The Shiki Monthly Kukai

July 2010 Kukai

Here are the results for the July 2010 Kukai, wherein our Kigo subject was Any Summer Grass and our Free Format subject was Anything Quirky.

Congratulations to Parkeenka Ntato and Polona Oblak, winners of our Kigo section and to Cara Holman, winner of our Free Format section!

Those who were given less than three points and who requested anonymity in such a case are so noted.

(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.

July 2010 Results
Kigo Theme: Any Summer Grass	Free Format Theme: Anything Quirky
First Place  — 18 Points leaning papyrus — the weight of a green chameleon Parkeenka Ntato (2,4,4) = 18 pts and the neighbour's unkempt lawn... all these butterflies polona (1,4,7) = 18 pts I especially like the ambiguity of line 3. Do I hear annoyance? surprise? delight? envy? All of the above? Second Place  — 17 Points bluestem a flash of quail in all directions Tom Painting (0,5,7) = 17 pts Third Place  — 16 Points struggling through the tall grass -- a boy again maxianne (2,2,6) = 16 pts If only I had more Points to give! Fourth Place  — 15 Points slowly straightening ... the grass where we laid Paul Hodder (0,4,7) = 15 pts Fifth Place  — 14 Points July evening a cricket still playing on the cut grass Jacek M. (1,3,5) = 14 pts Sixth Place  — 13 Points lost in the sway of summer grass sweet innocence Amicus (2,1,5) = 13 pts Very funny. tall grass an ant explores her bra size Rafal Zabratynski (0,3,7) = 13 pts Seventh Place  — 12 Points the wind through the buffalo grass Little Big Horn martin gottlieb cohen (1,3,3) = 12 pts Historiku is a form that rarely works for me, but this one nails it. Echoes of Basho, sure, but with a distinctly American accent. Eighth Place — 11 Points crickets — scattering the scent of dewy grass kaiser (1,2,4) = 11 pts back country — switchgrass covering the soldier's worn stone Bill Pauly (0,2,7) = 11 pts pampas grass — one unseen cricket after another DeVar (0,2,7) = 11 pts I would have liked to have given this one an extra point. afternoon swelter a lawn sprinkler's arc the only motion Catherine J.S. Lee (0,2,7) = 11 pts Ninth Place — 10 Points dinner bell — the farmer chews a stem of herd's-grass Carmel Lively Westerman (1,1,5) = 10 pts crab grass matching my mood Donna Bauerly (1,1,5) = 10 pts Short and very sweet! Tenth Place — 9 Points Buffalo grass — the hot breath of prairie wind Garry Gay (1,1,4) = 9 pts timothy grass between her teeth cloud-gazing Ruth Powell (0,1,7) = 9 pts Eleventh Place — 8 Points War memories — through the ancient armours this summer grass Vasile Moldovan (1,2,1) = 8 pts tiptoeing the lawn her curls bounce towards the shade Nick Petrone (1,0,5) = 8 pts summer grass — after the picnic lovemaking John Daleiden (0,2,4) = 8 pts not even crabgrass has survived this year  — another ice tea Diane Mayr (0,2,4) = 8 pts late summer a squirrel leaps high to cross the lawn Mary Stevens (0,1,6) = 8 pts A wonderful example of 'show' over 'tell' and the power of implication. We know the lawn has escaped control by the height of the squirrel's leaps. Strongly pictorial, while still leaving the reader something to do. dog days — the slow wave of summer grass rob scott (0,1,6) = 8 pts summer grass flat with the imprint of us Meredith Stern Cavalieri (0,1,6) = 8 pts Twelfth Place  — 7 Points a summer breeze runs through the grass of the empty schoolyard April Serock (1,1,2) = 7 pts warm dry turf with each turn of the page a different insect Sheila K. Barksdale (1,0,4) = 7 pts This well chosen imagery puts me sensually right in the moment of many past summer days. Thanks to the author for that. I turn my head you vanish in the summer