December Haiku Share- Day 12

December Haiku Share

the waiter asks
if I’m alone –
winter clouds
— Cara Holman

1st place, Sketchbook Kukai, Nov/Dec 2010 

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sun going down-
a lonely boy asking
if I got a son
— Lech Szeglowski

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the long white apron
of a barman–
the day menu unscrews
— Alan Summers

Snapshots 9 (2001)

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inside dewdrops
the only time I am
the size I feel
— S.M. Abeles

Shamrock Haiku Journal Vol. 22

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clouds lie cradled
near the sun
dark december days
~isabelle loverro

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sudden chill . .
the stillness of a mountain
knee deep in clouds
— Sandi Pray

see haiga here

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cloud hands
the cat observes
my tai chi moves
— Lauren Mayhew

bottlerockets, 13:1, summer 2011

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riverbank-
dipping my toes
in winter clouds
— sanjuktaa

2nd place, Sketchbook kukai, Nov-Dec 2010

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stratus clouds
his slow
recovery
— Polona Oblak

A Hundred Gourds 1:2 (March 2012)

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writing your name
on a napkin
& kissing it…
the waiter asks
if i desire anything
— Pamela A. Babusci

Eucalypt Issue 3 2007

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winter silence…
the phone rings
only in my head
— Christine L. Villa

Notes From the Gean (Fall 2011: Vol. 3, Issue 2)
See haiga here 

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each day continues
a journey of loneliness
crows screech overhead
— Marie Shimane

***

winter afternoon
one empty space
in the library carpark
— Kirsten Cliff

Honorable Mention, Haiku International Association 2009 Haiku Contest

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cumulus
I realise I’ve lived
all my life on islands
— Alison Williams

Presence #45 January 2012

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falling snow
and suddenly we stop
for deer
— angie werren

pay attention: a river of stones (April, 2011)

***

winter morning
the stillness
of your face
— Seánan Forbes

Daily Haiku, Cycle 13

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nimbus clouds
one candle lit
at the confluence
— Jone MacCulloch

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equinox my glass half-full again
— Margaret Dornaus

Modern Haiku, 43.2, Summer 2012

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winter constellations
we listen to music
in the dark
— Dawn Apanius

wind in the reeds

Thanks to Kirsten Cliff for letting me know that the July/ August 2012 Sketchbook Kukai results are out. They were delayed for so long, that I guess it fell off my radar to keep checking for them. Anyway, I’m pleased to have received a 2nd place finish for one of my haiku, and a 7th and 8th place for the other two. This was a prompt that really spoke to me. I had an especially hard time deciding how to cast my votes this time, because there were so many haiku that I admired and wanted to give points to.

the stories
that vanished with her
wind in the reeds
(2nd place)

alone
with my thoughts
wind in the reeds
(7th place tie)

my mother’s voice
again in my dreams
wind in the reeds
(8th place tie)

billowing clouds

It’s always a delight when a new issue of Sketchbook is released. Sketchbook was one of the first journals I successfully submitted to, way back in Spring 2010, and I’ve had haiku appear in every issue since. The kigo for May/June was “cloud peaks” / “billowing clouds” . Here are my three:

billowing clouds
the wind shifts
a flock of swallows

a fire-breathing dragon
morphs into a sheep…
billowing clouds

billowing clouds
the first raindrops
hit the pavement

March/April Sketchbook Kukai

I always look forward to the new release of the Sketchbook journal.  I had three haiku in the “swing” kukai this time.

rope swing
learning when to hold on
and when to let go
(7th place)

early winter
an empty swing
catches snow
(8th place)

eagle wings
I push her swing
into the clouds
(11th place tie)

April Poet Showcase

For three years now, I have participated in at least one daily poetry writing challenge in April, in honor of National Poetry Month. It was a great way to kick start my writing, and make new friends in the process. As this April approached however, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the idea of taking on yet another daily writing challenge. In the first place, I have been doing this for three consecutive months now, and am ready for a break! And in addition, now that I am regularly writing and submitting haiku, tanka, haibun, and rengay to journals, I feel like trying to write to daily prompts can sometimes become a distraction. So I sat back and gave some thought to what I could do this April. And the answer came to me at once.

