THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — July 2025
This month’s theme:
black
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 | ’60′ the black balloon above his stone | |
2 | a black cat on the crosswalk pedestrians pause | |
3 | a black cloud swallows the sky her peace lily blooms | |
4 | a black coffee and the day can begin | |
5 | a day so long waited for on my white wedding veil a black butterfly | |
6 | a scintilla of light through the blackout shades midsummer night | |
7 | a song for the bereaved every note ebony | |
8 | a stormy weather takes off the hats from the branches | |
9 | A white lie is a black lie just a lie | |
10 | Abe Lincoln’s black stovepipe magician’s rabbit | |
11 | aging anxiety darkness closing in | |
12 | all the drama I need in my life black orchid | |
13 | almost black horizon — a murmuration folds into dusk | |
14 | And blue The other color missing But it still hurts | |
15 | anniversary on a park bench with me a black butterfly | |
16 | another omen the black cat refuses to cross me | |
17 | April Fool’s Day snow a crow walks across the yard nodding its head | |
18 | at passport control fingerprints blacken the form a permanent move | |
19 | at the doorstep a black butterfly fans its wings | |
20 | beneath the stars a panther glides before the moon | |
21 | big eyes storm outside the window steals light | |
22 | billowing black across the paddy fields another village swears | |
23 | black her mood on a friday commute | |
24 | black — the color of Mum’s hair she cried when it fell out . . . I cried with her | |
25 | black and white photographs the family chin | |
26 | black and white X-ray image — flowers outside | |
27 | black ants scurry on a tree stump — Shibuya Crossing | |
28 | black ash what colour has burned through! | |
29 | black box the wish to listen to his last words | |
30 | Black clouds Begin to gather Umbrella is ready | |
31 | black clouds — birds of prey regrouping | |
32 | black crows scatter from the persimmon tree windless dusk | |
33 | black hole bolting down anything my brother | |
34 | black hole my email circles the outbox | |
35 | black hole the dream where my father dies | |
36 | black ice the conversation takes an awkward turn | |
37 | black ink leaving a trail behind us | |
38 | black night around the roses silence shines | |
39 | Black night: sliver of moon as I walk against the wind . . . | |
40 | black on black… the nondescriptiveness of colour | |
41 | black or white the piebald Shih Tzu going both ways | |
42 | black out curtains are there no workhouses are there no prisons | |
43 | black paper kite doodling a day moon | |
44 | black puppy pink nosed blue eyed pick of the litter | |
45 | black sesame opening heaven’s gates to the departed | |
46 | black shadows — the trees in the park all in the wrong place | |
47 | Black skin meets your gaze, Soul beneath a pulse of rage, Life’s essence untold. | |
48 | black the ensō i become | |
49 | black thoughts black heart then the sun slips in | |
50 | black tie wedding invitation the bride wears ‘Boho’ | |
51 | Black Vultures wait, edge of the sports field. | |
52 | black walnut gnawed by a squirrel — nature’s netsuke | |
53 | black whips in hand she leans back & smiles saturday matinee | |
54 | black wings the home mango tree swings the crow nest | |
55 | black yokan dissolves — shadow in her mouth, biting lip his absence nothing | |
56 | Blah blah black sheep. I can’t recall nursery rhymes anymore. | |
57 | blind scrabble for a candle and matches spelunker’s nightmare | |
58 | Blue ink on the page — between the small black covers incubates my thoughts. | |
59 | breaking dawn the strike of a blacksmith’s hammer | |
60 | budding teen she switches to black licorice | |
61 | burned coffee — the soft fungal heart of the tree we planted | |
62 | burned-out house the blackened door latched with a vine | |
63 | cast iron griddle a few more bubbles before the flip | |
64 | Cave of echoes no tunnel no light distant familiar voices | |
65 | charcoal pencil the fading outlines of her smiles | |
66 | checkmate — for black and white alike the game is over | |
67 | chemo break the warmth of the black cottage wall | |
68 | childhood illness . . . the mottled leather of a doctor’s black bag | |
69 | cinerary urn hit by shrapnel ladies in black | |
70 | circus act black ants exploring the throat of a tiger lily | |
71 | closed eyes — one night I’ll wake with you | |
72 | coffee rings the black hole you left | |
