August 2008 Kukai Dear Haiku Friends, Here are the results for the August 2008 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was "Spiders" and our Free Format theme was "Home Improvement". Congratulations to Paul Hodder, winner of our Kigo section and to Carolyn Coit Dancy AND Melissa Spurr, winners of our Free Format section! The haiku are listed in order of total points received from voters. The numbers reflect the number of voters who gave the haiku either three points, two points, or one point -- followed by the total points for all votes. Those who were given less than three points and who requested anonymity in such a case are so noted. In the listing below, after each poem the author is listed, and then a three digit code revealing how many 3-point, 2-point, and 1-point points were cast for this poem by the other participating poets. (214 = 12) would indicate that the poem above received two 3-point votes, one 2-point vote, and four 1-point votes. Voters comments are in italics below the respective poems. August 2008 Results Kigo Theme: Spiders Free Format Theme: Home Improvement First Place – Twenty-three Points widow's cottage ~ every spider has a name Paul Hodder (2,4,9) = 23 Pts Fortunate spiders! This is lovely. An amusing observation of how loneliness may be kept at bay. Second Place – Twenty-two Points old farmhouse the weaving loom filled with spider silk Melissa Spurr (1,5,9) = 22 Pts on the front porch knitting beside grandmother the spider Bill Hudson (1,3,13) = 22 Pts receding clouds a spider mends its net polona (0,7,8) = 22 Pts So simple and beautiful. Can a spider catch a cloud? Maybe when I wasn’t watching. Every day we miss something. Third Place – Twenty Points attic window a spider spreads his web on the moon Jacek M. (1,6,5) = 20 Pts Fourth Place – Nineteen Points house guest a spider unfolds with the blinds Susan Constable (1,2,12) = 19 Pts Fifth Place – Sixteen Points empty spider's web first frost php (2,2,6) = 16 Pts Empty with transparent nothing in. Thin, white threads and my foggy breath. Not even a spider. This made me want to try to see this in my own yard this year! old easel - in the spider's web a still life Dorota Pyra (0,4,8) = 16 Pts Sixth Place – Fifteen Points dockside a spider web nets the setting sun tom painting (2,1,7) = 15 Pts I appreciate the skillful weaving and word choice here. Seventh Place – Fourteen Points on my computer, a spider viewing the web Jyothirmai Gubili (1,4,3) = 14 Pts A great dual use of spider as literal and also as a bot churning across the internet. Eighth Place – Thirteen Points summer cleaning a spider takes shelter under the buddha Tore Sverredal (0,4,5) = 13 Pts The perfect place to seek refuge. This is delightful. Ninth Place – Twelve Points twilight -- a spider's shadow climbs the screen Ann K. Schwader (0,3,6) = 12 Pts Twilight and a shadow on a screen. I love how everything in this haiku is on the edge of something else. Tenth Place – Eleven Points starry night the spider's web studded with moths ed markowski (1,2,4) = 11 Pts I love this image - to me, it's a really 'living' haiku. As with several of the submissions, I get a dιjΰ vu feeling that something like this has been offered in the kukai before. But I like it. I like "Starry Night," too. spider web the sunrise caught in its dew N. C. Whitehead (1,2,4) = 11 Pts a spider diligently repairs the hole in my shed Frederick C. Gier (0,4,3) = 11 Pts Eleventh Place – Ten Points garden spider a ripe plum tomato just beyond its web jt (1,2,3) = 10 Pts again in the spider's web that useless moon Beth Powell (1,1,5) = 10 Pts I like the idea of all the web's unintended "catches" Twelfth Place – Nine Points new house... a spider comes out of the book carton K. Ramesh (0,2,5) = 9 Pts Cue the music from Jaws. every night somehow the front door spider and I forget each other Shelley Krause (0,1,7) = 9 Pts Thirteenth Place – Eighth Points spring cleaning moving the spider web to another corner TV (1,1,3) = 8 Pts flat calm a spider climbs the rigging Josh Wikoff (1,1,3) = 8 Pts house spider in our corners we wait for each other jblain (0,3,2) = 8 Pts Fourteenth