I have met so many creative poets over the last few years. Why not showcase them, and in the process, learn a bit more about my poetry friends, many of whom I have not yet met in person. So I sent out a short list of questions, one of which is how they met me. I have been involved in many online poetry writing communities, including the Four and Twenty journal– the first place my poetry was published– Poetic Asides, Read Write Poem, Big Tent Poetry, Shiki Kukai, Sketchbook Kukai, Caribbean Kigo Kukai, NaHaiWriMo, and most recently, I Doodle, You ‘Ku. Again and again I see many of the same names popping up in various poetry publications and communities, and new ones being added all the time. So this April, I will be showcasing many of my poetry friends in guest blog posts, and hope you will follow along.

Just to whet your appetite, here is the line up, for the first two weeks, in order of appearance. (And if you haven’t sent in your answer to my questions yet, please do!)

Week 1: Kirsten Cliff, Cassie Premo Steele, Laurie Kolp, Terri L. French, Margaret Chula, Michael Dylan Welch, and Curtis Dunlap

Week 2: Aubrie Cox, Margaret Dornaus, Alegria Imperial, Gillena Cox, Angie Werren, Christina Nguyen, and Johannes S.H. Bjerg

So with no further ado…

A Haiku Evolution

When I first began writing haiku, in 2010, I discovered kukai contests, a wonderful no-fail way for a beginner to get their feet wet, and did a blog post on Kirsten Cliff’s Swimming in Lines of Haiku about them. Kukai are still one of my favorite ways to immerse myself in haiku.

For a long time though, that was my only connection to the greater haiku community. While I found an outlet for some of my haiku, I still didn’t know very many people in the haiku community. I  submitted to a handful of journals and contests, that first year, and had my first contest Honorable Mention, in World Haiku Review, and my first journal publication, in Riverwind 30, but I still felt like I was on the outside looking in. I wasn’t sure what journals and contests were looking for, and it didn’t feel very satisfying to get far more rejections than acceptances. And then I began participating in NaHaiWriMo, on Facebook.

Writing haiku daily since February 1st of last year, and receiving positive feedback, encouragement, and support, from like-minded others, has not only been rewarding and helped me improve my craft, but has really built a sense of community. Attending two haiku conferences and a haiku retreat this year enabled me to meet many of my Facebook friends “in real life”, an added treat. And all this gave me the confidence to once again try my hand at getting my haiku published, and entering contests. It’s been a good year!

Starting in January, I’ve had two 2nd place finishes in the Shiki Kukai, and two 1st place finishes in the Sketchbook Kukai. I’ve had haiku published in Frogpond, The Heron’s Nest, Notes from the Gean, and A Hundred Gourds. And I placed well in a number of contests: an Honorable Mention in the Haiku North America 2011 Conference Kukai contest, a Sakura Award in the Vancouver’s Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational 2011 , Third Prize in the International “Kusamakura” Haiku Competition, First Prize in the 2011 Porad Award, October 2011, an Honorable Mention in the 13th HIA Haiku Contest, 1st place in Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge: Haiku, 3rd Place, 2011 Thom Williams Memorial contest: The 7s, and 2nd place in the 2011 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, Tanka and Rengay, for my first tanka.

Yesterday I learned that I also received an Honorable Mention in the 15th Mainichi Haiku Contest: International Section for one of my haiku. All this has only whet my appetite, and I’m looking forward to lots more haiku, haibun, tanka, and rengay writing in 2012.

