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The Shiki Monthly Kukai

January 2011 Kukai

Dear Friends,

Here are the results for the January 2011 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was Dawn and our Free Format subject was Loss.

Congratulations to Svetlana Marisova, winner of our Kigo section and to Iokua, 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.

(2,1,4 = 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.

January 2011 Results
Kigo Theme:
Dawn
Free Format Theme:
Loss

First Place - 19 Points


 first light ...
out of the shadows
a deer

Svetlana Marisova
(1,4,8) = 19 pts


Second Place - 16 Points


winter dawn . . .
humming along
with the furnace

Cara Holman
(1,3,7) = 16 pts
**full of hope for a new day!


Third Place – 15 Points

dawn--
the weight
of the coming rain

David Grayson
(0,3,9) = 15 pts
**Glances at the future ("coming rain") in haiku are often frowned on,
but "weight" keeps us in the moment.


Fourth Place - 14 Points

we talk in circles
the earth's slow turn
towards dawn

Paul Hodder
(1,3,5) = 14 pts
**Been there, done that! I get a sense of talking well into the night,
likely to settle a disagreement - hopefully before dawn. But that can
seem like a very long time.


Fifth Place - 13 Points

dawn clouds
the tiger's shape
dissolves

Giselle Maya
(1,2,6) = 13 pts
**The tiger, known for hunting at night, seems to be a perfect cloud
shape for disappearing into the light of dawn. Besides, this is a
different take on the theme, which makes it a pleasure to read.
** great imagination

snow angels
at dawn
filling with light

Bill Pauly
(1,1,8) = 13 pts
**Lovely image.

dawn
the huddled birds
face east

April Serock
(0,2,9) = 13 pts


Sixth Place - 12 Points


edge of light
my fishing pole
across the handlebars

Donna Bauerly
(1,3,3) = 12 pts


late for work
dawn
everywhere

c pearce-worthington
(1,2,5) = 12 pts



Seventh Place - 11 Points

dawn
the smell of
fresh brewed coffee

Bill Hudson
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
**The moment the words are read, the aroma of coffee is unavoidable.
Suddenly it is early morning and you anticipate that first cup.

dawn
unwrapping
the horizon

vishnu p kapoor
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
**There were several "big sky" haiku that I considered before settling
on this one as the most direct.

first light
my little fears back
in the box

Roberta Beary
(0,2,7) = 11 pts


night shift--
the rhythm of your sleep
just before dawn

aom (tim)
(0,2,7) = 11 pts
**Says "homecoming" gently and powerfully.


Eighth Place - 10 Points

arctic dawn
a brief band
of light

carmel lively westerman
(1,3,1) = 10 pts


matins -
the first dawn shadows
cast on the snow

Cristina-Monica Moldoveanu
(1,0,7) = 10 pts


redder
in the rising sun...
the robin's breast

Liz Rule
(0,2,6) = 10 pts


dawn
pulling at the pond
a dragonfly

C.P.Harrison
(0,2,6) = 10 pts


rising tide
the stars recede
into the dawn

Elaine Riddell
(0,1,8) = 10 pts
**I think the second "the" is superfluous. Otherwise lovely image.

dawn
a carrot at the foot
of the snowman

og_a
(0,1,8) = 10 pts


dawn
a dagger of sunlight
divides our table

J Blain
(0,1,8) = 10 pts


early dawn-
jellyfish umbrellas
drift with the tide

Carol Raisfeld
(0,0,10) = 10 pts


Ninth Place - 9 Points

finally at dawn
the widower
falls asleep

Leslie Montgomery
(1,2,2) = 9 pts
** this one really got to me

dawn
blackbirds alight
on the fountain's stone rim

Tom Painting
(1,1,4) = 9 pts
**I love the coolness of this poem (I'll have to revisit it in the
summer!), the hooligan feel of what the blackbirds are up to, and the
parallels with our own morning activities. I love the whole scene
these few words create in my mind, from the light on the stone, to the
action that might soon be in the fountain, to the people soon to be
milling around. This is a great example of showing not telling, and I
also like that the author didn't bow to a certain structure or use any
poetic devices. A very organic poem. Cool and refreshing!

sleepless night -
darkness in the window
become a tree

Israel López Balan
(1,0,6) = 9 pts


chill dawn
butter melts on the
fresh cornbread

Allen
(0,3,3) = 9 pts
**Like the contrast of "chill" and the butter melting.

