December 2006 Kukai

Dear Haiku Friends,

Here are the results for the December 2006 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was "Starry Night" and our Free Format subject was "Memories".

Congratulations to Ron Moss, winner of our Kigo section and to Polona Oblak, winner 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.

December 2006 Results
Kigo Theme:
Starry Night
Free Format Theme:
Memories

First Place -- 25 pts
starry night . . .
what's left of my life
is enough

ron moss
(3,7,2) = 25 pts

** This haiku hits the mark completely. Reading it, I immediately felt the radiance of it's fullness and richness. Well done!


Second Place -- 18 pts
starry night
the fox's eyes
in the headlights

Polona
(2,4,4) = 18 pts

** that swift narrowing of focus, and it's all about light

counting the ways
I could have said goodbye
~ starry night

Paul Hodder
(1,5,5) = 18 pts


Third Place -- 15 pts
starry night
breathing deeper
and deeper

Grzegorz Sionkowski
(2,3,3) = 15 pts

starry night . . .
she adds another name
to the family tree

Francine Banwarth
(1,1,10) = 15 pts

starry night . . .
hot popcorn
in white paper cups

Carol Raisfeld
(1,4,4) = 15 pts

** WOW, It conjures blockbuster entertainment, shared experience, awe, even hunger and satiation; its original and easy for a reader to associate. And then a little more detail - white paper cups - takes it to another level. Very Nice.


Fourth Place -- 14 pts
starry night
a jet blinks across
the empty spaces

Bill Kenney
(1,4,3) = 14 pts

starry night
the scarecrow's hat
gleaming with frost

Jacek
(1,2,7) = 14 pts

starry night:
lowering
our voices

Linda Marucci
(1,2,7) = 14 pts


Fifth Place -- 13 pts
starry night
I smooth the goosebumps
on her arms

RaV
(1,2,6) = 13 pts


Sixth Place -- 12 pts
starry night
hearing the snow
underfoot

Ann K. Schwader
(1,3,3) = 12 pts

starry night
ice crystals sparkle
on the sidewalk

Warren Gossett
(0,3,6) = 12 pts


Seventh Place -- 10 pts
starry night
wail of a trombone
from the ninth ward

Ellen Compton
(1,3,1) = 10 pts

starry night;
the coolness of quarters
while ringing you

koast
(1,2,3) = 10 pts

starry night . . .
the scent of fresh snow
fallen on the mountain

--Michael McClintock
(1,1,5) = 10 pts

starry night
an angel peers through
the theater curtain

Earl Keener
(0,3,4) = 10 pts

slice of skates
on the frozen lake
starry night

Ruth Powell
(0,1,8) = 10 pts


Eighth Place -- 9 pts
starry night
counting the sleeps
until Christmas

Susan Constable
(0,2,5) = 9 pts

** A clever pun with sleep/sheep instead of a groaner

starry night —
I locate Polaris
through my breath

Audrey Downey
(0,2,5) = 9 pts


Ninth Place -- 8 pts
starry night -
drifting snow
alters the constellations

MAM
(1,2,1) = 8 pts

starry night - -
the shimmering riverside
lantern procession

Daniela Bullas
(1,1,3) = 8 pts

** The lights below mirror the lights above-nice visual.

starry night...
one light missing in
the jeweler's neon

Keiko Izawa
(0,3,2) = 8 pts

starry night
my neck is tired
from looking up

Bill Hudson
(0,2,4) = 8 pts

starry night
snow angels and footprints
dot an open field

-- Karen Cesar
(0,0,8) = 8 pts


Tenth Place -- 7 pts
lighting off the candle
on the villa's terrace
-- starry sky

Tom Maretic
(1,1,2) = 7 pts

starry night--
the perfume
of white flowers

Autumn Moon
(0,1,5) = 7 pts

** Yes! Yes! We best not disturb them in their peace and quiet.

starry night
the sparkle
in her eyes

Meredith
(0,1,5) = 7 pts

starry night
the red kettle filled
with pocket change

tom painting
(0,0,7) = 7 pts


Eleventh Place -- 6 pts
starry night . . .
on every single twig,
an ice crystal rainbow

mike farley
(1,1,1) = 6 pts

sleepless night -
I scribble a poem
amidst the stars

Kala Ramesh
(1,1,1) = 6 pts

cold little hands
slip inside my mittens
a starry night

Barbara Snow
(0,2,2) = 6 pts

starry night
even the crickets are silent
only the wall clock

Johannes Manjrekar
(0,3,0) = 6 pts

starry night -
the old man
counting his years

miorita
(0,1,4) = 6 pts

starry night
over new snow
trees crack

Mike McCulley
(0,1,4) = 6 pts

starry night --
she blows out the candles
with one breath

Ana Cadarin
(0,0,6) = 6 pts


Twelfth Place -- 5 pts
starry night --
the doe's breath steams above
the ice as she drinks

Angela
(1,0,2) = 5 pts

starry night--
when the meteorite flashes
she holds me tighter

--LGD
(1,0,2) = 5 pts

starry night-
I blow warmth into the wings
of the rescued bird.

