The Haiku Moment Award, Runners-up, and Honorable Mentions
Haiku Moment Award: spring pilgrimage- first cherry blossoms in mother’s sandals proljetno hodočašće - prvi cvjetovi trešnje u majčinim sandalama Goran Gatalica, Croatia Here is clearly the front runner. With deft phrasing, Goran Gatalica presents a moment that expresses spirituality, natural beauty, and a son’s love, centered on a spring kigo. Runners-Up: crescent moon . . . my silent yearning as vast as the night sky Anne Curran, New Zealand We liked the sensitive expression of Anne’s feeling and the depth of that feeling. flickering lantern a beggar's bowl fills with moonlight 大红灯笼挂, 烛光自摇曳。 乞丐手中碗, 月光已注多 David He, People’s Republic of China We liked this haiku for the sensitive take on a beggar's bowl haiku, perhaps opening up a strong connection to Zen awareness. If the friendly mosquitoes kept quiet. Oh, early morning. Si los amables mosquitos se callaran. Oh madrugada. Rafael García Bidó, Dominican Republic This haiku was the most humorous of all we got and reminiscent of Issa. oak in spring lifting the light from a river Michael McClintock, USA We liked Michael’s haiku for the poetic transparency and deftness of expression. summer solstice the weight of light Valorie Woerdehoff, USA We liked this poem for its very contemporary phrasing and idiom and the subtlety of the haiku as a whole. Honorable Mentions (Autumn/Winter): stirring moonlight into darkness catfish Simon Hanson, Australia Here is a very original take on a moment of perception that reverberates with mystery. equinox a moment with the falling leaf Cyndi Lloyd, USA This haiku is a subtle presentation of a haiku moment, linking, in a sense, the universal and the particular. dad’s face not as I remember him . . . winter stars Marion Alice Poirier, USA This haiku focuses on sadness and longing and is made deeper by the last line, which becomes a metaphor for that depth. lives of their own autumn leaves Julie Warther, USA The imagery here nicely supports the importance of seeing the life in all natural phenomena. still autumn . . . a baby crow caws with each fallen leaf ...خريف هادِئ نعّاب ينعق مع كل ورقة تسقط Ali Znaidi, Tunisia Ali Znaidi’s haiku radiates a tenderness that can be felt in the natural world. Honorable Mentions (Spring/Summer): gentle rain my palms open with a prayer Tia Haynes, USA Tia's haiku poetically offers a spiritual connection to a simple and perhaps needed natural event. spring rain the cherry petal tea of my childhood 春之雨 我童年的 樱桃花茶 David He, People’s Republic of China A Taoist-like haiku that centers upon the wonder of the continued cycle of the seasons in nature and in human nature. the smell of spring in my shoes – lily of the valley Precious Oboh, Nigeria This haiku brings the wonders of another spring to a human level. spring rain a child jumps from cloud to cloud Rachel Sutcliffe, UK A precious haiku that captures the simplicity of a child’s delight. clover the girl makes a bouquet for her doll’s wedding 人形の結婚式に 少女はブーケをつくる しろつめくさの花 ningyo no kekkonshiki ni shoujo wa bouquet wo tsukuru shirotsumekusa no hana (revised Japanese version by the author) Norie Umeda, Japan Norie Umeda’s haiku allows us to enter a child’s world in which the ordinary becomes beautiful. Welcome to the Spring/Summer issue of Autumn Moon Haiku Journal. I want to thank all those who submitted haiku to the first volume of this journal and want to express my appreciation of the quality of your work. I am doing research for a lecture that may justify the reliance on kigo (season word) in traditional Japanese haiku. All societies have constructed their cultures with reference to the natural world in representational and figurative approaches, including their gods and goddesses in what has been called The Flower World. The majority of the submitted haiku in Volume 1 have expressed the authors’ poetic sensibilities with some reference to this world, using images such as almond blossoms, the moon, mosquitoes, oak trees, sunlight, crows, swallows, catfish, peepers, other frogs, lily of the valley, clover, autumn leaves, winter stars, clouds, the summer solstice, spring rain. Supporting the relation of the seasons and seasonal activities to poetic and artistic expression, including the kigo of haiku, is the fact that the landscape is possibly the most depicted subject in painting and the floral still life also is vastly popular. Perhaps much world poetry has in fact focused on the natural world and the feelings generated by it (and criticized as merely “birds and flowers”). Our poetic sensibilities through heightened moments in nature, with family and friends, in seasonal celebrations, and through memories and reveries evoke our simplest yet deepest experience of our world. Haiku is significant as a poetic form because it expresses these moments and is strongly based on the kigo which are clearly related to The Flower World and our seasonal worldwide cultural realities. The submitted haiku were chosen in relation to how poetically and originally they express these significant moments.