Old Calendar

The kigo for the Sketchbook November/ December 2011 kukai was “old calendar”. I don’t know if other people also save their old calendars like I do, but I love having a record of the past, for what it’s worth. Those little minutiae of life are all duly recorded for posterity,  in the little white squares.

winter deepens –
old calendar pages
completely filled

taking down
my old calendar…
reflected moonlight

fallen blossoms
of the Christmas cactus
old calendar

Autumn Leaves

My haiku for the September/ October 2011 Sketchbook “autumn leaves” kukai, which respectively took 1st, 4th, and 8th place:

 

autumn leaves –
the slow fade
of wild geese

her photo curled
at the edges…
autumn leaves

the jack-o’-lantern’s
crooked smile…
autumn leaves

The entire results can be read here.

November/ December 2011 Sketchbook

It’s always a treat when the new issue of Sketchbook comes out. And of course before perusing the issue in its entirety, I have to sneak a peek to see how I did in the kukai and the haiku thread. I was very happy to see that I took 1st place in the kukai this month. “Autumn leaves” is a topic I can expound upon at length. We have a seemingly endless supply of them around these parts. A second haiku took 4th place.

The haiku thread topic was “cemetery”, and although not my favorite thing to think about, it is (sadly) another topic I can go on about at length. As a child, I remember thinking cemeteries were kind of creepy places, but now I find them peaceful, if a bit melancholy. I hope to pay my respects to my parents next week when I am in California. Three of my haiku were selected “Editor’s Choice” by John Daleiden, or “Guest Editor’s Choice” by Bernard Gieske. I found Bernard’s essay on haiku techniques (using the thread haiku as illustrations of various techniques) especially helpful, as I am still getting the hang of how to write an effective jux into my haiku. And consciously thinking about technique from time to time never hurt anyone’s haiku writing!

The kigo topic for January/ February 2012 is “old calendar”, and the thread topic is “candle(s)”. Anticipating how busy this month will be, I already sent in my entries. The new thread can be read here.

2011 Shiki Poets’ Choice Awards

I was very very happy to see that the Shiki Kukai results have a new, albeit temporary, home online, so they all can be read and enjoyed. I started participating in the Shiki Kukai in March of 2010, and have participated in every one since. I can’t say enough good about all of the online kukai I regularly participate in: Shiki, Sketchbook, and the Caribbean Kigo Kukai. They welcomed me with open arms, when I was a raw beginner, and because of the anonymous nature of kukai, I was put on an equal footing both with other beginners, as well as with those who have been writing haiku for many years. It has been an eye-opening experience. Through judging and casting my own votes every month, I have learned to have a more discerning eye, and see what makes a haiku resonate with me. And through receiving votes and comments, I in turn get valuable feedback on my own haiku efforts.

The first time I entered the Shiki Kukai, I was still fastidiously writing 5-7-5 haiku. I received no votes, either in the kigo category (“planting/sowing”) or in the free format section (“cookies”). But I refused to let that discourage me, and I persevered. The next month I received my first votes, and by June of that year, I took 5th place in the free format section with the following haiku:

fifth birthday party
the oak adds
another ring

I knew then, that I was on my way. A month later, I was overjoyed to learn that I took 1st place in the free format section, with:

night sky-
my thumb
eclipses the moon

This haiku also took 3rd place in the 2010 Shiki Poets’ Choice Awards. Which brings me around to this year. I had three haiku that qualified for this year’s Poets’ Choice Awards ballot: a first place finish, and two second place finishes. Although none of them placed in the top three for the year, they all garnered a respectable number of points, rounding out a second very gratifying year of kukai-ing:

winter dawn…
humming along
with the furnace

flea market
two bees circling
the same flower

garden spider –
weaving the dew
into its web

Together my three haiku garnered 21 points, which coincidentally was the exact same number of points I received for my single haiku last year. I was also very pleased to see that first place in the kigo section this year went to Svetlana Marisova, a fitting tribute to a fine haiku poet, who was taken too soon. The complete 2011 Poets’ Choice Award results can be read here. And links to all the Shiki kukai monthly results, going way back to 2002, can be found here.