grass Haruko Maki (0,2,3) = 7 pts Derby day the retired thoroughbred grazes on blue grass Carolyn Coit Dancy (0,2,3) = 7 pts dark night — the scent of fresh mown grass in the wind Isabelle Prondzynski (0,0,7) = 7 pts Thirteenth Place —6 Points Delight Isles — lost through the reeds a wounded crane Adina Enachescu (1,1,1) = 6 pts cold July — a white golf ball rolls on the turf grass Duncan Omoto (0,2,2) = 6 pts It's been a hot, hot July in Arizona. I only dream of a cool morning for golf! in mute recovery grass and I ...rain carol pearce-worthington (0,2,2) = 6 pts bent putter he misreads the tenth green again Edward (0,1,4) = 6 pts doldrums — the boat's wake moves through the marsh grass aom (tim) (0,0,6) = 6 pts Fourteenth Place — 5 Points saw grass cuts my skin like a hickory switch Tom Conally (1,0,2) = 5 pts Golden switchgrass fields caressed by August breezes softly speak your name. Robert Charles Howard (0,2,1) = 5 pts sunbaked an open book in the grass Patricia A. Boutilier (0,2,1) = 5 pts shaking star grass — two grasshoppers mating quietly Naomy Asiko (0,2,1) = 5 pts midnight yowl I step in a puddle of cat grass andrea (0,1,3) = 5 pts a field of bare toes wiggling in blue grass — the dobro's twang Terri L. French (0,1,3) = 5 pts There were several haiku that went with blue grass. I thought this was the best, evoking the bluegrass of Kentucky and the music. hay meadow breeze — I sway with the ripples James Dobson. (0,1,3) = 5 pts her blonde hair waving with the wind — summer long grass Israel Lopez Balan (0,1,3) = 5 pts the smell of new-mown hay birdsong Liz Rule (0,1,3) = 5 pts dune grass making a soundless imitation of the ocean waves Audrey Downey (0,0,5) = 5 pts Fifteenth Place — 4 Points 4:20 pm the bong is lit once more peace Jennifer Stefanow (1,0,1) = 4 pts smoking grass on the grass summer high Mr PC (1,0,1) = 4 pts A writer after my own soul, this poet is. too much grass — it's growing under your feet Barbara Campitelli (0,2,0) = 4 pts Her hair pinned up, her fingers comb into a stray clump of chives. mechaieh (0,2,0) = 4 pts summer grasses: kaleidoscope in the prairie breeze John McDonald (0,1,2) = 4 pts scorched grass — sparrows till with dusty beaks Kurt R. Westley (0,0,4) = 4 pts summer drought beyond the hills of bleached grass how blue the sea Elaine Riddell (0,0,4) = 4 pts lawn mowing islands of long grass saved by the daisies Tore Sverredal (0,0,4) = 4 pts Sixteenth Place — 3 Points meadow sweet a field mouse runs from the municipal mower Andrew Shimield (0,1,1) = 3 pts August spots in the grass still green Bill Kenney (0,1,1) = 3 pts White clovers — a white haired man found a four-leaved Juhani Tikkanen (0,1,1) = 3 pts How many of these I've found; they always bring the wish up. pocket comb — the hill's shape in the windrows Michele L. Harvey (0,1,1) = 3 pts dune grass rooted in the sand ... on the edge Marylouise Knight (0,1,1) = 3 pts perennial grass... this man at the street corner in threadbare fatigues Chuck Welt (0,1,1) = 3 pts fresh mown hay — pulling on the nostrils the smell of the childhood Petru-Ioan Garda (0,0,3) = 3 pts I find this haiku brimming with nostalgia; though I feel it would benefit from having the articles (the) removed, in particular from the last line. Still, it evokes for me that one-and-only scent of new mown hay - reading it, I found myself transported - a childhood vision of myself, standing in a field and sniffing. Beautiful. pouting child a stubborn clump of crabgrass under the swing set Elinor Pihl Huggett (0,0,3) = 3 pts Wonderfully echoing contrasts of 'pouting', 'stubborn' and 'crab. so many stars... drifting in the coolness of bluegrass Carol Raisfeld (0,0,3) = 