dawn
my mountain pose
not quite at its peak

Terri L. French
(0,2,5) = 9 pts


Tenth Place - 8 Points


streaks of first light
across the barren ice
an owl's silent glide

Elinor Pihl Huggett
(1,2,1) = 8 pts
**The image reaches out and chills me with its cold and its silence. I
am alone with the fleeting mute owl.


enormous dawn . . .
children on the hilltop
opening their arms

Michael McClintock
(1,1,3) = 8 pts


dawn
looming from the shadows
a tree

Ted van Zutphen
(1,1,3) = 8 pts


dawn
a whiff of hot coffee
from the widow's balcony

john tiong chunghoo
(1,1,3) = 8 pts


rising at dawn . . .
a heron's reflection
in the still pond

Margaret Dornaus
(0,3,2) = 8 pts
**There are many heron/pond haiku, but I like the contrasts and
ambiguities in this one. Who is rising: the poet? the heron? Maybe
both . . . as well as the dawn light.


Eleventh Place - 7 Points

dawning -
the cemetery's
serenity

Zhanna P. Rader
(1,1,2) = 7 pts
**clever contrast with a feeling of resolution and a spark of hope


dawn . . .
the apple branches that
survived the storm

Rita Odeh
(0,2,3) = 7 pts


dawn -
the sound of a snow plough
roiling my tea

Kaiser Kahn
(0,2,3) = 7 pts


Wintry dawn--
sleeping under a car
a stray dog

R.K. Singh
(0,1,5) = 7 pts


dawn . . .
flower beds
quilted with snow

Susan Constable
(0,1,5) = 7 pts



Twelfth Place - 6 Points

dawn...
perfect, the Earth is still
on the orbit!

Petru-Ioan Garda
(0,2,2) = 6 pts


dawn -
another day
without you

natalia kuznetsova
(0,1,4) = 6 pts


halfway to dawn --
I finally realize
I can't go back

Melissa Allen
(0,1,4) = 6 pts


dawn at her place
her magnetic heart
on the icebox

Lechaiku
(0,1,4) = 6 pts


summer dawn...
a butterfly caught
in its own glow

Keith A. Simmonds
(0,0,6) = 6 pts


dawn, the puppy
barks at what is left
of the moon

Bouwe Brouwer
(0,0,6) = 6 pts


dawn
a skylark
sings itself

Dorota Pyra
(0,0,6) = 6 pts


Thirteenth Place - 5 Points


saluting the dawn
the Maasai chieftain
lifts a cup of blood

Kirsty Karkow
(1,0,2) = 5 pts


call of a muezzin
entangles with my dream...
crack of dawn

Kala Ramesh
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


dawn
the robins song
is glowing

Oddbjørn Aardalen
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


dawn
waiting for her
at Arrivals

Marleen Hulst
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


dawn
a gar severs night
from day

Earl r. Keener
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
**good imagination and very decisive


Fourteenth Place - 4 Points

gulf oil spill-
everglades flamingos
pinker than the dawn

if
(1,0,1) = 4 pts


again this morning
magpies fill the tree
above the cat

DeVar
(1,0,1) = 4 pts
** I had to laugh when I read the last line. No doubt the magpies were
laughing too.

dawn-
driving into
the sunrise

Barbara Campitelli
(0,1,2) = 4 pts


winter dawn...
a cold cat and the man
in the moon

Li Ree
(0,1,2) = 4 pts


dawn--
it's all about
the snow

Ami
(0,1,2) = 4 pts


sun-up
small bits of fluff
stuck to fresh eggs

Michele L. Harvey
(0,0,4) = 4 pts


Fifteenth Place - 3 Points

white rabbit -
at the beginning of the year
beside me at dawn

alex serban
(1,0,0) = 3 pts


Radiant dawn
painting pastel veils
across the sky.

Robert C.
(1,0,0) = 3 pts


dawn.....
a new day that
will end

Marili
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


frosty breath
Milky Way disappears
crack of dawn

charlie smith
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


Beautiful pink dawn
did not foretell disaster
which claimed many lives.

