THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — July 2023
This month’s theme:
fireworks
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 | 1812 overture the concert of illegal fireworks | |
2 | 4th of July a veteran dives for cover | |
3 | a courtship of feathered fireworks . . . peacock proposal | |
4 | a quiet starburst camellia petals caught up by a casual breeze | |
5 | a riot of colours leaping into the sky earthshine | |
6 | after fireworks into my child’s fist a firefly | |
7 | after fireworks my daughter sets free a firefly | |
8 | after the fireworks bedroom silence | |
9 | after the storm the fizz of foxgloves in all directions | |
10 | Afternoon fire works Old man speaks about nothing All noise no substance | |
11 | afterthoughts stewed in night’s pitch: sparks cascading down | |
12 | all day the drone of water-bombers fireworks cancelled | |
13 | all living beings planets near & far, extinct firework poison | |
14 | as day meets night silent fireworks | |
15 | at midnight colorful fireworks in the sky gift from angels | |
16 | at the mountain top infinite dome of fireworks drift slowly in space | |
17 | autumn bonfire the last sparks of fireworks in our embrace | |
18 | bang ablaze in the night sky a bouquet of chrysanthemums | |
19 | barrage of fireworks my little girl asks to go home | |
20 | bayside fireworks a Roman candle strobes an oyster shell | |
21 | beach bonfire a dying flame’s final wave | |
22 | between me and the stars more stars | |
23 | bomb shelter . . . when it’s over New Year’s Eve the child asks | |
24 | breaking curfew still worth the fireworks | |
25 | brighter than stars from the balcony brand new world | |
26 | Bubbly Voices Give Me Delight | |
27 | bursts of color light up the school’s broken swing sets | |
28 | canvas of darkness the night sky bleeding rivers of fire | |
29 | children writing their names with sparklers | |
30 | cloudy 4th of July — on the porch hidden from the rain a bunch of fireflies | |
31 | Cold wind blows hard from the North Dry wood all around me Fire works | |
32 | colour explosion in the garden nature’s fireworks | |
33 | colours of fire a little child inside me like before | |
34 | consolation prize holding a match to the sparkler | |
35 | constant cracks — from the fireworks or another shooting? | |
36 | country vacation kids woken by the sound of airbombs | |
37 | crackers . . . while cracking crackers | |
38 | dazzling sparks across the darkening sky child’s first fireworks | |
39 | distant fireworks just enough for me backyard fireflies | |
40 | distant rumbling fireflies flit around in dense jungle | |
41 | divorce party . . . she lights the fuse on a firecracker | |
42 | Diwali lights childhood crackers greener tonight | |
43 | Dogs panic run away from home July 4th | |
44 | dousing the fireworks in her eyes tears | |
45 | drones environmentally friendly fireworks | |
46 | enjoying the cancelled fireworks thunder and lightning | |
47 | eye to eye across the room fireworks | |
48 | facing the crowd, a thousand fireworks skyward eyes | |
49 | false dawn nature’s fireworks a meteor shower | |
50 | feeling fireworks — neurons flicker and fade into darkness | |
51 | fiery words ignite the night sky false celebration | |
52 | fingers that caress set our bodies on fire fireworks of the heart | |
53 | firecrackers into cement mixer kids join the strike | |
54 | fireworks … a bonsai bougainvillea’s pink petals pirouette | |
55 | fireworks . . . a humpback whale’s song almost drowns | |
56 | fireworks after fireworks | |
57 | fireworks at midnight my dream becomes technicolor | |
58 | fireworks at New Year — birds still singing in the wee small hours | |
59 | fireworks — beer froths down the sides of the raised mug | |
60 | fireworks below — on the mountaintop a flash of silence | |
61 | fireworks blossom above upturned faces little dog cowers | |
62 | fireworks celebrating with pomp the pollution | |
63 | fireworks display queueing for our place in the stars | |
64 | fireworks eclipse the thunder moon a child’s shout for more | |
65 | fireworks exploding to the music’s rhythm poetry in motion | |
66 | fireworks grandma searching her spectacles | |
67 | fireworks hugging the trembling dog | |
68 | fireworks in a nursing home wet cheeks | |
69 | fireworks — kaleidoscope lost again | |
70 | fireworks letting go my expectations | |
71 | fireworks lighting my dog’s fuse | |
72 | fireworks on the lake . . . after the show the moon stays | |
73 | fireworks: one rose blazes bright as another fades | |
74 | fireworks — our cat is looking for our company | |
75 | fireworks playing peekaboo with my dog | |
76 | fireworks rising snowflakes falling night show begins | |
77 | fireworks show the light in his eyes as he looks at . . . her | |
78 | Fireworks the gold and purple sun fell into the waters | |
79 | fireworks . . . the joy of succeeded students scattered | |
80 | fireworks trying to remember who lit the match | |
