June 2007 Kukai Dear Haiku Friends, Here are the results for the June 2007 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was "Father's Day" and our Free Format subject was "Baseball". Congratulations to Zhanna P. Rader, winner of our Kigo section and to Tom Painting, 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. June 2007 Results Kigo Theme: Father's Day Free Format Theme: Baseball First Place -- 25 points Father's Day — fresh forget-me-nots on a soldier's grave Zhanna P. Rader (4,3,7) = 25 pts I'm taken back to a father's early loss with this haiku. Lost but still remembered. Expressed so well and succinctly by the choice of flowers on this soldier's grave. The fresh forget-me-nots suggest handpicked flowers, perhaps by a young person who doesn't have money for a professional wreath...so I found this poem touching because of the memories of my brother's experience in WWII, and my father-in-law's in WWI, reinforced by the nostalgia of the old movies. Second Place -- 19 points Father's Day... a cigar band on her doll's ponytail Scott Mason (1,3,10) = 19 pts A fresh image, emblematic of the male presence in her life, original and tender. Third Place -- 15 points Father's Day without him . . . half-moon w. f. owen (1,3,6) = 15 pts I love the evocation of longing with this simple yet powerful image. father's day — teaching him to walk again sanjukta (1,1,10) = 15 pts Very touching. Also evokes his own babyhood. This deals with a different kind of loss, the vitality and independence of a strong parent. I went through this with my mother a few years ago, and I realize that I may be facing a similar scenario in my own not too distant future. It speaks of compassion for the human condition in the natural changing of seasons. Fourth Place -- 14 points father's day my son calls from another time zone tom painting (0,4,6) = 14 pts Fifth Place -- 13 points Father's Day visit he asks the nurse again who I am arkady elterman (1,4,2) = 13 pts Poignant and very real. Father's Day I carve the cedar log for his smell  —Jacek M. (1,3,4) = 13 pts Sixth Place -- 12 points after shave three deep in the cabinet  —Father's Day Paul Hodder (2,2,2) = 12 pts A subtle and witty comment on gift giving and a great image. father's day... new blossoms cover the knotty pine AD (2,2,2) = 12 pts A beautiful juxtaposition of images within the phrase that allows many readings: young and old, soft and hard, birth and death, faces and hands, small and large, innocence and... I like this haiku because the image presented is so vivid and fresh in the here and now while conveying a moving on, a new growth, but not at the expense of what came before. Father's Day — fresh brewed coffee dribbles from a lop-sided mug -- Karen Cesar (0,4,4) = 12 pts father's day my sister's card has sparkles Roberta Beary (0,2,8) = 12 pts father's day just your headstone . . . and the crow Kathy Lippard Cobb (0,2,8) = 12 pts I love the crow image here. Striking...its literary allusion to the crow, which is a powerful symbol of death in some cultures. A powerful reminder of lost love, for those of us who have read Edgar Allan Poe. My compliments to the poet for achieving a successful haikai poem, with a haiku mood and the crow of myth and folklore. Seventh Place -- 11 points twelve hours in the heat of a steel mill... father's day ed markowski (1,2,4) = 11 pts Eighth Place -- 10 points Father's Day — and still just the two of us Barbara Campitelli (0,2,6) = 10 pts Frustration? Regret? Resignation? Bitterness? Acceptance? A teaser. dad's gift . . . she offers the ladybug on her finger Carol Raisfeld (0,1,8) = 10 pts Ninth Place -- 9 points Father's Day a large kite and a small kite dance on the wind Meredith Stern Cavalieri (1,2,2) = 9 pts father's day — the infant's hand wraps around his finger aom (tim) (1,1,4) = 9 pts This has all the requirements of good haiku. Above all, it has a haiku 'moment' and fantastic imagery. I simply love the haiku to distraction! Tenth Place -- 8 points I Google his name... Father's Day Josh Wikoff (0,2,4) = 8 pts Old longings take ever new forms. Father’s Day — scent of tobacco clings to his empty pouch. lyn true (0,2,4) = 8 pts Father’s Day — he asks to drive by the old house tish davis (0,1,6) = 8 pts Eleventh Place -- 7 points Father's Day — my youngest son calls me by my first name Collin Barber (0,1,5) = 7 pts first Father’s Day the little finger in the tiny fist RaV (0,0,7) = 7 pts Father’s day old dog thumps his tail by the phone Ruth Powell ((0,0,7) = 7 pts A wonderful, domestic moment of anticipation/recognition. Twelfth Place -- 6 points Father’s Day — another foggy afternoon at the nursing home Nancy Nitrio (1,0,3) = 6 pts Nice wordplay on the weather versus the father's mental state. father's day we order the meal with less salt Kala Ramesh (0,1,4) = 6 pts A homely detail, but a telling one. fathers day — no longer a son no longer a father Michael Flack (0,1,4) = 6 pts Poignant. this time last year that