Jean Lewis
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


faint echo
of a cock's crow--
dawn breeze

Brian Etole
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
**This is so lovely and ethereal! I don't think you need the word dawn
here, as it's implied by the cock's crow. Maybe add a season word to
the breeze and you have a wonderful, classic, timeless haiku. Really
nice.


dawn...
after the snowstorm
crows regroup

Diane Mayr
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


pale winter dawn
two hearts begin to blush
in the bus window dew

Jon Espen Vassbotn
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


The old stairway
takes another turn.
New Year's dawn

Beacon
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


dawn...
cold nose on my toes
under the down comforter

Aalix Roake
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


sunrise
casting a walleye spoon
with everything I've got

Alan S. Bridges
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


the crack of dawn
I never get to see
night owl

Merrill Ann Gonzales
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


January dawn
snowflakes scatter
what little light

Mike Montreuil
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


that glance
as he walked out the door--
the chill before dawn

Seren Fargo
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


a text message
illuminates a cat's yawn
daybreak

Lucas Stensland
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
**good combination of 3 openings and 2 illuminations


early dawn
the orange light
from a snowplow truck

Tore Sverredal
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


winter dawn –
crimson sky behind
the bare trees

moT
 (0,0,3) = 3 pts


Sixteenth Place - 2 Points

oyster skies for months
then one April dawn aglow
with pink and azure

Ida Freilinger
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


Dawn haze
a warbler
begins

Anonymous
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


New life begins each day
In my daughter's eyes
Dawn

Mary E. Gray
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


darkness all around
seeking the dawn
where none exists

James Sawers
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


winter dawn . . .
sorting out
my feelings

Bill Kenney
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


dawn -
red
of the cockerel's comb

John McDonald
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
**lovely


dawn -
skylark's roll
releasing the day

Manuela Dragomirescu
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


dawn chorus--
the rhythmic whistles
of a weaver bird

~ Kevin Asava
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
**rhythmic makes me want to hear these whistles


fishing trip
my rowboat is filled
with dawn's light

Harvey Jenkins
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


winter wind --
dawn sparrows
born for this

--Peter Newton
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


Seventeenth Place -1  Point

swirling mist
candy-cotton clouds
another pink dawn

Tanja Cilia


wintry dawn --
some more fully matured
icicles

Juhani Tikkanen


unfolding dawn
a spider checks out
strands of pearls

Barbara A Taylor
 ** I like the way this is expressed.


late dawn --
even a grey sunrise
raises the sun

~ Isabelle Prondzynski


dawns colors
shimmering on the floor
finger painting

Ben Gieske


dawn...
emerging from the mist
two roe deer

Anonymous


back home
after the funeral
silent dawn

tito A.


fragile dawn...
early gulls
pierce the stillness

James Dobson
 **very penetrating


8:08 a.m. and the curtain still closed.
Sunlight
might melt this poem.

William M. Gottlieb


disappearing behind
a wall of sky
dawn moon

Angela Terry


chilly dawn;
dusting snow off the cap-
the crow too !

manoj saranathan


rising with
the steamy dawn...
a blue morpho

Bruce H. Feingold
 **A beautiful image, but without the inversion you only have the
phrase " a blue morpho rising with the steamy dawn". Removing the
distracting poetic device and adding a fragment to the phrase would
give you the opportunity to make a lovely image even more meaningful.



pale moon
somewhere in the tree top
the first chirping bird

Boris Nazansky


lemony yellow sky
night escapes
in pink and blue

Christine Howard


fresh snowfall
a softer glow
at dawn

Ruth Powell


snowmelt
a flowering quince greets
the dawn

Anonymous


before dawn,
the glow of fresh snow
on the railing

Christopher Pickslay


before dawn
faint pink horizon
baby cries

James M. Thompson


No points this time, sorry.


form throughout
the formless void -
beautiful dawn ...

Patricia Lidia


dawn
a voluminous rain
plunders the street

--gillena cox


 dawn
sun's eyelids
closed

Kalina Trendafilova


sighting first light
from her perch in a cypress
bulbul chirps me awake

miriam chaikin


i sip my tea at dawn
its leaves dark
as those outside

mechaieh


flyover
Night's lost stars
embraced by the dawning

Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black


dawn
a teacher finishes off
shifts from her chair

Anna Carene


day begins
with a symphony orchestra
dawn chorus

Jill


at dawn in the spring
the Happy Planet Index -
Green Revolution

STOPSY


five friends on dawn beach
float warm iridescent swells,
swim pastel currents

Sandra Friedlander


 awaken by the flare
dawn
my room is bright red

Ashi


dawn sky -
blood spills over
the horizon

Gautam Nadkarni


dawn clicks.
turtle hatchlings glides
off the coast

Ramesh Anand


crack of dawn…
behind the park ranger hut
red rowan berries

Svein Lie


dawn--
in same sky but a memory
at winter twilight

Alegria Imperial


two hearses
so silent -- grey dawn
and the rose

Maxianne
 ** "so silent" is unexpectant and is an excellent calling up of the
cemetery scene. A lot of meaningful color.


