks from a stone basin and sees a rival! | |
146 | reddening dusk — fluttery chirps of sparrows take me home | |
147 | redpoll in the naked birch — an unexpected gift | |
148 | redwood grove — learning to look lightward | |
149 | remembrance day poppies on a gravestone red dragonflies | |
150 | resting ladybug . . . the color of sunset on my fingertip | |
151 | retirement day — the incandescent maple invites itself by the window | |
152 | ribbon trails the span of loss pitted in earth | |
153 | Ride over mountains across smoky, yellow skies — the red moon of doom. | |
154 | Russet red drips from the hedgerow — Turning tricks. | |
155 | scarlet and crimson showcase fields of springtime flowers | |
156 | scarlet dirties white amidst the delicate cold her blood stains the snow | |
157 | scarlet writing-jacket cuffs and elbows rubbed to faded rose | |
158 | scarlit ski reaching to heaven a moonlit night | |
159 | seeing red dreading another election year | |
160 | Setting summer sun Red the sky and red the rose Red the lovers’ blush | |
161 | She knows but still asks My silence is betrayed by My warm, reddened face | |
162 | Shining red bindi Hiding burning crimson — Her broken dreams. | |
163 | silhouettes of destruction blood moon | |
164 | simply — in the red on the horizon the new Year | |
165 | splatter paint technique — a bloody battlefield takes shape on canvas | |
166 | splitting firewood — on my mother’s skin the red patches | |
167 | stories untold mother’s funeral red petals on the casket | |
168 | strawberry moon I connect your freckles with my finger | |
169 | sunny harvest day on the reaper’s face shining blushes | |
170 | teflon pan from fried fake meat beet juice ooze | |
171 | The color of blood seeped from your fallen body. My father is gone. | |
172 | the doe’s blood emptying into silence poppies | |
173 | the eyes of a war orphan Gaza sunset | |
174 | the feathers on his eagle staff red mountain snow | |
175 | the king tide crowned by a burst of alpenglow | |
176 | the London bus travelling the world on the tourist’s keychain | |
177 | the red hen provides breakfast omelette . . . rooster crows | |
178 | the redbud flames longer days longer walks | |
179 | The stain washed clean time is blood the blush of womanhood | |
180 | the sun a red stamp on the letter of the winter | |
181 | The white flag of surrender had turned red | |
182 | the woman in red sold so expensive just a picture | |
183 | they pop red rimmed glasses on a wizened face | |
184 | thorn’s story . . . is the red rose the villain? | |
185 | tidying up — I sweep shards of glass after her stroke | |
186 | toddler apples are seldom red | |
187 | tortured thin red line soul | |
188 | truce — even the silence pulses blood | |
189 | twelve cardinals on our Christmas tree mom’s last | |
190 | twilight a strawberry finch brightens my way home | |
191 | Valentine sky a red tulip touches it | |
192 | Valentine’s Day the Christmas tree still blinking | |
193 | vermilion in the grey the wind brings closer denouement | |
194 | volcano erupting — from Fuji rises a round red sun | |
195 | war — Is rain red? asks the child | |
196 | War celebration Red poppies On the graves | |
197 | war memory — the redness in her eyes deepens | |
198 | warring field immense flow and freeze by merciless shots | |
199 | wasted moonlight more than a tinge of red on her cheeks | |
200 | watching the sunset — the soft tinge of crimson on her cheeks | |
201 | watermelon seed such delicious fruit filling the garden | |
202 | waxing gibbous stains we leave behind during menstruation | |
203 | white winter — one cardinal plucking holly berries | |
204 | whoosh of wind a crimson leaf lands in a new year | |
205 | wild berries I savor the hint of sweet | |
206 | Winter apples fall Mice delight in tasty treats Once red now brown | |
207 | winter drizzle her red trench coat brighter | |
208 | winter rain a red cedar shades the nameless grave | |
209 | winter thaw the hedgerow dripping robin song | |
210 | winterberries a flash mob of cardinals | |
211 | without another backing red 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!