Place – Seven Points web compass a spider points out eight directions john tiong chunghoo (0,1,5) = 7 Pts Spiderweb as alternative aid to wayfinding... I like it. only a speckled spider for company harvest moon sheila windsor (0,1,5) = 7 Pts bomb shelter — devastated by a broom the spider's web Gautam Nadkarni (1,1,2) = 7 Pts Broom/boom/bomb brilliant! traveling spider a bit of the summer cabin comes home with me Audrey Downey (0,2,3) = 7 Pts Spider webs and summer cabins are absolutely synonymous, aren't they? This has a light yet wistful undertone for me. dusk lightning a spider brings out the killer in me Collin Barber (0,2,3) = 7 Pts school holidays -- another spider caged in a milk bottle David Caleb Mutua (0,2,3) = 7 Pts shower stall-- no room for me and the spider LGD (0,0,7) = 7 Pts first night without him- a daddy long- legs shares her bedroom Leslie Montgomery (0,1,5) = 7 Pts This refers to a spider where I come from; maybe not to everyone. typhoon debris a spider starts over Jan O'Loughlin (0,0,7) = 7 Pts abandoned hut - a little spider close to the moon Israel Lopez Balan (0,2,3) = 7 Pts Fifteenth Place – Six Points baby spiders balloon to safety the market falls Jo McInerney (1,1,1) = 6 Pts one spiderweb followed by another how the years go by Ella Wagemakers (0,2,2) = 6 Pts Our years do seem to unfold like a continuous strand of spider silk, and this haiku phrases the notion so very well. This is sublime. spider silk — what's spun out of ourselves Bill Pauly (0,2,2) = 6 Pts red light noticing the spider is on my side of the glass Laurene (0,0,6) = 6 Pts Sixteenth Place – Five Points packing day the wolf spider in my box --can't take everything! bre (0,2,1) = 5 Pts tiny ripples on still water... a raft spider runs across Rose Marie Stutts (0,2,1) = 5 Pts It could have been written better, but I like the essence. A raft spider running through the water circles. hens fighting over a dead spider -- windy evening Mary Kaleche (0,1,3) = 5 Pts rainy day – in the spider's cobweb only a petal Miorita (0,1,3) = 5 Pts a spider webs my bike to the house day old bread DeVar (1,1,0) = 5 Pts Seventeenth Place – Four Points a gingerbread horse on an old cupboard ridden by a spider Zeljka Vucinic Jambresic (0,2,0) = 4 Pts What a surrealistic scene, a great one. The one from the flashing kind seen in the childhood and forgotten. destroying the spider's home to keep mine clean Shernaz Wadia (0,1,2) = 4 Pts leg missing a spider completes the web w. f. owen (0,1,2) = 4 Pts stuck ... and the spider dancing carol pearce-worthington (1,0,1) = 4 Pts spider's sticky trap clings as I walk through: I perform web dance Penelope Sargent (0,2,0) = 4 Pts Heralding the autumn, in a spider's web the first leaf Vasile Moldovan (1,0,1) = 4 Pts cricket call caught in a silken scaffold summer's end Marilyn Hazelton (0,1,2) = 4 Pts garden gate I walk through the spiderweb woven last night Sherry Weaver Smith (1,0,1) = 4 Pts august moonlight... a spider walking on a pond Li Ree (0,1,2) = 4 Pts summer's end the spider's shadow from here to there Sjs (Stevie) (0,0,4) = 4 Pts summerhouse the spiders death page three mare (0,0,4) = 4 Pts Eighteenth Place – Three Points little black spider fragile life literally hanging by a thread if (1,0,0) = 3 Pts early morning walk , dodging spider webs terrytip (0,1,1) = 3 Pts heat fatigue the spider and I laid out flat andrea (0,0,3) = 3 Pts Nice bit of equality and humor. Does the spider conserve body moisture this way? Both being laid out adds to the heat effect for the reader, anyway. spider's maze - little suns glow in the breeze Narayanan Raghunathan (0,0,3) = 3 Pts i spied her first hidden in the fretwork -- the spider miriam chaikin (1,0,0) = 3 Pts I like the unnamed person in this. a small spider tethering the tropic palm to the evening heat Michael McClintock (0,0,3) = 3 Pts A cemetery – a spider wove a web on the fallen cross. Zoran Antonic (0,1,1) = 3 Pts home invasion the spider's web captures a fly Meggy (0,1,1) = 3 Pts still waiting... full moon fills spider's web Gosia Zamorska (0,1,1) = 3 Pts April morning jog pair of dew drops shivering in a spider's web