snow on snow
in the dawn light - chaste
a new week

Marylouise Knight


fire engine's whine
the draperies glowing
at dawn

Barbara Snow
 **such brilliant sound and sight


first hint of dawn
a lost duckling disappears
in a massive swirl

Edward
 **sad when one thinks of a new day dawning but not for this duckling


dawn...
loud gabble of
few wet seamen

Reza-Iran


New Year's dawn-
coffee aroma rises
before I do

Angelee


january dawn -
the mountain peaks
red and orange

Andrzej Dembonczyk


 first dawn -
an invisible bird
sings above

Anonymous


 summer dawn...
a zirconia glints
in his dark lobe

Jo McInerney


pale dawn
a dead sparrow freezes
in melting snow

Petar Tchouhov


dawn
dinner leftovers reheated
for breakfast

c t doebler


dead sycamore tree
huge black crow perched on top
silhouette's of dawn

Dorothy j. Kazmierzak


Dark grey dawn,
We awake to noise.
Three black crows

Trevor Camp


 early morning light
on the cusp of night and day
my dog and I wake

Deirdre Godwin


first rim of light--
a chickadee stirs
snow falling from pine

jill


cock crows
at the balcony--
dawn chorus

~ Esther Obwamu


 rhubarb dawn on Thistle Lane
bikes, bats, big vans
patio jibes at vespers

Jim Sullivan


grey skies
flurries but still
dawn

gourdman


 dull winter dawning
memories of flowers bright
a Rose is still in my heart

dragonfly


rose-fingered
centuries a reason
to get up

Horst Ludwig


New Year
on a white horse -
in dawn it becomes grey

Radu Ignatescu


dawn's purple haze--
farther away from
the spring of my life

Francine Banwarth


dawn lights
the track of coyote--
a hen house

John Daleiden


 last night's storm
drip drip dripping
misty dawn

Stevie


harvest day dawn
driblets of jaggery
stirred in the milk

sanjukta


sleepless night
a melon sherbet dawn
fills the window

Hazel A. Witherspoon


small sunbeams pierce
through the mist at dawn...
diamonds dance in dew

Amicus


General Comments - Kigo:

**Again, this month there were so may poems I liked.
 **My short list was longer than usual this month.
 **Another good theme, with plenty of entries!
 **I found it extremely difficult this time to vote. There were so
many excellent haiku and no way to credit all those which deserve
recognition.
 **I had a very difficult time narrowing the choices down to these.
There were several more I would have included if I had had more
points!
 **Many excellent haiku, if "dawn" in itself can count as a kigo.


First Place - 24 Points

only moonlight
in the little dog bed
winter deepens

Iokua
(3,2,11) = 24 pts
**Bittersweet and lovely. Good kigo too.


Second Place - 19 Points

a last touch -
his ashes become
the sea

Carol Raisfeld
(0,4,11) = 19 pts
**Very evocative, yet avoiding sentimentality. I like the hint of
double meaning with 'become' . . . a lovely thought.


frozen river -
she keeps silent
about her past

Dorota Pyra
(0,4,11) = 19 pts
** 'frozen river' is evocative of the state of a long ago loss as in
'frozen in time'.
**a very strong statement. No way to unfreeze this one.


your words
before you left...
craters on the moon

Polona
(0,3,13) = 19 pts
**There are many things that can make us feel lost and alone . . .
including words. Although we don't know what his/her last words were,
the juxtaposition with craters on the moon tells us all we need to
know about this sense of loss for the one left behind.
** A very good jux. The desolate ambience of "craters on the moon"
mirroring the emotional loss.


Third Place – 16 Points

empty sleeve
flapping in the cold wind
a soldier returns

Jill
(0,4,8) = 16 pts
** I also liked #s 29 and 94
**I like the way the poet makes us feel the loss without either
mentioning the word, itself, or naming what's been lost. If there'd
been punctuation at the end of L2, to avoid the possible pivot of L2,
I'd have added another point to this one.