my ex-husband, the father of my children, died. He was buried in the same cemetery where his own father rests, beside our son, who died at the age of four. father’s day — his shadow walks next to mine Neil Muscott (0,0,6) = 6 pts Thirteenth Place -- 5 points smoke gets in my eyes our Father's Day barbecue without him again Garry Gay (1,1,0) = 5 pts A powerful haiku about someone remembering but not wanting to show their emotion. It lingers with you. Dad is still teaching long after retirement by the way he lives Deirdre Godwin (1,1,0) = 5 pts first June together they hand me a Father’s Day card we’ve started to bond Harvey Jenkins (1,0,2) = 5 pts A feeling we can all celebrate. Father's Day — he blows the last candle Raquel D. BAILEY (0,2,1) = 5 pts Father's Day — the perfect wind to fly a kite Ana Cadarin (0,1,3) = 5 pts my regrets and his Father's Day Autumn Moon (0,1,3) = 5 pts father's day to half a biscuit all alone Reza Aerabi (0,1,3) = 5 pts Father's Day — he asks us what's the occasion Dorota Pyra (0,0,5) = 5 pts Father's day the empty chair at the table Sjs (0,0,5) = 5 pts Fourteenth Place -- 4 points Father's Day just two peas in the pod Carolyn Hall (1,0,1) = 4 pts Father's Day — in the receiver my own voice 25 years younger Gosia Zamorska (1,0,1) = 4 pts Father's day present — a little "grand" before, Dad! Tanya Dikova (0,1,2) = 4 pts keeping the curfew in another land.... "Fathers Day" shanna (0,1,2) = 4 pts Fifteenth Place -- 4 points Father’s Day — a walk in the orchard with young apple trees miorita (1,0,1) = 4 pts digging into a drawer full of memories Father’s Day Paul R (1,0,1) = 4 pts modern father’s day young girl makes cards for both daddies Elizabeth Fanto (0,1,2) = 4 pts his face suddenly wet during baby’s diaper change happy father’s day Mary Davila (0,1,2) = 4 pts Father’s Day breakfast his wife grins his kids giggle gummy worm pancakes Edward (0,1,2) = 4 pts after he left, a distant ice cream truck — Father's Day Dan Schwerin (0,1,2) = 4 pts first rain — making his dad a paper boat for Father's' Day angelee deodhar (0,0,4) = 4 pts Father's Day more roses on Mom's grave -- LGD (0,0,4) = 4 pts Sixteenth Place -- 3 points Father's Day this year no card only tears yositaka (1,0,0) = 3 pts just forty-one - and wanting a son with YOU the father... Reni (1,0,0) = 3 pts sausage for breakfast just like he made it Father's Day Pris Campbell (0,1,1) = 3 pts Father's Day our bare heads brush in passing George Hawkins (0,1,1) = 3 pts Fathers Day came and went summer rain covers gently. Ashi (0,1,1) = 3 pts Father's Day an annual visit to the graveyard Carmel Lively Westerman (0,1,1) = 3 pts he tests the milk still too warm- first Father's Day Leslie Montgomery (0,1,1) = 3 pts wearing work boots, he watches her leap onstage—- Father’s Day Sherry Weaver Smith (0,1,1) = 3 pts Father’s Day the boy asks for a longer fishing rod Petar Tchouhov (0,1,1) = 3 pts Father's Day beer — salt crystals sinking the way his did Barbara Snow (0,1,1) = 3 pts father's day — the house where I grew up now is a bar il. balan (0,1,1) = 3 pts nothing but calls from cell phones Father's Day gourdmad (0,1,1) = 3 pts my first father's day — me kissing my wife's belly Lech Szeglowski (0,0,3) = 3 pts her two moms exchange glances : the Father's Day talk -- andrea (0,0,3) = 3 pts A couple of the entries were like this, a very modern take on the kukai theme, but, in my opinion, the construction of this one is superior. Father's day — in a paper wrapping a pregnancy test majka (0,0,3) = 3 pts That's one way to break it to him gently. Kigo Section General Comments: Occasional verse isn't easy, as many a poet laureate has discovered. The best of these, for me, spoke at once of continuity and change: Father's Day comes every year, but each year finds us in a new place. First Place -- 33 pts the sweeping arch of the pitcher's curve summer solstice tom painting (2,10,7) = 33 pts 'as above, so below' Second Place -- 29 pts home run ~ my two year old cheers the wrong team Paul Hodder (2,4,15) = 29 pts This haiku illustrates how young children become captured by emotion, but they don't always know why. Ha ha! I love this one! Third Place -- 18 pts the Yankees lost — his hesitation to answer the phone Audrey Downey (1,6,3) = 18 pts My father was a bear on Monday if the Yankees lost. Fourth Place -- 17 pts night game the manager's wife tells me she is a poet Johnye Strickland (1,5,4) = 17 pts Fifth Place -- 16 pts flashlights ... trading baseball cards with my brother Carol Raisfeld (1,2,9) = 16 pts I can tangibly experience the joy of having a brother, even though I don't have one. It is such a great and fleeting moment from childhood. Somehow for me the use of flashlights adds to that fleeting feeling. I like the way that the two parts of the haiku are so connected. Indian summer a squirrel runs from third to second Scott Mason (1,1,11) = 16 pts All the squirrels I've seen on the field have had trouble with the rules. A perfect