3 pts creeping bent miss hissy's litter learns to stalk Nancy Smith (0,0,3) = 3 pts spear of summer grass a taste of our place over the hill Dan Schwerin (0,0,3) = 3 pts Seventeenth Place — 2 Points green pasture — a man cultivating his blue grass Valary Knight (0,1,0) = 2 pts verdant meadows — Mother Earth in sheer splendour Shyam Prasad (0,1,0) = 2 pts forgotten vineyard — old cow grazing on orchard grass Kaylene (0,1,0) = 2 pts Speckled with red poppies, meadow grass... stop and stare fields. Jean Lewis (0,0,2) = 2 pts at hunting — looking through the wet grass a clover Alex Serban (0,0,2) = 2 pts compost pile — grass clippings today soil tomorrow Cara Holman (0,0,2) = 2 pts in the headlight spike grass one hood high Walter Franceschi (0,0,2) = 2 pts wildflowers appear in my neighbor's unmown lawn Merrill Ann Gonzales (0,0,2) = 2 pts blue grass Green River only in Kentucky Ben Gieske (0,0,2) = 2 pts Summer rain, blackbird in wet grass — sparkling moment. Trevor Camp (0,0,2) = 2 pts the sigh of the dog finding an old pickup truck deep in the prairie Anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts speeding train spike bentgrass dances in its wake Alan S. Bridges (0,0,2) = 2 pts children crawling on star grass — grasshopper hunters Khadijah Rajab (0,0,2) = 2 pts heat haze; two ladybugs atop each other on a grass stalk manoj saranathan (0,0,2) = 2 pts I really like the image of ladybugs in love. pissing in the summer grass — oh damn headlights! Tomislav M. (0,0,2) = 2 pts a bluegrass breeze turns this dog day green Jon Espen Vassbotn (0,0,2) = 2 pts The best of all grasses to lie on! timothy grass light in her hand summer dreams Beth Powell (0,0,2) = 2 pts morning haze his manicured lawn browner than mine Anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts The neurotic competitiveness of suburbia nicely caught. Eighteenth Place — 1 Point thriving in a crack in the sidewalk  — a tuft of green grass miriam chaikin legless frogs squirming in sheaths of freshly mown hay Barbara A Taylor A regular sight when working in the fields during my childhood summer vacations on the farm. among the rapeseed weathered gray barn wood bent rusty nails if sunset long weeds going back and forth the minnows hiding place C.P. Harrison free from herbicides clover overtakes our front lawn Mike Montreuil seaside sunup body imprints in clifftop grass Frances McCarthy windy evening — orchard grass swaying from side to side Nelson Eboso cold morning — mosquito eggs sway on dew blue grass Shamim Mmbone I like this one for its imagery and potential grace, though it's flawed. Blue grass is a cool season grass rather than summer. It's worth revising for submission elsewhere. I'd suggest something like: cold morning--/mosquito eggs swaying/on a dewy blade. (Staff note: Shamim is from Kenya) harvesting Sudan the cattle egrets follow closely Bill Hudson rustle of grass — patter of feet I spy you ! Chitra Rajappa best scent in the world grass lies curing in the sun turning into hay Deirdre Godwin shafts of sunlight rising in the morning breeze... silver spear Keith A. Simmonds her deep glance — the green of summer grass of my youth Orbi short rope — a woman joins it with reeds to carry firewood Isaac Ndirangu elephant grass — my father repairing the thatch of our kitchen Peter Kalivo an artisan weaving papyrus reeds — traditional chairs Sam Pirias compass grass — holding the cabin in the dunes Anonymous grandpa's song... green reeds swing still Lech Szeglowski a soldier sleeping on the bench; dreaming of summer grasses? og_a time out — the baseball glove rests under the wild oats Terra Martin No points this time, sorry. brush strokes grass meets