Cristian Mocanu
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

starry night
Cassiopeia breathing
diamonds

--Jazmine
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

one day
these bones will lie apart --
starry night

Sue Stanford
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

last call
he walks
into the starry night

aom
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

starry night . . .
in my new Zen book
I flip to any page

Andrew Riutta
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

** a genuinely witty juxtaposition.

Starry night
your icy toes
startling my thigh

Yositaka
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

starry night--
blossoms embroidered
on blue silk

Tristan Coleridge
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

starry night
fulfilling wishes
we never had

emile molhuysen
(0,0,5) = 5 pts

starry night
after each pause the cricket
a higher octave

Bruce Ross
(0,0,5) = 5 pts

** After some hesitation, I was won over by what I came to hear as the complexity and expressiveness of the rhythm.


Thirteenth Place -- 4 pts
starry night--
the window is wet
against my cold finger tips

Michael
(0,2,0) = 4 pts

starry night -
searching the internet
for constellations

robert naczas
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

starry night
galaxies of frost
in his hair

Andria Plowman
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

starry night
I try to listen
through Van Gogh's ear

Darrell Lindsey
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

starry night -
they are ever so old
her grandson explains

Jim Swift
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

** And I can see Gramma's patient smile as he does this.
** Most kiddy ku are cute or sentimental; this one rings true.

Evensong,
the church doors open,
starry night.

Trevor Camp
(0,0,4) = 4 pts

one last ornament
for the listing pine
starry night

Pris Campbell
(0,0,4) = 4 pts

starry night
under the blanket
a flashlight

w.f. owen
(0,0,4) = 4 pts


Fourteenth Place -- 3 pts
starry night -
my small hand firmly
in dad's big paw

max verhart
(1,0,0) = 3 pts

again
hand in hand;
starry night

Magdalena Dale
(1,0,3) = 3 pts

a cold and starry night
with the moon high overhead
we wonder what is out there

Mr PC
(1,0,0) = 3 pts

starry night
the tugboat's noise fades
on the playground

martin
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

starry night -
Venus close to
the moon

il.balan
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

starry night--
snow's
overture

William M. Gottlieb
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

** I love the anticipation of the snow keenly felt by the word "overture". Beautifully done.

Winter landscape
so clear in my mind
starry night

Ashi
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

the scratch a wool scarf
on the back of my neck--
starry night

DeVar
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

starry sky
the scream
of the owl

D.V. Rozic
(0,0,3) = 3 pts

starry night
the moon shivers
in the chill

Sjs
(0,0,3) = 3 pts

starry night
the twinkle in her eyes
when she smiles

Karen Briggs
(0,0,3) = 3 pts

starry night
i count
my blessings

Roberta Beary
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


First Place -- 25 pts
dusty seashell
the words he whispered
in my ear

Polona
(1,5,12) = 25 pts


Second Place -- 23 pts
All Souls' Day
I open my father's
black umbrella

Petar Tchouhov
(2,4,9) = 23 pts

** The moment a memory is triggered. "open" is such an eloquent word here.


Third Place – 20 pts
gran’s handwriting
I email my daughter
her recipe

-- ushi
(0,6,8) = 20 pts

** Finding the recipes brings out a daughter’s memories of her mother, and then the email brings out the granddaughter’s memories of two people. Well done!

.


Fourth Place -- 14 pts
memories--
wondering if all of them
are true

Mary Lee McClure
(0,4,6) = 14 pts

**Bravo. I'm not sure all mine are true!
Reading this I had to LOL. So true, so true.


Fifth Place -- 13 pts
falling star
his last words
in a foreign tongue

Susan Constable
(0,6,1) = 13 pts

box of crayons
how hard I tried to keep
within the lines

--Irene Golas
(0,4,5) = 13 pts


Sixth Place -- 12 pts
frosty morning
the children smoke
pretend cigarettes

-- Karen Cesar
(0,1,10) = 12 pts

retirement -
no need to remember
the name of today

Jim Swift
(0,1,10) = 12 pts


Seventh Place -- 11 pts
stalactite
the first time my heart
was broken

Agnes Eva Savich
(1,4,0) = 11 pts

** Would have given you more pts. if possible. Ouch, the sharp pain....so simply yet fully captured.
**A stalactite will do it if anything will. But the poet lets us define the exact connection.

fallen leaves -
two names carved
upon the tree

il.balan
(1,2,4) = 11 pts

talking about her...
a trace of honey
on your lips

Ana Cadarin
(0,3,5) = 11 pts


Eighth Place -- 10 pts
memories
grandma asks
who I am

Carmel Lively Westerman
(1,0,7) = 10 pts


Ninth Place -- 9 pts
relapse-
these wet streets
just as dark

Andrew Riutta
(1,1,4) = 9 pts

**It may help if you've been there, but I find this incredibly powerful.

memories:
I open the door;
no one there

Linda Marucci
(0,3,3) = 9 pts

wedding photo
i tell myself
we were happy

-Roberta Beary
(0,2,5) = 9 pts


Tenth Place -- 8 pts
his high school picture
still in my wallet
MIA 1972

Sjs
(1,1,3) = 8 pts

obituaries...
was it seventh or eighth grade
English class we shared

Joann
(1,1,3) = 8 pts

remembering him
a leaf falls
a butterfly rises

brephoenix
(0,3,2) = 8 pts

empty house
once filled with voices
winter day

Beth Powell
(0,1,6) = 8 pts


Eleventh Place -- 7 pts
depressed wild flowers
between the leaves of a book;
my first tryst