73 | cold coffee I love my job | |
74 | colour tv — the piano still in black and white | |
75 | crow on the chimney wears a black suit, or soot, thus amorphous carbon | |
76 | dark crescent moon on my left eye makes aiming at bullies difficult | |
77 | dark night comes again I go back to my bad habits | |
78 | darkly the man stares at the coffee with frothed milk he’d ordered it black | |
79 | deep into the closet for the blackest black memorial | |
80 | dementia filling jars of black currant jam | |
81 | difference between dusk and dawn — cataract surgery | |
82 | donating Dad’s black coat starless night | |
83 | earthshine the cow licks her stillborn | |
84 | Eerie soundless night Poet begs black prophesizer Raven’s no balm refrains | |
85 | enhanced by smooth ebony skin her ivory smile | |
86 | Evening lamplight — on the bed my old black cat snores, without worldly cares. | |
87 | exhilarating black swans sunning near the bank sounds of light beings | |
88 | Expanding darkness Settles over sleepy towns — Stars, the only light. | |
89 | eye of the blackbird | |
90 | Eyes closed, thoughts burnt, I banish the black night. | |
91 | family reunion knocking at the door the black sheep | |
92 | film noir silent shot the END | |
93 | fireworks in front of the sea cuttlefish ink rice | |
94 | flash flood in the wake of water so much sorrow | |
95 | flooded river a crow settles on the powerline | |
96 | fog lifting . . . so many names on black granite | |
97 | Foul mood — black night camouflages my tears. | |
98 | Gray scarved Indian black crows warn sunrise often at half past three. | |
99 | ground energy fuels my daily grind aromatic | |
100 | Gulf of Mexico a rig belching oil | |
101 | health emergency — the black comedy no laughing matter | |
102 | her chest rose and fell for the last time darkness envelops my world | |
103 | her darkest hour swallowed into nothingness a loon’s wail | |
104 | high heat — the skin of a black snake laid out to dry | |
105 | his tiny daughter touches the black stubble on his chin | |
106 | huckleberries the dog star campfire sing-along | |
107 | hunters leave . . . the haunting cries of orphan bear cubs | |
108 | i see you like to do calligraphy too — black ant | |
109 | In her black silk dress She touches cold granite names by the withered blooms | |
110 | in her married life she prefers wearing black . . . until he dies | |
111 | In his deep, black eyes Spark of love shines as a pearl Dark night scintillates | |
112 | In the midnight sky, No moon, no stars, not a sound. Your hand in my hand. | |
113 | in the mirror grey strands in black meadow horror of aging | |
114 | in the twilight of a sunlit day the deep bass of a crow pheasant | |
115 | ink sleeps beneath velvet doubt no light | |
116 | July sunset . . . red orange yellow green blue indigo violet BLACK | |
117 | just a smile lights up the dark tunnel | |
118 | knife slits the seas blackness killer whale | |
119 | korea’s black day sad singles drown their sorrows in a black beans bowl | |
120 | last of the night taking off — blur of a red fox’s black boots | |
121 | last rite . . . along with her the darkness she always hated | |
122 | light cast out of weave charnel house purloined curtains darkness cant escape | |
123 | MAMIL black the colour of choice | |
124 | midsummer heat blister after blister appears on the tarmac | |
125 | moon’s silver face smiles rays of hope slitting night’s black veil | |
126 | moonless night my silence is poetry verses into stars | |
127 | moonless night traveler enjoys — black summer sky | |
128 | mosquito the drill bit touches oil | |
129 | murmuring a name at midnight last quarter moon | |
130 | new morning without her widow’s weeds | |
131 | night river — the depth of desire in her size | |
132 | night sky galaxies spiraling through dark matter | |
133 | Night strangles the moon Darkened flames blacken the sky The place shadows hide | |
134 | night’s blackness yielded now a morn’s blinding bright rays i arose in awe. | |
135 | nightshade in the pasture — black moon | |
136 | no rays come through with complete absorption soul searching | |
137 | odd shoes and black smoke blindfolded ceasefire dust does not settle | |
138 | Ol’ Man River “body all achin’ an’ racked wid pain.” played on the black keys | |
139 | old dinner jacket a faded phone number in the breast pocket | |
140 | on grandma’s ladder as black as a coal a chimney sweep | |
141 | One stroke Kali’s drum Ripples silence into Stars One day . . . quiet . . . black | |