sky I am Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black bush fired scorched — the withered patch awaits the rains gillena cox Aureola cascade among the rocks, a frog croaks Alegria dewy lemongrass bends over the breath from a dormant snail Svend A. Doggfall shudder — toes grass stained Jordi Summer-dry grass. Nothing left of the buildings, the old stone well. Horst Ludwig Summer dry grass pricking all over my skin waiting for rain Angelika Kolompar muddy evening — an old man staggering in turf grass Victor Odhiambo crowded stadium — a Ghanaian player slides over turf grass Rodgers Nzomo grass billows heaves twin oceans hose pulled through Karin Anderson Black cat, brown lawn Both look dead Waiting on rain Mary E. Gray she delays his mowing the backyard — the blue-eyed-grass blooms Anonymous field grasses — smears of spittlebug foam on ankles Carmen Sterba weedwhacking he leaves the violet flowered grass name unknown gourdman my dog sheds grass throughout the house mower stops suddenly Pris Campbell town square picture perfect planters spikes of crab grass Hazel A. Witherspoon blown broom grass... dancing in the wind tickles my fancy eric star grass — my new white jumper got stained! Catherine Njeri Maina fields of golden wave Palouse wheat in the breeze heat of summers dusk Lori Kay late evening — a goat hurriedly browsing on star grass Patrick Wafula Red Sox home run the outfield's argyle pattern Barbara Snow windy noon — dry grass blowing in the air Collins Ogutu blue sky — a lark carrying papyrus reed Eric Mwange farmyard — our neighbour baling Napier to make hay Gloria Kerubo breezy afternoon — Napier grass bends in the direction of the wind Winslause Yamame night descends — some crickets sing for haste in the mowed grass Miorita splendour on the grass... club sweeps ball soars MM grassland — the old cowboy gone there on forgetful days Michael McClintock	First Place — 22 Points night sky — my thumb eclipsing the moon Cara Holman (0,6,10) = 22 pts Second Place  — 20 Points the parking ticket machine tells me change is possible Andrew Shimield (0,4,12) = 20 pts Cleverly philosophical. Third Place — 18 Points accessories — she dyes tennis balls to match her outfits ARW (1,4,7) = 18 pts night time harmony my wife and my dog snoring off key Mr. PC (0,3,12) = 18 pts It is the word "harmony" that makes this fine and quirky haiku even more attractive to me. Humorous, and so true. Fourth Place — 17 Points Inside my belly A baby circus unfolds I am a big top Liz Petrone (1,5,4) = 17 pts This is hilarious! A wonderful scene is being painted for me here. I know how this feels. Fifth Place — 15 Points butterfly wings stir - a star slips over the rim of a black hole Liz Rule (1,4,4) = 15 pts Wow! Through the worm hole and back again. zen garden; even in the brochure box- emptiness ! manoj saranathan (1,2,8) = 15 pts Sixth Place — 13 Points left ankle... for her seventieth birthday a hummingbird tattoo Elinor Pihl Huggett (0,1,11) = 13 pts Seventh Place — 12 Points bedtime the quilts are laughing Tore Sverredal (0,3,6) = 12 pts Eight Place — 11 Points heat wave :: yet such coolness in the fresh grave timothy russell (0,2,7) = 11 pts Ninth Place — 10 Points drunk on the lawn — firefly, can you give me a light? kaiser (2,0,4) = 10 pts Ah! American summer. new moon — zen haiku written in invisible . . . Bill Pauly (1,2,3) = 10 pts Love this example of 'show' over 'tell'. toad at my door — is this your house, too? Alan S. Bridges (1,0,7) = 10 pts no funeral — twelve million and the mansion to her Pekingese Catherine J.S. Lee (1,0,7) = 10 pts Tenth Place — 9 Points a raindrop hangs there just hangs there just ... PLOP! miriam