Bruce Ross, June 2018 Haiku emerging from the bamboo thicket crow moon papasulpot mula sa kawayanan bilugang buwan Billy Antonio, Philippines tasting sunrise pink hyacinths Susan Auld, USA after the rain the scent of rain water lilies Gabriel Bates, USA a lull between cicadas . . . morning heat Mark Brager, USA rainy spring night her yellowed goodbye note slightly damp Ed Bremson, USA ruffles of air against my bare arms summer morning Dawn Bruce, Australia snowmelt scattered snowdrops Helen Buckingham, UK my whistle and the bewick wren’s suddenly summer Alanna C. Burke, USA spring unfurling the mountain fern rainy season a farmer hums with the frogs Matthew Caretti, Malawi indigo veil - the tart sweetness of a plum Anna Cates, USA lighting up the temple courtyard almond blossoms rice seedlings darkening spring rain Sonam Chhoki, Bhutan last cloud in the sky - the blue of the mountains Meagan Collins, USA ivy planted in an old china cup her last garden Sue Colpitts, Canada dry rookery branch two spoonbills clacking beaks Bill Cooper, USA summer night I step outside to check the moon then head back in Ronald K. Craig, USA sudden cloud out of the garden barrel drains moonlight iznenadni oblak iz vrtne bačve otječe mjesečina Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan, Croatia jarred fireflies the full moon rising through pines Mark Dailey, USA morning prayer flowers of spring join the chorus Basanta Kumar Das, India Full moon: Inside the alcatraz flower a cricket chirps Luna llena: Dentro de la flor alcatraz estridula un grillo. Sunset fog: In the crack of the rock a jasmine has blossomed. Niebla de ocaso: En la grieta de la roca ha florecido un jazmin. Elías Dávila Silva, Mexico moon cakes a mouthful of sweetness on Buddha’s birthday Angelee Deodhar, India swallows fly - in my memories another spring rondini in volo - un’altra primavera nei miei ricordi Rosa Maria Di Salvatore, Italy our black cat opens her yellow eyes jonquil bed Jan Dobb, Australia spring equinox a spider’s web catches the sun Tom Drescher, Canada Wildflowers, also on the graves Spring. Flores silvestres, también sobre las tumbas la primavera. Nap time. The wood pigeon’s trill in solitude. Hora de siesta. Un canto de torcaza en soledad. Juan Carlos Durilén, Argentina cloud shadows a herd of buffalo moves to fresh grass Garry Eaton, Canada we wait, the daimon seed and i, for planting Donna Fleischer, USA did you call me? oh no, it is only spring wind wołałeś mnie? och nie, to tylko wiosenny wiatr Małgorzata Formanowska, Poland wild wind the fruity sage waving a wattlebird Lorin Ford, Australia summer cabin the frogs chant full matins across the lake Robert Forsythe, USA Summer sun. The different blues, of the Caribbean Sea. Sol de verano. Los distintos azules, del Mar Caribe. Edmundo M. García Terrero, Dominican Republic If the friendly mosquitoes kept quiet. Oh, early morning. Si los amables mosquitos se callaran. Oh madrugada. Rafael García Bidó, Dominican Republic spring pilgrimage - first cherry blossoms in mother’s sandals proljetno hodočašće - prvi cvjetovi trešnje u majčinim sandalama Goran Gatalica, Croatia final eclipse my eyes become accustomed to the silence summer shadows the growing space between galaxies Mark Gilbert, UK at sunset the black crows rise up - ripe wheat al crepusculo s’alzano i corvi neri - grano maturo Angela Giordano, Italy Like a beautiful painting, the orchard’s fruit: Asian pears. Hermoso cuadro exhibe el rojo pomar: peras de arena. Alexis Gómez Rosa, Dominican Republic (trans. Elizabeth H. Lara) peepers the night loses its chill LeRoy Gorman, Canada sultry summer night - a woman on the beach talking to the Moon sparna ljetna noć - žena na plaži razgovara s Mjesecom Danijela Grbelja, Croatia dreaming of colours yet to come wildflower seed Simon Hanson, Australia gentle rain my palms open with a prayer Tia Haynes, USA tying a knot in the grass blade midsummer John Hawk, USA spring rain the cherry petal tea of my childhood 春之雨 我童年的 樱桃花茶 David He, People’s Republic of China first spring spider so busy so very busy 初春のクモ あいそがしいいそがしな (hatsuharu no kumo a isogashii isogashi na) Judith Hishikawa, USA your footprint with mine trout lily rain Jeff Hoagland, USA the silence of raked white pebbles - a cicada shell Marilyn Humbert, Australia a koel calls . . . you query my accent yet again Samantha Sirimanne Hyde, Australia sugar moon our walk made sweeter mbalamwezi matembezi yetu yawa murua zaidi Mercy Ikuri, Kenya using his cane a farmer tries to count playful lambs Jeanne Jorgensen, Canada this year I won’t be weeding - first dandelion Christopher Jupp, UK still clear through the smokey air - the robin’s song Skylar Kay, Canada pine trees blurred by wisteria and rain vernal equinox redbud sapling the squirrel stares back Craig Kittner, USA late spring an empty hanging basket swings by the front door kjmunro, Canada rainbow over rolling hills California poppy Deborah P Kolodji, USA by a ruined house a crow collects twigs for its nest kraj srušene