Fourth Place - 15 Points

just a little
depression
where you once lay

Donna Bauerly
(0,3,9) = 15 pts
** I like the double meaning of 'depression' in this one - as if time
passing since the loss has lessened both the emotional impact and the
dint in a physical surface.


Fifth Place - 14 Points

distant explosion-
the quick click of her
knitting needles

Rita Odeh
(0,3,8) = 14 pts


Sixth Place - 13 Points

yahrzeit candle
the gentle pull
of the flame

David Grayson
(1,3,4) = 13 pts
**I was unfamiliar with yahrzeit, but now I've looked it up, it feels
perfect here. The gentle pull affects not only the flame, but the
emotions of the poet and this reader.


out walking the leash

og_a
(1,3,4) = 13 pts
**no mistaking this even with these few words


hands
open
and close

Johannes S. H. Bjerg
(0,5,3) = 13 pts


Seventh Place - 11 Points

one by one
the roofs lose their colour --
summer sunset

Isabelle Prondzynski
(1,2,4) = 11 pts


and still
we listen for your footsteps . . .
second winter

Susan Constable
(1,1,6) = 11 pts


raindrops
merging with tears -
the loss of my son

Zhanna P. Rader
(0,4,3) = 11 pts
**There is no pain greater than losing a child…I’m sorry for your loss.


Eighth Place - 10 Points

a black grape rolls
beneath the kitchen stove...
the kitten's paw

Kirsty Karkow
(1,1,5) = 10 pts
**I found #19 to be a refreshing break from all the dreary entries,
and it's such a great image. I want to cheer the little guy on.


Ninth Place - 9 Points

all these flowers
the things
I should have said

Paul Hodder
(0,3,3) = 9 pts
**" Regret" very well described.


loss of a life
one memory
at a time

Bill Hudson
(0,1,7) = 9 pts
**Yes, Alzheimer’s takes its toll so slowly that it takes a while to
wake up to what is really happening.


still birth...
she never sees
that first smile

James Dobson
(0,1,7) = 9 pts


winter night
his diary's
blank pages

Petar Tchouhov
(0,1,7) = 9 pts


Tenth Place - 8 Points

white drifts . . .
the snowman-maker
writes from Kabul

Michael McClintock
(1,1,3) = 8 pts


as he is dying
the breathtaking view
from his window

Stevie
(1,1,3) = 8 pts

afterwards...
a shopping list becomes
proof you were

Jo McInerney
(0,2,4) = 8 pts


too late
for apologies
graveside

Allen McGill
(0,1,6) = 8 pts


Eleventh Place - 7 Points


silent vigil ...
i ache for the shudder
of your loins

Svetlana Marisova
(2,0,1) = 7 pts


gaps between
the hockey player's teeth--
another loss

DeVar
(0,3,1) = 7 pts
**this one made me smile with all my teeth!


the morning after
searching for my socks

Ben Gieske
(0,2,3) = 7 pts


long night
the smell of home
in the waiting room

tito A.
(0,1,5) = 7 pts


Twelfth Place - 6 Points

small heap of dust
in the silent chapel
I remove my hat

Maxianne
(1,1,1) = 6 pts


after the funeral
she brings home
an Easter lily

Terri L. French
(1,0,3) = 6 pts
**I'm completely won over by the resonant simplicity of this.


morning fog -
in the empty bedroom
the cold slippers

Gautam Nadkarni
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
** I also liked this one

falling cherry petals -
the black hearse leaving
a little lighter

Lech Szeglowski
(0,0,6) = 6 pts
**I like the imagery that is created here.


Thirteenth Place - 5 Points

deleting
her name from my
Contacts list

gourdman
(1,0,2) = 5 pts


late night rain
across from your empty armchair
I try to read

April Serock
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


puppy
sniffs the basket
where the old dog lay.