chaikin (0,3,3) = 9 pts Reading this we wait on leaf tip just as the raindrop does. Love this enactment of slow summer days. up and down the Japanese newspaper ~ ladybird Paul Hodder (0,3,3) = 9 pts humidity you can almost wring out the day Donna Bauerly (0,2,5) = 9 pts rhubarb salsa ... I am the neighbour you write about Anna Maria Scarpone (0,2,5) = 9 pts The neighbor I wish I had. I want that salsa recipe! in the dog crate the pink baby blanket too good to give away Roberta Beary (0,2,5) = 9 pts a close-up of her belly button on skype Barbara A Taylor (0,1,7) = 9 pts Eleventh Place — 8 Points stone garden — the toddler kicks a stone rob scott (1,1,3) = 8 pts substitute teacher — a hand shadow dog eats an orbiting moon aom (tim) (0,2,4) = 8 pts kingfisher a bit of the blue sky in the cloudy day jacek m. (0,2,4) = 8 pts passing through the old gate autumn wind helge (0,2,4) = 8 pts Twelfth Place — 7 Points cool music — grand piano in a dungeon James Dobson (1,0,4) = 7 pts This is excellent. two four year olds with shoes on the wrong feet — a cloudless sky DeVar (1,0,4) = 7 pts she wants to eat pancakes with ice cream — the winter night Miorita (0,0,7) = 7 pts Thirteenth Place — 6 Points in ten minutes a foot above the water full moon Peter Macrow (1,1,1) = 6 pts butt-crack shorts banned at Chinatown store 'we peekie, no servie' Pris Campbell (0,1,4) = 6 pts Fourteenth Place — 5 Points whatta life in the street a perfect strawberry carol pearce-worthington (1,0,2) = 5 pts cotton candy clouds float in a blue soda sky evening carnival Deirdre Godwin (1,0,2) = 5 pts Pure Bred — she closes her eyes as she scoops the poop Bill Kenney (0,1,3) = 5 pts his tongue stuck in a beer can: drunken dog John McDonald (0,1,3) = 5 pts I like the possible two meanings of the last line. a bag of chips waddles off picnic spread with crow's feet Alegria (0,1,3) = 5 pts fast food jukebox nearby a toddler playing air guitar Frances McCarthy (0,1,3) = 5 pts visiting the grandparents he pulls his pants up. Bill Hudson (0,1,3) = 5 pts husband gone — his watch ticks it's last tock at the garage sale Carol Raisfeld (0,1,3) = 5 pts orb web we hang our clothes around it on the washing line Elaine Riddell (0,0,5) = 5 pts moonlight golf teeing up a glitter-ball Barbara Snow (0,0,5) = 5 pts Fifteenth Place — 4 Points bubble gum smeared- a face carrying the winning smile gillena cox (1,0,1) = 4 pts smores around the camp fire no app for that Beth Powell (0,2,0) = 4 pts So very contemporary! Spiky orange hair, welcome all to planet Earth. Jean Lewis (0,1,2) = 4 pts fallen pine cone your secret nest of stars is safe with me John Thompson (0,1,2) = 4 pts under his arm a "life-size" plastic camel  —December 26 Diane Mayr (0,1,2) = 4 pts mophead hydrangeas bashful in the glass vase Marylouise Knight (0,1,2) = 4 pts between the cars a flicked cigarette  —or fast firefly Darrell Lindsey (0,0,4) = 4 pts Sixteenth Place — 3 Points risqué and wild talking about my book club Elsa Colligan (0,1,1) = 3 pts pair of houseflies light on my pant leg and commence to mate if (0,1,1) = 3 pts long sleeved shirt on the hottest day — he won't budge Ruth Powell (0,1,1) = 3 pts starfish-shaped loofah sponge I start with my arms and legs Mary Stevens (0,0,3) = 3 pts a bit of sand where the pool once was — let's pretend it's the beach Mike Montreuil (0,0,3) = 3 pts an egret waltzing on the back of a cow... peals of laughter Keith A. Simmonds (0,0,3) = 3 pts Seventeenth Place — 2 Points she steps on the scale holding her baby... haloed moon Kameshwara Rao (0,1,0) = 2 pts Hot Summer night clouds turn oven red glass of cold water Angelika Kolompar (0,1,0) = 2 pts religion lesson — chalking