142 | Papa’s black shoes cleaning everyday eyes waiting | |
143 | pitch black — looking for the shortest path to the self | |
144 | Plague Doctor approaches death’s warning Grim Reaper appears | |
145 | poster child . . . our black cat stares out the window | |
146 | power cut a full moon saves the party | |
147 | Purblind pangolin Cataract surgery clear Lunar rainbows eyes. | |
148 | quince tree blackbird and white blossom chirping of cicadas | |
149 | Raven down the road screams bloody murder nonstop. Heard of new Jim Crow? | |
150 | ravens’ cry — deep darkness holds secrets whispered in the night | |
151 | re-lighting candles with black wicks all the old wishes | |
152 | rose with black petals in a garden of daisies blood drop on a thorn | |
153 | rusting wheels blaming it all on the black cat | |
154 | setting sun a raven’s shadow over the rubble | |
155 | settling on a moonless night the raven’s caw | |
156 | she feels and hears in the color black born blind | |
157 | sheets on a clothesline hanging heavy in July’s sun blackened by soot | |
158 | sidewalk litter a black cat in the window looks away | |
159 | skipping stones into obscurity end of fall | |
160 | slow brew . . . roost of ravens opening autumn | |
161 | Slowly rising from despair . . . A sliver of morning light Penetrates her blackened thoughts | |
162 | Small, fragile flickers in darkness candle for mom | |
163 | snow flurries white patterns on his black blazer | |
164 | so much blacker than black the dove’s shadow | |
165 | splattered across a black canvas milky way | |
166 | staring up the black walnut trunk my skin like yours | |
167 | starlight in their eyes cats in love | |
168 | starlings . . . dark spots flecking the mammogram | |
169 | start anew — charred pine trees rise to the sky | |
170 | stray pigeon feather drops a clue in the gloom | |
171 | stream of blackbirds one feather falls to the ground autumn follows | |
172 | summer sun two cats — black and white — crossing the beach | |
173 | tales of chivalry the puppeteers and musicians in black | |
174 | talking eyes the black magic of a kohl wand | |
175 | The black dog was once An unwelcome visitor This one’s invited | |
176 | the blackest night on the shortest day white snowflakes | |
177 | the broken body of a child collecting water dark hearts | |
178 | the dark side of her wide smile half moon | |
179 | the first swan slides in on the blackboard lake erases the moon | |
180 | the more you the less dark matter my universe | |
181 | the new hires’ pupils tighten to small black dots — muskrat managers | |
182 | the quiet pond without moonlight deep black sky | |
183 | the snowman — we offer him black coffee on the longest night | |
184 | the taste of a goth memory cherry black lipstick | |
185 | the widow tenderly folds her son’s clothes | |
186 | The Woman in Black seven nights on . . . the shadows linger (allusion to the book The Woman in Black by Susan Hill) | |
187 | this old love note — she retraces the letters with fresh ink | |
188 | tipsy night — falling into the black hole again and again | |
189 | touched by blackness again and again crow shadows | |
190 | vernal sunset the mountain peaks fade to black | |
191 | vinyl . . . and black and white . . . nothing’s too old to be gold | |
192 | viscous misery black rum in the sun | |
193 | weeding the fence line blackberries ripe in a patch of poison ivy | |
194 | what a black sky waiting for the Perseids at the hospice | |
195 | Windy, stormy clouds A lightning strike, fuse box blows Where are the candles? | |
196 | winter afternoon sunshine swaps place with stars stark against black night | |
197 | with each brushstroke a touch of sumi to the shiawase | |
198 | wonderful sound! black and white on my piano, in harmony. | |
199 | yin and yang on the chessboard another draw | |
200 | you taught me the loneliness of dead flies black widow |
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!
Comments (4)
Comments are closed.
almost
an anthology
of blackness
There are so many good ones this time and so long a list to go through, it is going to be tough to vote. I also go through the whole thing and short list before voting to be fair.
This was challenging. So many good poems. Hard to choose. Best of luck to everyone.
Oh, Lord! We are becoming more and more participants! This proves the appreciation that this contest enjoys worldwide! Thank you to the entire team for your hard work! Wishing the participants the best of luck!