Ben Gieske (0,1,1) = 3 Pts space walker just that spider spinning in the moonlight Barbara Snow (0,0,3) = 3 Pts spider, in a snore you were gone 1bodhisattva (0,0,3) = 3 Pts This one has 8 little feet tickling in my trachea. Startling! I can see somebody’s open mouth. Somebody who doesn’t even has a name, just like earthquake. Poor spider, finished with such an unnecessary death! a dead fly stuck in a dewy spider's web -- sunny morning James Bundi (0,1,1) = 3 Pts honeysuckle moon a spider finds its point of rest Francine Banwarth (0,1,1) = 3 Pts ballooning in the morning updraft tiny spiders Bridget Cougar (1,0,0) = 3 Pts grey mandala between the holly-hocks-- orb-weaver Gene Doty (0,1,1) = 3 Pts new curtains on the future window - the spider's creation Mirko Varga (0,0,3) = 3 Pts weaving summer into fall . . . wandering spider Mary Davila (0,1,1) = 3 Pts General Comments: There was so much lovely poetry but I chose the three that painted the most vivid picture in my mind's eye. First Place – Twenty-six Points our marriage falling apart he patches the roof Carolyn Coit Dancy (1,6,11) = 26 Pts I really love the irony in this one with its allusion to the uselessness of linear logic in feeling situations! new moon filling a crack in the skylight Melissa Spurr (1,6,11) = 26 Pts Fine double resonance on "filling a crack" Second Place – Twenty-Three Points new sunroom the dog claims his spot Frances McCarthy (0,5,13) = 23 Pts Of course. The most important entities get first choice. Third Place – Nineteen Points a cold night — stuffing the gap between the walls and the roof David Caleb Mutua (2,5,3) = 19 Pts new design the moon rises in an antique mirror ed markowski (2,4,5) = 19 Pts Fourth Place – Seventeen Points for the leaky roof finally a new bucket Beth Powell (1,3,8) = 17 Pts I love the ironic humor here! The author seems to have known my father. LOL! Nice turn-around on the theme. porch paint the dog next door licks his paws DeVar (0,2,13) = 17 Pts It reads either for the porch owner or dog owner. Echo of ‘fresh varnished floor’ and a different approach too. Fifth Place – Fourteen Points carpet selection we find the perfect color in a blade of grass Susan Constable (1,3,5) = 14 Pts newly painted walls — silence Tina (1,3,5) = 14 Pts I like the starkness of this haiku, whose silence has voice. Very meditative. A haiku that will stay with me for some time. autumn cleaning — a desk drawer full of dry pens Israel Lopez Balan (0,5,4) = 14 Pts Waiting — the crack in the ceiling widens Elena Naskova (0,5,4) 14 Pts Sixth Place – Thirteen Points home improvements the cat unclutters the highest shelf jblain (2,1,5) = 13 Pts I like that we side with the cat here. spring warmth we paint the baby's room robin's egg blue Collin Barber (1,2,6) = 13 Pts Seventh Place – Twelve Points fixer upper — happily ever after one nail at a time Bridget Cougar (0,3,6) = 12 Pts Ain't that just the way of it. Eighth Place – Ten Points spring cleaning moving the spider web to another corner TV (0,3,4) = 10 Pts blue tarps on the roof cherry petals too Barbara Snow (0,2,6) = 10 Pts The awareness of the petals seems to flutter down at the end, petal-like. tearing down the deck, I find a small handprint — Tommy 1968 Jeff Hanson (0,2,6) = 10 Pts Ninth Place – Eight Points home improvement — my son asks his dad for advice max verhart (1,2,1) = 8 Pts Two very different kinds of improvement nicely brought together here. heat wave done she opens her window for the western wind Bill Pauly (1,2,1) = 8 Pts replacing the door — across the home's threshold a snail trail Dorota Pyra (1,1,3) = 8 Pts Tenth Place – Seven Points home improvement touching up the paintwork in Photoshop Allison Millcock (0,2,3) = 7 Pts home improvement my brother's new room in the attic tom painting (0,2,3) = 7 Pts Nice double-meaning here. more water stains: I have the plumber on speed dial LGD (0,2,3) = 7 Pts A long-standing frustration. new windows a hummingbird watches me re-hang the feeders Catherine J.S. Lee (0,2,3) = 7 Pts finishing touch she blows out the renovation dust from my temple Juliusz Wnorowski (0,2,3) = 7 Pts Simply wonderful. I love