up 'conscience' he crushes a piece of chalk Lech Szeglowski (0,1,0) = 2 pts This is the saddest image I've ever read. clinging to the garden gate plastic troll with a soccer ball gourdman (0,1,0) = 2 pts her cleavage was such... that her spoken word was heard with an echo eric (0,1,0) = 2 pts High leaping dolphin arching through the flaming hoop dreams of open seas. Robert Charles Howard (0,0,2) = 2 pts flamethrower cafe all drinks are served with hot sauce ice cubes Edward (0,0,2) = 2 pts car care — pouring a quart of oil into the radiator Barbara Campitelli (0,0,2) = 2 pts Raven perched on Mom and Dad's tombstone... "Nevermore" Tom Conally (0,0,2) = 2 pts on a diet both feet in one pant leg half awake Ben Gieske (0,0,2) = 2 pts self-assembly wardrobe Step 1: I pOp PoP pOp PoP bubble wrap Rafal Zabratynski (0,0,2) = 2 pts signs of fifa flu football fever and swollen vuvuzela lips Amicus (0,0,2) = 2 pts unable to say "please" in either language the Klingons break for snacks Anonymous (0,0,2) = 2 pts a suit sings under the umbrella bare feet og_a (0,0,2) = 2 pts Eighteenth Place — 1 Point Fancy restaurant: her designer jacket has strange dramatic swirls Sheila K. Barksdale Katahdin my dream exposed on the knife edge Tom painting Katahdin: highest mountain in Maine. Knife Edge: most famous trail to the summit. walking alone by the sea sudden shaft of sun lights Oh my God Anonymous I like the possible change of meaning depending on how the last line is emphasized. no rain coming in — new shoes don't fit like old shoes C.P. Harrison night of stars the dare to get another piercing Michele L. Harvey laughing at the bit of mint on your front tooth — another mojito Terri L. French This month an English haiku — that's quirky. Trevor Camp curious to me — swarm of male mosquitoes Juhani Tikkanen green hair pierced eyebrows where had her baby gone? Meredith Stern Cavalieri grandma climbs up the fruit-laden cherry tree — our pit-shooting game... Anonymous skittish wherever she is the barfly Dan Schwerin No points this time, sorry. puff puff puff pass rotation Jennifer Stefanow green fireflies green and green and green pell-mell there here maxianne i touched the ass of my beautiful chief — goodbye my job Petru-Ioan Garda creaking weathervane water spout reaching dragon clouds Lorraine Margueritte Gasrel Black Sunflakes flit through leaded windowpane — did the workers wash for lunch? Nick Petrone discontent's nature the child's short arms sweeps the earth Svend A. Doggfall mango harvest on Farm Town — late supper Anonymous Things real weird? God's hand at soccer, free-form haiku, ... Horst Ludwig wet behind the ears he turns frontwards blow dries wisdom teeth Karin Anderson Left turn in Albuquerque The rabbit always Forgets Mary E. Gray bushy, black mustaches accessorize their gowns — a bridal shop John Daleiden greed for mammon in a life ephemeral — sadly absurd Shyam Prasad the canada goose stares — who is this creature with only a black cap? Lisa Alexander Baron vacation's eve Murphy's law in full effect smiling through the shift Hazel A. Witherspoon balloon covered ceiling cake and candles ready grandpa playing marbles Kaylene dog days street dogs with pinky ties sekkai high noon deadline but the quirks have a siesta until utc-4 Jon Espen Vassbotn summer garden sprouting everywhere totally uninvited Queen Anne's Lace Anonymous mosquito repellent — hidden by the thai lemon grass he waits Terra Martin

Thank you for participating in the July 2010 Kukai!

We will announce the August Call for Submissions on Monday, August 2, 2010. See you then!

With much appreciation,

Robert and George

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