81 | first dewdrops the sun bursts open a new nebulae | |
82 | First shoot in to the midnight sky ring in the new year | |
83 | flower seeds explode skywards fireworks | |
84 | flowerpot — grandma’s laugh lights the sky | |
85 | for a moment the darkness sparkles — fireworks | |
86 | Gen Alpha — my grandson says no to fireworks | |
87 | Glowing embers weep, Silent echoes paint the dark, Lost souls in the flames. | |
88 | graduation day the sparks and sparkles of daughter’s joy | |
89 | grandma’s bent back the sparks fly from the stove | |
90 | green leaves protect from falling sparks the stargazer | |
91 | household fireworks the kids room tightly shut | |
92 | how you light the darkness matariki | |
93 | human-made shooting stars — handwritten wish lists sent to the sky — fireworks | |
94 | Independence Day fire flowers over the harbor | |
95 | instead of fireworks an egret’s open wings | |
96 | invisible fireworks our house always faces away | |
97 | It’s 4th of July Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom My poor puppy shakes | |
98 | journey’s end fireworks still unfinished Titanic sinks | |
99 | july celebration our little dog hides under the bed | |
100 | July rainstorm the sky booming open lit by thunder’s fireworks | |
101 | late night out — conflict triggers a chain reaction | |
102 | late-night garden tryst above us, chrysanthemums exploding | |
103 | Leonid Shower the fireworks last from dusk till dawn | |
104 | lonely evening the fireworks of autumn leaves | |
105 | midnight sparklers to whom I turn to | |
106 | midnight toasts the sound of fireworks from an upstairs bedroom | |
107 | monsoon caresses nakedness of sprouted buds dewy flower fire | |
108 | my father and beloved in the same room fireworks | |
109 | my nervous rescue dog sleeps soundly silent fireworks | |
110 | my son has passed at last . . . fireworks | |
111 | national anthem forgetting her Alzheimer she hums fireworks | |
112 | Newborn baby’s cry Butterfly from a cocoon Parents’ hearts light up like fireworks | |
113 | newsreader a spark of fury within her, within me | |
114 | no more fireworks — eco-friendly drones will light up our skies | |
115 | Orangery hues of patterned splinters falling. Swirling fireworks. | |
116 | outliving soaring sparkles — little mud lamps | |
117 | overarching noise refugee’s first July 4th | |
118 | patterns in the sky fading away mother’s last knitting | |
119 | punched up sky raining sparkles into wide eyes | |
120 | rainy fireworks among black umbrellas rainbow butterfly | |
121 | rockets on July 5th my red glare | |
122 | senior years all the fireworks in Ixoras | |
123 | small town fireworks . . . the synchronous release of gasps | |
124 | smoke shroud | |
125 | snap, crackle, pop under the bed dog hides | |
126 | soft rising whoosh EXPLODE EXPAND DAZZLE falling ash | |
127 | sparking his PTSD fireworks | |
128 | sparkler night air fills with sulphur | |
129 | Sparklers twirling Spelling our names in cursive In the inky-black night | |
130 | sparkles . . . first seconds of his fatherhood | |
131 | Spring festival — the distant rumble of the first fireworks | |
132 | starless night lighting up our eyes white chrysanthemums | |
133 | Stood up too quickly The world goes dark Eyelid fireworks | |
134 | summer night — above the fireworks, a smiling moon | |
135 | talking to the dog about life after fireworks | |
136 | terracotta tubri . . . pain — pleasure pleasure — pain | |
137 | the breezy dance of Chinese peacock butterfly such soft fireworks | |
138 | The distant boom Illuminates horizon With neon rain | |
139 | the fairy tale she never told . . . fireworks | |
140 | the oohs and aahs at July’s display . . . dahlias | |
141 | the summer season wedding fireworks again for someone else | |
142 | There will be fireworks If there are no fireworks On festival days | |
143 | thoughts in summertime . . . fireworks stirred with the stars ballfield of my youth | |
144 | thunder rockets plugging our ears for the grand finale | |
145 | tourmaline granules sprinkled over the boat’s wake the 4th of July | |
146 | unable to tell bombs from fireworks shivering dog | |
147 | waiting for the fireworks blanket wet with dew goosebumps on her little legs | |
148 | watching fireworks at a distance alone in a new city | |
149 | What was that up there? Way up there in the night sky — So you’re there — I’m here! | |
150 | when gunshots became fireworks child soldiers | |
151 | whoosh after whoosh into the night sky — exploding pyrotechnics | |
152 | winter dawn a train date with fireworks — nature breaks the ice | |
153 | you prepare the fireworks I’ll find a Palladian window | |
154 | Zooming around . . . we still watch the fireworks together with our Dad |
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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Appreciating the number of entries here questioning fireworks celebrations not only because of the fear they cause animals and birds, but due to environmental concerns.