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THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — October 2022

This month’s theme:
harvest

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 cloud of starlings
scraping a well-picked field
border wait times

2

      a harvest
of memories
my mother’s passing

3

      a patient’s harvest
gazing at distant wildflowers
through glass

4

      a swipe of tail
a blur of fur
my beefsteak gone from the garden

5

      after harvest
the sallow complexion
of the landscape

6

      after the harvest
hungry crows
glean the field

7

Ah! mesmerizing tune
as I wake up; bird in glee
rich harvest within heart . . .

8

      another cornfield —
the night harvests more
of the moon

9

      apple harvest
I inhale the labour
of our afternoon

10

      Apple picking,
Benedictine abbey —
Gregorian chant.

11

      Auntie Marigold is back
with a truckload
of pumpkins

12

      Autumn collects the summer’s harvest
And sends them back to school

13

autumn leaves
harvesting memories
family trip

14

autumn wind
medals and memorials
an empty harvest

15

      autumn’s voice
a boy sings apples
to cider

16

      barber shop —
harvesting what’s left
of my hair

17

      bare tree
wrapped in the mist
the homeless man

18

      battle for custody
she wins a gibbous divvy
of the early harvest

19

      bitter harvest —
the nurse says
it’s a girl

20

      bitter harvest
this year’s field planted
with mines

21

      blackberrying
                        the juiciest fruit
just out of reach

22

      blessings
from La Niña . . . finally
a wheat crop

23

      car accident . . .
harvesting
his organs

24

      carving the pumpkin
thoughts turn to rising trout
nevertheless, still carving

25

      children lost in war
the wind gathers them all
in a cloud

26

city playground
two old friends harvest
their memories

27

      collecting social security
our harvest years

28

      combine harvester
half a meter of her hair
on the hospital floor

29

      corn dollies
the harvest
of stem cells

30

      corn is ripe
harvest time is here
Midwestern traffic

31

corn maze
finding our way
out of adulthood

32

corolla yawns wide
crimson dragon snaps
no fire within

33

      dad on his deathbed
empty fields stare back at him
after the harvest

34

      decayed, broken limbs
quiet, forgotten orchard
one perfect apple

35

      Deluge of droplets
Such spectacular sunshine
Helpfully hitched in Harvest

36

      distant voices
of early evening-fall,
shadow of an unpicked grape

37

      early harvest
a sickle wind through fields
of conscripts

38

      ears of wheat
caressed by the sun
a cricket ruins the silence

39

      earth’s color galore
autumn casts its spell on us
time for peace and rest

40

end of harvest
migrations from the fields
field mice

41

fall harvest:
a feast for me
and the snails

42

      Farmer’s daughter
Elopes
Amid bountiful harvest!

43

      feasting
on the pumpkin . . .
black slugs

44

      first harvest
in the fisherman’s net
shy sun

45

      first harvest . . .
the child shares her pudding
with the scarecrow

46

[Poem withdrawn.]

47

      funeral ends
the harvest moon
walks me home

48

      gathering
sheaves of grain
moonless threshing floor

49

      gathering
the grains of myself
harvest moon

50

      getting a feel
for fresh figs . . .
our hands ripen on the tree

51

      golden beams
black glass
infinite harvest

52

golden harvest
homemade pumpkin soup
his signature dish

53

      grape harvest . . .
a good reason
for having fun

54

grape harvesting . . .
a flock of starlings ready
for offensive

55

      grasshopper rasp —
a chill wind rustles
dry corn husks

56

      half-moon . . .
a dragonfly settles
on a pond rock

57

hands cupping
the child’s face . . .
harvest moon

58

      harvest
a lesson for life —
I reap what I sow

59

harvest day
rice plants turn over their crowns
to the farmers

60

harvest festival —
the scarecrow wears
the same clothes

61

      harvest
fields of havoc
disconsolate birds

62

      harvest gathered
on the threshing floor —
Empty field

63

harvest . . .
gathering all
that you gave

64

      harvest moon
aĺl the wishes
that came through

65

      harvest moon . . .
every farmer’s suicide
a blot on it

66

      harvest moon —
four ventilated patients
recover from covid

67

      harvest moon . . .
his calloused hands
gentle on the lamb

68

      harvest moon
i eat a pear
ripened on the tree

69

      harvest moon
I gather my ku
for a chapbook

70

      harvest moon
lighting the stubble
on the farmer’s chin

71

      Harvest Moon
over stony desert hills
— irony sucks

72

      Harvest Moon Rising
Ripe pumpkins await the morn
For their carved faces.

