THF Monthly Kukai

Last Chance to Vote in the October 2021 THF Monthly Kukai

This month’s theme:
gourd

Voting closes for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai tonight (the 24th) at midnight (east coast time). So make those final decisions and let us know whom you think did the best work this month.

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 bee
in a bitter gourd blossom . . .
honey quest

2

 A gourd
in the morning glow
glistening

3

 a pariah dog
at a broken gourd ladle
barks at the urchin

4

 a pumpkin as big as the universe

5

 After rehab;
on my vegan list
An ash gourd.

6

 after the fight
her snake gourd curry
even more spicy

7

 ageing musician
the fading rhythm
of his hollow gourds

8

 aleatory
some are even cut in half —
pumpkin seeds

9

 All Saints’ Day
I make a vase
out of a pumpkin

10

 always and always
he carves bottle gourds
for sale at tourist locations

11

 at the entrance of the house
ash gourd
hanging the evil eyes

12

 autumn moon —
behind carved teeth
a burning candle

13

 autumn
still a green hissing —
in our garden

14

 back from vacation
cottage covered all over
with squash vines

15

 backyard
as far as I can spit
watermelon

16

 barren farm
with a lonely gourd
wishing longevity

17

 basking
on a farmer’s field —
speckled swan gourds

18

 bitter gourd
dad’s signature
dish

19

 bitter gourd pickle
the lingering heat
of summer

20

 bounty harvest —
cream of bottle gourd
for every guest

21

 braving depression
a hollowed pumpkin
lit within

22

 dawn
the sound
of a split pumpkin

23

 delicata squash
pale yellow October moon
striped with dark clouds

24

 dried bottle gourd
hollowed and painted with mum . . .
memory box

25

 each alone
yet together . . .
dew on the gourd

26

 empty gourd . . .
waiting for the first kick
in my belly

27

 enlightenment
a scarecrow thrown down
among pumpkins

28

 eyes
fixed on the drinking gourd
black lives matter

29

 fall fair
the forgotten taste of
mom’s pie

30

 fall festival
the knives are out
for the gourds

31

 farewell lunch
the lingering taste
of bitter gourd

32

 first bite
bitter taste
of rejection

33

 first crush
admiring the curves
of my calabash

34

 first lipstick —
with mouth ear-deep
in watermelon slice

35

 fitting gourds
into a bowl . . .
still working on it

36

 French doors reflecting
in his eyes,
garden tortoise

37

 from a cello case
music for the godfather
bang bang bang

38

 garden plot
untended gourds
scatter

39

 Gourd didgeridoo
musical inheritance
shape me like a swan

40

 gourd flowers . . .
sunset has stopped
in the next garden

41

 gourd in the garden
broken all records
great emptiness

42

 gourd maracas
all the roles we play
towards the finale

43

 gourd pudding . . .
outweighs her marriage
only child’s face

44

 Halloween coming
children busy in carving
those pumpkins and gourds

45

 Halloween gourds —
warm soups
replace glowing magic

46

 Halloween
smiling pumpkin
me smiling back

47

 hey, kid, put me down
my roots are here in this patch
and don’t call me Jack

48

 hippie pumpkin
on the queen of autumn
flower wreath

49

 homecoming
a gourd on the trellis
moonrise

50

 illumination —
in the top of the pile of gourds
the full moon itself

51

 in the kitchen
the silence of dusk . . .
gourds

52

 Indian gourd
many thumbs up
on its tender skin

53

 Indian summer
my Radio Flyer
filled with gourds

54

 jack-o-lantern —
wiggle
of the child’s tooth

55

 lockdown —
from the neighbor’s window
the smile of a gourd

56

 long autumn night
alone counting seeds
in a hollow gourd

57

 lost inside
music of the kora
joy and pathos

58

 lumpy gourd
another obsession
for a new birdhouse

59

 Mexican gourd
I trace the shape
of our world

60

 moon is coming out —
every gourd in the field
casts its long shadow

61

 motherhood —
my first year trying
to grow gourds

62

 my gourd pie, did not
win an award, how did the
judges window get splattered

63

 on a frosty field
a chorus of pumpkins
deepens the night

64

 on her steps
the gutted pumpkins
fake a smile

65

 once utensil, musical instrument,
weapon — now mere ornamentation
the mighty gourd

66

 orphanage —
by the earthen fireplace,
heap of bitter gourd

67

 peeking sun
my sister hides her jack o lantern
for the contest

68

 perfect day for soup
I dropped my grocery bags
oh, my gourd!