Magdalena Dale
(2,0,1) = 7 pts

sand beaches
surviving in these sandals;
Indian summer

koast
(2,0,1) = 7 pts

Christmas Day--
wood smoke and memories
mingle in the fireplace

Tristan Coleridge
(1,1,2) = 7 pts

trembling hands
dad points out where each ship was
Pearl Harbor

Edward
(1,1,2) = 7 pts

** A great theme addressed and powerfully worded too.

"Alzheimer" --
a snowflake winks
into the sidewalk

Earl Keener
(0,2,3) = 7 pts

leaving ...
my mother's hand
colder

oga
(0,0,7) = 7 pts


Twelfth Place -- 6 pts
granny's funeral
our tears run swifter
than memories

john tiong chunghoo
(1,1,1) = 6 pts

every day ~
passing the street
where she died

Paul Hodder
(1,1,1) = 6 pts

memories --
the old woman's mouth closed
like a drawstring bag

Sue Stanford
(0,2,2) = 6 pts

** Wonderful visual. Imitating this Ku I find feelings of sadness and loneliness. Wonderful job.

fireflies twinkle
in the old milk jug
that first kiss...

Pris Campbell
(0,1,4) = 6 pts

after the funeral
we serve food
on Mom's favorite platter

Leslie Montgomery
(0,1,4) = 6 pts

graduation
remembering her first
baby steps

Meredith
(0,1,4) = 6 pts

I can't remember
struggling so hard before
to remember

Johannes Manjrekar
(0,2,2) = 6 pts

gift wrappings
blaze in the fireplace
again

gourdman
(0,2,2) = 6 pts

no snowflakes
only a few notes
of silent night

Jul
(0,2,2) = 6 pts


Thirteenth Place -- 5 pts
memories -
in granny's flat-iron
sepia photographs

D.V. Rozic
(1,1,0) 5 pts

eating kale -
back at grandma's table
longing for home

max verhart
(1,1,0) = 5 pts

memories
changing like the leaves
the truth fades

DJK
(1,1,0) = 5 pts

old home place -
a blackened chimney
twined in wisteria

Nancy Smith
(1,0,2) = 5 pts

new mattress arrives
your indentation
goes out with the old one

Elizabeth Fanto
(1,0,2) = 5 pts

tearful stare
she holds the old letter
from western union

Bill Hudson
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

he always sang
rummy tum tum rummy tum tum
my tipsy caroler

doris kasson
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

Evening,
thoughts of yesterday.
We both smile.

Trevor Camp
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

** Very good. I (we) have done this often.

coffee trees...
thick with white blossoms
memories of snow

shanna
(0,2,1) = 5 pts

Closing the eyes -
I meet again
my childhood

miorita
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

old photo
your face as a child
little sister

Ruth Powell
(0,1,3) = 5 pts

wedding anniversary--
remembering
how we used to do it

ash of moth
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


Fourteenth Place -- 4 pts
I carry it home
after my brother's wake
his mushroom basket

Francine Banwarth
(0,2,0) = 4 pts

carved jade
mother buries in my hand
a good luck charm

Audrey Downey
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

memories linger...
sunsets
we no longer share

MAM
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

over the minefield
autumn wind bending the grass ...
and my memories

Boris Nazansky
(0,1,2) = 4 pts

late winter
children's fridge art
now pastel

Alice Frampton
(0,0,4) = 4 pts

spring alley --
old lilacs breathe
seventeen

Ann K. Schwader
(0,0,4) = 4 pts


Fifteenth Place -- 3 pts
nursing home
my father turning over
a memory

tom painting
(1,0,0) = 3 pts

Valentine's Day-
on her coat an immortelle
just since then

Vasile Moldovan
(1,0,0) = 3 pts

Christmas past
river traffic lights up
the window rain

martin
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

baby's bib --
my father learns
first steps again

miriam chaikin
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

new puppy
curled up with a clock
fast asleep

--Senile Butterfly
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

sandpiper tracks
decorate the beach
then high-tide

Mike McCulley
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

that first bite
of the wild apple --
old, old memories

Michael McClintock
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

writing my memoirs:
so much of the forgotten
gets recollected

Zhanna P. Rader
(0,1,1) = 3 pts

Thanks to all the poets who participated in the December kukai. We wish you lovely holidays!

Those who signed up for the Nengajyou card exchange, thank you! We are looking forward to receiving them.

The January Call for Submissions will be posted on or about Monday, January 1. We look forward to hearing from you then!

Thanks again to you all!

With appreciation,

Robert and Jennie, co-secretaries
Gary Warner, web host

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