Indian Summer poem. The season's over, the word doesn't appear, but it says "baseball." Sixth Place -- 15 pts 12th inning homer — i lift the book off my father's chest aom (tim) (1,3,6) = 15 pts The image of my grandfather so strongly evoked. He never missed a radio broadcast of the games, he also never stayed awake all the way through one. t-ball practice a first grader spits on the ground Carmel Lively Westerman (0,4,7) = 15 pts Seventh Place -- 14 pts foul ball — losing it in a sky full of hands Collin Barber (3,1,3) = 14 pts The surrealism of the commonplace. Eighth Place -- 13 pts After the game Mom washes away his slide into home Yositaka (0,3,7) = 13 pts Ninth Place -- 12 pts ninth inning rally... the jiggling lid of a boiling kettle Keiko (1,2,5) = 12 pts Tenth Place -- 11 pts the ball field lights left on overnight — autumn rain Cherie Hunter Day (0,4,3) = 11 pts Eleventh Place -- 10 pts ninth-inning pigeons assess the grandstand trash Barbara Snow (1,1,5) = 10 pts Home Run! The cat also jumps into the air Linda Marucci (0,3,4) = 10 pts Love the visual. Twelfth Place -- 9 pts night at the ballpark the batter aims for the stars arkady elterman (1,1,4) = 9 pts A gorgeous image! 5th inning — after a home run the full moon Israel López Balan (0,3,3) = 9 pts late night radio through the static a surprise homerun Neil Muscott (0,0,9) = 9 pts Before cable TV I used to spend many summer nights trying to listen through the static to games outside my normal radio range. This brought back happy memories. Thirteenth Place -- 8 pts box seats... his hero flips the ball to the girl beside him ed markowski (0,3,2) = 8 pts no game this weekend above Yankee stadium the sky full of stars Inga D. (0,3,2) = 8 pts Fourteenth Place -- 6 pts the cheerleaders compare their suntan — losing team Angèle Lux (1,0,3) = 6 pts spring training — warm oil rubbed in the rookie's glove  —Karen Cesar (0,2,2) = 6 pts pop fly . . . a feather drifts into the catcher’s mitt Nancy Smith (0,2,2) = 6 pts kids' diamond — a dog runs home with the ball Susan Constable (0,1,4) = 6 pts Fifteenth Place -- 5 pts dusk game over Josh W. (0,2,1) = 5 pts baseball diamond mound of new earth by the gopher's hole Marianna Monaco (0,0,5) = 5 pts Sixteenth Place -- 4 pts how I hated it public humiliation playing out —outfield Deirdre Godwin (1,0,1) = 4 pts pre-game warm-up — seagulls shag flies in the outfield Mike Montreuil (0,2,0) = 4 pts Children on the field one child is left behind not the chosen one Angelika Kolompar Bygott (0,2,0) = 4 pts Grand slam... the smell of hot dogs and beer Sjs (0,1,2) = 4 pts sudden thunder a nail through the neck of the baseball bat w. f. owen (0,1,2) = 4 pts chirping crickets sharp crack of a bat — twilight baseball Leslie Montgomery (0,1,2) = 4 pts the right fielder chews a dandelion stem, spits it out P. O. Williams (0,1,2) = 4 pts evening star a long fly ball in the bottom of the ninth Beth Powell (0,1,2) = 4 pts line drive the baseball destroys an anthill gourdman (0,1,2) = 4 pts the safety pin breaks from the boy’s baseball pants "you’re out" Mary Davila (0,0,4) = 4 pts after the wave no one knows how he got to first Bill Kenney (0,0,4) = 4 pts Seventeenth Place -- 3 pts Golden Retriever with a tattered baseball in his mouth Garry Gay (1,0,0) = 3 pts with nine brothers and only two sets of gloves baseball game would begin Harvey Jenkins (1,0,0) = 3 pts can you hear that sound? the crowd's roar in the ballpark where there's only wind --Michael McClintock (0,1,1) = 3 pts Matsuyama museum Shiki's baseball bat worn at the edges angelee deodhar (0,1,1) = 3 pts career day: 3 strikeouts, 2 errors 1 seat on the bench -- LGD (0,1,1) = 3 pts child lying under a tree's shade  — baseball cap in hand ~ Walter Otieno (0,1,1) = 3 pts baseball cap for my brother — birthday present ~ Joseph Mutavi (0,1,1) = 3 pts top of the ninth a cottonwood seed rises out of play Dan Schwerin (0,1,1) = 3 pts extra inning a pesky fly distracts the batter RaV (0,0,3) = 3 pts Free Format Section General Comments: These topics were quite a challenge. Thanks. Although my overall preference is for the poems that convey a sense of the game itself, only one of my choices fits that description--and that one just barely, since it's set in the stands, not on the field. Oh, well, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. I never realized how fond I was of baseball until I read these entries! Very hard to write and to vote, for someone from a non baseball playing country! That concludes June's kukai and thank you all for your participation and support! We now realize that baseball was challenging subject because a large number of participants live in countries where baseball isn't played at all! Go ahead and laugh, it never entered our minds. We'll keep that in mind for future kukai the next of which is due to begin on July 2nd, just days away. Looking forward to receiving your entries! 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