the resonance of 'temple' here. I like the use of "temple" here. Eleventh Place – Six Points spring dream — building a tree house to commune with the birds Barbara Campitelli (0,3,0) = 6 Pts after the squall: a new twig in bird's beak vishnu kapoor (0,2,2) = 6 Pts cleaning the closet — a seashell listening to the ocean Deborah Finkelstein (0,2,2) = 6 Pts finally the fence! now my house is ready for morning glories Tom M. (0,2,2) = 6 Pts This made me think about how individual all our ideas of the ideal home improvement are. home improvement an abusive husband loses his key shanna (0,1,4) = 6 Pts Improvement indeed! Very clever! window enlargement the sun bursts through the wall Tore Sverredal (0,0,6) = 6 Pts Twelfth Place – Five Points global warming the realtor tells me I'll have sea views Jo McInerney (1,0,2) = 5 Pts hammer thumb ouch Deirdre Godwin (1,0,2) = 5 Pts Here's my thought process in the voting: Yes no yes. bedroom improvement — the silence when our eyes meet across the old double bed Li Ree (0,2,1) = 5 Pts house on the stock — a hoarse cricket is the sole owner Constantin Stroe (0,1,3) = 5 Pts from one side to the other — porch chairs ARW (0,1,3) = 5 Pts Thirteenth Place – Four Points daisies by the crumbling fence the neighbor nails a new board Bre (0,1,2) = 4 Pts in my backyard — a hummock of red sand gillena (0,1,2) = 4 Pts tree house repairs a nest of squirrels complain Carmel Lively Westerman (0,0,4) = 4 Pts A charming selection of events. crossing the grey street all of a sudden our whitewashed house Adina Enachescu (1,0,1) = 4 Pts after the hail storm every house a blue bonnet Ben Gieske (0,1,2) = 4 Pts Didn't get this one at first until a later haiku indicated that blue tarps might be frequently used in roof repair. Couldn't see why the flower 'blue bonnet' would spring up singly after a hail storm as they may en masse after a rain on the dry prairies of Texas. upstairs downstairs — the new wallpaper starts to curl Roberta Beary (0,0,4) = 4 Pts And they thought they were finished! Love it! Whether it's Three Stooges or Laurel and Hardy, that's a classic home renovation image. acorn woodpecker drilling holes in the tree — more storage space Leslie Montgomery (0,1,2) = 4 Pts man of the house raising the bedroom ceiling plastered Francine Banwarth (0,0,4) = 4 Pts our hut's rough floor being smeared with cow dung — mooing cows Paul Omondi (0,1,2) = 4 Pts house-painter scrapes the shady side first ladder among phlox Gene Doty (0,1,2) = 4 Pts the almost music of kids hammering together a tree fort John Thompson (0,0,4) = 4 Pts leaky roof . . . playing with his boats in the puddle Mary Davila (0,1,2) = 4 Pts Look to a kid for examples of 'If it rains lemons, make lemonade' ... at least when it ain't Their lemons! Fourteenth Place – Three Points once again a hammer in my hand lord help us all todd eddy (0,0,3) = 3 Pts painting the old house but stopping at the eaves, cobwebbed and beautiful Michael McClintock (0,1,1) = 3 Pts housekeeper's day off, the flies and I humming in the room Gryta Wansdronk (0,0,3) = 3 Pts unwanted construction on the side of my house woodpeckers Bill Hudson (0,1,1) = 3 Pts One more honey-do dammit, — hoping doing it for some Xmas peace. Horst Ludwig (1,0,0) = 3 Pts room addition loan process slows as swallows build their nest Harvey Jenkins (0,1,1) = 3 Pts spring clearing... while I repair my house the cherry tree shades me Vasile Moldovan (0,1,1) = 3 Pts a red power washer — the hummingbird defends his petunias jt (0,1,1) = 3 Pts wet paint -- the old building shines from a distance kelvin mukoselo (0,1,1) = 3 Pts in the attic a swarm of termites redecorating Sjs (Stevie) (0,0,3) = 3 Pts General Comments: I was initially a little annoyed with what felt like an unusually high senryu-like quotient here. Then I reminded myself that I hadn't been able to even write one haiku on this subject that I felt was worthy of sharing! Thank you all for participating in the August 2008 Shiki Monthly Kukai. We will be posting the September Call for Submissions on or about Monday, September 1st. See you then! 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