Aalix Roake
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
**touching


late autumn -
shadows separate
on forest ground

Cristina-Monica Moldoveanu
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


the chickadee
still crying for his mate
fallen petals

Barbara Snow
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


i throw snowballs
at your ghost
missing you

mechaieh
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
**I think this would be better without the last line. Maybe as a
oneliner: "Throwing snowballs at your ghost".


car keys in hand
I travel room to room
to find my glasses

Harvey Jenkins
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


death at Christmas--
what to do
with the gifts

Christopher Pickslay
(0,1,3) = 5 pts


discussing
viable pregnancy -
again

C.P.Harrison
(0,1,3) = 5 pts
**a whole story in 4 words


ice skims the pond
only the broken-winged duck
remains

Lynda True
(0,0,5) = 5 pts


starting the year
with a full box
of sympathy cards

Francine Banwarth
(0,0,5) = 5 pts
**I only wish I had more points to give out. This one is sad in what
it doesn't say


Fourteenth Place - 4 Points

loss-
heavier than the coffin
draped with his country's flag

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


dusting his room
the graduation photo
doesn't chat

Ruth Powell
(0,2,0) = 4 pts


the empty chair:
a flood of memories
for Mother's Day

Keith A. Simmonds
(0,1,2) = 4 pts


mourning card
he plucks grey hairs
from his eyebrows

Ted van Zutphen
(0,1,2) = 4 pts
**The honesty of the image or its unabashed presentation got for it this vote.


the dream
we shared
only you awake

Lucas Stensland
(0,1,2) = 4 pts


donor forms
while his body
is still warm

if
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
**a chilling reality


from the second pew
he watches his mother
remarry

Diane Mayr
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
**This evokes a definite picture, preferably of a young child.


frozen pond
a fancy jersey glove
under the surface

Tore Sverredal
(0,0,4) = 4 pts


war vet
worn each day
his untold story

Peter Newton
(0,0,4) = 4 pts


poppy day -
a kid counting the names
on the plaque

Kaiser Kahn
(0,0,4) = 4 pts
**A kid counting the names makes this even more poignant.


Fifteenth Place - 3 Points

loss of you
loss of us
loss, my love

James Sawers
(1,0,0) = 3 pts


footprints in snow
the river runs black

Jon Espen Vassbotn
(1,0,0) = 3 pts


loss of faith
a boy's sullen eyes
more gray than blue

Anna Carene
(0,1,1) = 3 pts
**I particularly like the color choices in this one. Gray is a very
tired color as compared with the vivid color blue. Such a loss is like
a step toward a slow death.


hospice visit
vase full of flowers
empty bed

charlie smith
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


pouring rain
the filthy doll shivers
in the open dust-bin

Oddbjørn Aardalen
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


deep cold -
my lost cat
will have to find himself

Melissa Allen
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


spring in central park
an old afghan longing home
to nothing

Li Ree
(0,1,1) = 3 pts


water's end
his ashes cast
on retreating waves

Tom Painting
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


once upon a time....

vishnu p kapoor
(0,0,3) = 3 pts
** makes you want to hear the rest of the story


orange blossoms -
one name lost
to another

Michele L. Harvey
(0,0,3) = 3 pts


Sixteenth Place - 2 Points


all cats at a loss -
fey tweet and flutter by chick
fallen from the nest

Stopsy
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


Your gift of roses
withered as my spirit died
at the loss of you.

Jean Lewis
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


Late night thoughts
suddenly attack
in memory - my mother

Ashi
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


In her hour of loss
Sarah gently whispered
her wedding vows.

Robert C. Howard
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


broken leaves
scattered across the snow
says it all

Marylouise Knight
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


barren floor
bits of tinsel
cling to JPMorgan Chase's letter

tf
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


she looks at
the picture and weeps--
lost baby

Brian Etole
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


a slab of snow
slides from the roof--
nobody home

Ami
(0,1,0) = 2 pts


first rooster crow
relief at finding his side
empty

J Blain
(0,1,0) = 2 pts
**a loss with a twist

Lost in mirror
models in lingerie:
winter rain

R.K. Singh
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


wooden shutters
rattled by winter winds -
what have i lost

Giselle Maya
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


hand sown seeds
- all over again
a late monsoon

Anonymous
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
** I also liked this one

anniversary -
your photograph
greasy with my prints

dsnake1
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


missing key--
she walks slowly in the
thick grass

Synaidah Kalahi
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


lost in the dark...
how deep is the way
to find myself

Liz Rule
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


brown winter garden
then lived with blossoming life
now a winter death

dragonfly
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


last of the year--
lost in fog
on the road ahead

Bill Pauly
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


home team loss-
an empty coke can kicked
all the way back home

sanjukta
(0,0,2) = 2 pts


Back from holidays-
lunch time meeting with bosses
plant shutting down now

Hazel A. Witherspoon
(0,0,2) = 2 pts
**This happened to me once.