69

 pinpoints of light
on our north wall
carved gourd lamp

70

 porch steps . . .
jack-o’-lanterns
glow

71

 preparing for fall
my knobby squash on the porch
three bites smaller

72

 pumpkin carving —
poets
take the tops of heads off

73

 pumpkin chunk’n
gotta be a little
off your gourd

74

 pumpkin cream —
your favorite fish
my grandmother’s

75

 pumpkin festival —
two Jack-be-little pumpkins
in her bra

76

 pumpkin flowers
too late to ask for forgiveness

77

 pumpkin harvest
granddaughter’s first meeting
with a wasp

78

 pumpkin head
emptied of all seeds —
food for thought

79

 pumpkin patch
all that remained
of warriors’ smiles

80

 pumpkin rolls . . .
the worn hands
of the baker

81

 pumpkin scarecrow no match for the storm

82

 pumpkin
vitamins one after another —
immunity

83

 rattling dried gourds
at the rain gods —
now would be good

84

 returning from grandma’s —
a ripe gourd
for each hand

85

 ripe gourds on the vine
out of each one
a bite

86

 ripe pumpkin —
I wish Earth were
as mature

87

 ripe pumpkin —
under my sandal
a snail

88

 roasted pumpkin
my old mother asks again
who taught me this

89

 samhain approaches
outer darkness
inner light

90

 scary pumpkins
scarred by
curious critters

91

 scooping starlight
from a pool of water
the drinking gourd

92

 spooning out
winter sustenance
acorn squash

93

 spring at last
not a single horse coming
out of the gourd

94

 stacked firewood
on the porch
a pumpkin

95

 stars in the night sky
seeds of the creation
calabash

96

 steaming soup
he still wears his gloves
her ladle trembles

97

 stuffed bitter gourds
I never wrote down
grandma’s recipe

98

 summer rainfall
the sound of
pumpkins ripening

99

 sunbeams slide
from a pumpkin leaf . . .
raindrops

100

 tangerine tinge gourd
dancing spirits passing by
stillness woods lingers

101

 Tardy dawn
A withered rose
on my page

102

 tasty pumpkin soup
grateful I’ll be cooking
for two very soon

103

 the end of the shift
the doctor pierces the gourd
with a scalpel

104

 the fruit
of one vine . . .
scattered siblings

105

 the old farmer
a nod to his plot
of inedibles

106

 the pooch carries
a piece of pumpkin —
dog-day Halloween

107

 The Pumpkin spice craze
Advertising on the sign
Of the tire dealer

108

 the radiance
of solace —
bottle gourd soup

109

 the swell
of you
in me

110

 the wailing song
of the gourd flute
late late autumn

111

 there is a warm place
I like to call it my own
gourd engagement ring

112

 Through bitter gourd
     a lone maggot
          makes its course

113

 tricks first, then the treats
Lily’s Halloween garden
golly good gourds wait

114

 Uneven edges
Fall colors bursting brightly
Gourdgeous

115

 watermelon seeds . . .
picking out the grouses
one by one

116

 Waxing moon
came quite close
a slice of pumpkin

117

 well I’ll be    a gourd

118

 well-mixed the sociable gourd

119

 wildfires
the last gourd
cooked alive

120

 winter is coming
gourds left in the fields
are slowly rotting away

121

 winter knitting
her toddler’s hat in the shape
of a patty pan

122

 withered vines
a moonlit gourd wobbles
in the wind

123

 yellow gourds
the sun is out in the
neighbour’s garden

124

 yellow rattler
desert maraca
coyote gourd

 

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 2 Comments

  1. Liked reading them all. Here’s mine, too late …

    the kid’s rides
    pumpkin carnival
    am I tall enough

Comments are closed.

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