73

harvest moon still waiting for my 15 minutes of fame

74

      harvest moon —
the first kick
in her belly

75

harvest moon
the newborn’s tune
of latching sounds

76

      harvest moon —
this wish to grow old
together

77

      Harvest of sorrow
HOLODOMOR
My parents’ past

78

      harvest over
the scarecrow remains
at his post

79

      harvest over . . .
wild turkeys feast
on fallen grain

80

harvest
reeling in the lure
on-line grooming

81

      harvest season —
a burly bull’s
rambling walk

82

harvest season
through the mill wheel
flickering twilight

83

      harvest sun —
shadows reach a bit longer
to pick the fruit

84

      harvest time again
a rough touch on a grain field
just like years ago

85

      harvest time
not a single free bed
to maternity

86

      harvest time
the mist moves
to the silo

87

      harvested paddy field
scarecrow all alone
under sickle moon

88

      her harvest in,
through a sticky
intimacy

89

      his hopes on . . .
tomorrow’s sugar-cane harvest
suddenly elephants everywhere

90

      I attempt to count —
The Churns that are turning and,
I hear the brows bark

91

      ice harvest working up a sweat

92

      In autumn
Nature slips into fine robes
Trimmed in goldenrod

93

      In jail
He pondered over
His karma

94

      in the beginning . . .
a golden harvest
of apples

95

      informant —
30 silver pears
on the tree

96

      Inner autumn calls,
time to embrace season’s change.
The wind howls for rest.

97

      kindness, empathy doled out
in spring of her life
gets her through its winter

98

      Laden Mulberry tree
visited by feasting
blue tongued lizard.

99

      Lantern fixed to the sky
watches over
the harvest

100

      lap child
still many apples
to be picked

101

      late fall
until the next crop
half a bag of wheat

102

      late pepper harvest
in a stoneware bowl
Christmas lights

103

      lean harvest
the scarecrow loses
his shirt

104

Makar Sankranti
the children flying kites know
the sky’s the limit

105

      mango harvest
gathering
helping hands

106

      migrant workers —
harvesting the fruits of the earth
for others

107

      mischief in the air
a whirlwind
scattering hay

108

      my brother’s harvest —
fifty pounds of backyard grapes
bound for jelly jars

109

      new wine —
the first autumn dinners
with roast chestnuts

110

      new year persimmons as unappealing as ever

111

      no matter which side
harvesting
ukraine sunflowers

112

      of the wheat
or the tares from which
will i be counted

113

      on a white sky
in inky starling scribble
the year’s accounts

114

one by one
shucking the cobs . . .
ancestors’ story

115

      our toddler
brings in the harvest —
one plastic carrot

116

      outside kitchen window
sparrows playing with
golden apples

117

      over Ukraine
disturbs the silence of sighs
flight by plane

118

past karma
reaping
more karma

119

      peppered
on the scorched hill
hay bales

120

picking apples
annual family outing
crisp yet warm fall air

121

      picking quinces —
just burgeoned
her breasts

122

      pile of sugar beets
mother-in-law remembers
her childhoods

123

      Plentiful harvest
Of unsown dandelions
Scattered by the wind

124

      plop! plop!
acorns dropping —
bountiful harvest

125

      pomegranate seeds
flow down a white school wall
fate of the harvest

126

popping out
of your lantern
cape gooseberry

127

      pueblo seed keeper
harvests the three sisters
corn beans squash

128

      reaping hook
my mom’s memory
still bleeds

129

      rice paddy blues
fertilizer costs
another pest

130

      rows and rows of corn . . .
the promises you made
never harvested

131

      running this way that
field mice are wind up toys
in the stubble of corn

132

      scatterred seeds
over the mass graves . . .
the first harvest

133

      season finale —
the brittle chatter
of the cornfield

134

      september rice fields
white egrets
fatten

135

      seventieth birthday
how old is too old to be
Harvest Queen?

136

      shorn wheat
migrating geese
feed by moonlight

137

      sickle and bent
only for empty barn —
untimely ghost spell

138

      skirting the Aleutians
crab boats dance
on the waves

139

      smell of grain
knitting with the sunlight —
the old farmer cries

140

      stepping on ladder
whistling his favorite song
plucking the apples

141

      sterile white ceiling
respirator hiss grow soft
autumn fades away

142

      subsistence harvest
only what
you’ll eat and use

143

sunflower seeds
spill from a pocket
autumn field

144

      tasting the apples
too
september breeze

145

      temple priest
harvests the fruits
— strong taste of nothing

146

      term starts
a new crop of kids
through the school gates

147

      the bee sows honey
sealing off each honeycomb cell
— a vital harvest

148

      the curved blade
embracing the stalks
and cutting

149

      the Grim Reaper —
still harvesting the disciples
of big tobacco

150

      the tiny pods
of chive seeds
harvest moon

151

      the trees of autumn
my eyes harvesting
the colors

152

      the vineyard
ripening to purple
autumn sunset

153

      Uncaffeinated
I preorder on the app
Ripe for the pickup

154

      village fest
a corn seller reaps
tons of laughter

155

when time is ripe
I’ll tell my grandchildren
about their mother

156

      whether or not
the war ends . . .
harvest moon

157

windy day —
a scarecrow waving
back to me

158

yellow grapes . . .
the sweet light
of summer

159

      Yokey orb shrivels
A decision has been made
Grow the cells of babe

 

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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