Seventeenth Place - 1  Point

empty house
after funeral
his clothes still in laundry basket

Tanja Cilia


snowman's grief
watching snowflakes disappear
one by one

Kalina Trendafilova
 **I like the freshness of thought in it
**good personification of a snowman


away on business
the sun dips behind
the obstruction

Alan S. Bridges


a friend dies-
brilliant platinum on ink
is the long-night moon

Ida Freilinger


off to a bad start
unable to balance
debit and credit

Barbara A Taylor


In a nutshell
the Universe repeats
all gains and losses

Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black


bloodless tongue
her throat has released
it's last meow

Emma Pageot


at the grave
a lone figure in black
winter twilight

natalia kuznetsova


loss of a down -
how do I make up
for lost time

Mike Montreuil


my faded wild rose
blooming
behind closed eyes

Svein Lie


all souls day
the child's grave shimmers
like new

john tiong chunghoo


he sits in her chair...
the kettle whistles louder
his toast grows cold

Edward


quick search--
a lost marble in the grass
glitters

Ceciliah Wambui


mama's last friend
a shaggy black dog
gone now

jill


no longer friends
her handwriting
on a sticky note

c pearce-worthington


the road behind me
the branch springs back
when I pluck the fruit

Earl R. Keener


reclaimed land
gulls hover above
the town hall

Bouwe Brouwer


hot tea in the street -
snowflakes melted
in many flavours

Radu Ignatescu


No points this time, sorry.


rising moon -
the sound of the water on the gravel
hides my thought

Patricia Lidia


heart-wrenching sobs-
yellow flowers
in a funeral wreath

gillena cox


same height, same walk
knowing what i'll find i yet
hurry to see the face

miriam chaikin
**I often want to see the faces of those when only seeing them from behind.

cold hands
sorry for your loss
graveside condolence

Anonymous


this survivor
who's buried a daughter
now news of her son

Merrill Ann Gonzales


deep cold -
the first stars
just barely visible

Cara Holman


old moon
another friend
has died

Bill Kenney


loss of her weight --
thinned snow cloud
disappears

Juhani Tikkanen


dropping off.
turtle hatchlings of
the existence

Ramesh Anand


him I lost once
comes back a new smile
a changed country

Alegria


Classifieds -
I lost a friend,
declare it null

Petru-Ioan Garda


moving to Italy-
all these memories
off to Goodwill

Barbara Campitelli


grandfathers' rockers
and tombstones in Winter—good
golly, Miss Molly

rocker feller


even in death
a quasar's bright light
the heart of the way

Margaret Dornaus


impaired
he wanders forgotten streets -
the signposts missing

Elaine Riddell
**this has more than one meaning of loss


This poem on the page,
that flattened squirrel
are similar, aren't they, vulture?

William M. Gottlieb


stumbling feet-
blood oozes from her
left toe

Kevin Asava


in darkness
the chimes ring four times
alone...yet still together

Tony Nasuta


 first date--
his shaggy hair leaves me
speechless

 Esther Obwamu


Thinning hair
racing towards old age
raging river.

Trevor Camp


should have been silver
but that your husband turned lead
I am sorry, friend

Deirdre Godwin


the Moon's cheek
over the Sun -
all upside down

Manuela Dragomirescu


Belleau Wood memorial
with stiff flowers full of hope
even now

Jim Sullivan


Violet hour.
Father used to admire
the slow snowflakes' dance.

Horst Ludwig


Shivering your soul
surrounds me, my breath vapor
bids goodbye

Christine Howard


in a cozy cradle
three hungry robinettes
in a nest for four

Elinor Pihl Huggett

letter home-
the years
that could have been

Anonymous


evening mist.
somewhere in the dark shadows
he is waiting

John Daleiden


third generation divorce
pinching
my great grandchild's face

Anonymous


fall classic -
from his death bed
the last swing

Bruce H. Feingold

Unread books
making up
for time

Beacon


old cypresses
leading me to your grave –
oh, memories!

moT


General Comments:

**Even though this is the free format/senryu section, I like to see
haiku (nature poems) with implied loss. I prefer these and generally
find them more effective than flat out statements of loss and grief.
 **... if this were but an anthology or a collection of exquisite
haiku, I wouldn't have had to suffer through my voting process but ...
 **Moved to comment: so many good ones, it was hard to choose. Some so
heart wrenching that one feels guilty choosing something over them –
but there you are.

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