kuće vrana skuplja grančice za gnijezdo spring rain I feel it to my bones through the walls proljetnu kišu osjećam do kostiju kroz zidove Nina Kovačić, Croatia (trans. by Đurđa Vukelić Rožić) foxgloves the many kinds of woman in me Jessica Malone Latham, USA summer kiss the blue expanse in her eyes 夏日初吻 在她的眼中 一片天藍 Chen-ou Liu, Canada sunlight fills the millstone’s furrows trilling pine warblers paul m., USA summer heat a willow dips its roots in the river Martha Magenta, UK oak in spring lifting the light from a river Michael McClintock, USA a collie’s muzzle more mud than dog spring rain reluctantly, early retirement . . . crocuses in snow Marietta McGregor, Australia birdsong the weight of footsteps on a forest path Andy McLellan, UK hollyhock blossoms enough for a summer doll Connie R Meester, USA All about, uphill, downhill . . . the amancay! * (*South American wild daffodils, growing on the Andean slopes) Donde se mire, cerro arriba, cerro abajo, . . . los amancay! Lía Miersch, Argentina mid summer the school child’s picture under a smiling sun Mac Miller, New Zealand spring crush fiddlehead ferns for the first time Beverly Acuff Momoi, USA longest day- what to do with all this light? Joanne Morcom, Canada summer dusk, a pelican landing splinters the lagoon without a sound it emerges from its shell- cicada Leanne Mumford, Australia April noon the library silence returns me to my breath Timothy Murphy, Ireland/Spain trees in full bloom the cuckoo I used to see now I only hear Indra Neil Mekala, India shifting wind the coyote’s raised foreleg motionless ayaz daryl nielsen, USA summer solstice rust on the edge of a horse chestnut leaf poletni solsticij rja na robovih lista kostanja a gap in the clouds changing into rain vrzel v oblakih se spreminja v dež Polona Oblak, Slovenia the smell of spring in my shoes - lily of the valley Precious Oboh, Nigeria without you the gold spring moon just a moon Marian Olson, USA listening to all the colors . . . spring fever Victor Ortiz, USA bowed branch - a kid lends his walking stick to his grandma Pravat Kumar Padhy, India from the clothes line a string of dew scattered by a finch Sarah Paul, UK summer twilight - the waves washing over the traces of her steps hoàng hôn mùa hè - những cơn sóng trôi qua dấu chân em crépuscule d'été - les vagues emportent les traces de ses pas Minh-Triět Pham, France lilly pilly hedge twilight eases into our conversation Madhuri Pillai, Australia birdsong . . . beyond drying sheets dad’s marigolds Marion Alice Poirier, USA in the vineyard . . . a mouth full of grapes the fox Keith Polette, USA summer night my restlessness shapes the sleeping cat Sandi Pray, USA spring rain a woman holds her burqa close to her figure Patricia Prime, New Zealand violets in bloom an old woman gives me the eye John Quinnett, USA spring fog the brightness of lemons Dian Duchin Reed, USA warmer days a sudden chill from childhood dyddiau cynhesach ias annisgwyl o 'mhlentyndod rising finally into another future fritillary o'r diwedd yn codi i ddyfodol arall brith-y-gors John Rowlands, Wales a second date he promises me a green Moon drugi čvenik obećava mi zeleni mjesec Đurđa Vukelić Rožić, Croatia no stars tonight the mist of the coast at rice planting Miriam Sagan, USA a field full of kids’ shadows summer’s end dreaming of an alternate life summer stars Agnes Eva Savich, USA billowing the bedroom curtains out spring breeze de son souffle le printemps fait onduler les rideaux de la chambre Olivier Schopfer, Switzerland origami her lost letter unfolding Sudebi Singha, India August night atop Mont Sainte Anne shooting stars Robert Spice, USA crescent moon your silver bracelet beside the bed Susan Spooner, Canada summer snow . . . mayflies swarm above the river Debbie Strange, Canada breeze on young leaves . . . a stray dog pawed the future and left Kyle Sullivan, Taiwan spring equinox the morepork’s call unanswered first flower on the pohutukawa - red sunset Andre Surridge, New Zealand spring rain a child jumps from cloud to cloud Rachel Sutcliffe, UK misty rain the tulips refuse to bloom Christine Taylor, USA clover the girl makes a bouquet for her doll’s wedding お人形のウエディングブーケはしろつめくさの花 (oningyo no wedding bouquet wa shirotsumekusa no hana) Norie Umeda, Japan summer breeze billowing the curtains scent of resin door het open raam brengt het zomerbriesje een lome harsgeur Steven Van Der Heyden, Belgium new home insomnia . . . our apricot tree has bloomed insomnie de casă nouă . . . caisul nostru a înflorit Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania garden planted . . . the scarecrow touches his sleeve to mine Marilyn Appl Walker, USA a beetle carries his piece of light into a rosebud Robert Witmer, USA/Japan summer solstice the weight of light Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff, USA |
Editorial Staff:
Founder (emeritus): Bruce Ross Editors: Astrid Andreescu Kristen Lindquist Art: Murray D. Ross Archives
November 2024
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