Winner


snow-hushed night--
on the north wind a faint
tinkling of bells

Norman Darlington



Second Place


stormy night--
who is that snowcapped traveller
from the north?

Norman Darlington


Third Place


conversation
interrupted, a plate smashing
- asparagus tips

Maeve O'Sullivan



The lens captures the moment
The image lasts forever
The moment no more.

Carmel Heaney



autumn sunset
the glow of bluegum
in the stove

Ernest Berry



On still water
A small creature moves
Towing a large leaf.

Carmel Heaney



in a biting wind
pale on bare tree trunks
a huddle of snails

Jim Norton



I nearly cursed
this morning drizzle ~
baby ducks swimming

Gilles Fabre


Other Haiku that were awarded points


tenacious ivy
crumbling names on the old stone
only 'beloved'

Glenda Cimino



Veterans' Day...
stumps in neighboring yards
where pines were felled

Thomas Heffernan



tea in my old room
rearranged
a year of my life

Maeve O'Sullivan




end of the day
these millions of leaves
still waiting to be ruffled

Gilles Fabre




All Souls' Day
dust flying across
my windshield

Thomas Heffernan




Tattered petals
scatter the summer scents
of spent roses.

Neville Keery




the empty convent
lavender blooming in front
outliving the nuns

Glenda Cimino




early closing
the table daisies
stay open

Ernest Berry
 



coming and going,
the baby's sweet breath
in the rose garden

Thomas Heffernan




cold morning
the hair stylist's cat
curls up

Ernest Berry



SOME COMMENTS



The lens captures the moment
The image lasts forever
The moment no more.

I gave five points to this haiku because the truth in the haiku touched my heart.


5.

autumn sunset
the glow of bluegum
in the stove

I gave 5 points to Haiku 5 because it captures season, colour and temperature in a way that conjures up a familiar universal environment.


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snow-hushed night--
on the north wind a faint
tinkling of bells


I usually give 5 points to the haiku that stays with me and this one did. In fact I awoke at 4 am and it came to mind!
I also vote for ones I can identify with. This one does, infact myself and my young son heard those "tinkling bells"once ( whatever they are)
and it brought back a lovely memory and I was also glad other people hear "bells in the wind".


It evokes the elements and weather and links them to a concrete object. Good sounds.


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On still water
A small creature moves
Towing a large leaf.


I gave top marks for this one given it is a delicate rendition of an event we see (or should see) every day but do not pay enough attention to usually.
There is also a good rhythm (and "still" and "small" work well in sound...)

I would like to read more simple (as ordinary event) haiku like this rather than over complicated, deep and cerebral ones...


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cold morning
the hair stylist's cat
curls up


I love this haiku, mainly for its simplicity. The contrast of the cold morning and the cosy interior (assuming the cat is inside) is effective,
as is the play on the word "curl". I'm sorry this review isn't longer, but all there really is to say is that this haiku works best for me!




SOME REVIEWS


On haiku 4:

The lens captures the moment
The image lasts forever
The moment no more.


I am not convinced this is a haiku. It is a succession of actions (in chronological order) which means it tends to say everything about the "action"
(which is not always good in haiku in general) but nothing about the "event" (what was the subject, the event experienced, felt?).

With regards to styler, starting each line by "THe" may be much questioned as using twice the word "moment"
(almost 3 with "lasts" and four if we consider that a haiku "describes" a moment).



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On haiku 8:

On this swan
circling over a lake
the weight of the clouds

This haiku almost works very well, in my view. The triply-layered image of the swan, the lake and the clouds is lovely.
However, there are problems with the haiku which prevent it from reaching its full potential.
The first one is the presence of the preposition "on" in line 1. "On this swan" is a little awkward in terms of syntax and also imagery.
I wonder if "over" would work better? Or even "above"?
There's a similar problem in Line 2, which could work well as a pivot line relating to both lines 1 & 3,
if "over" was replaced by "on" or even just "circling a lake".
Prepositions are small words, often overlooked (they are perhaps to parts of speech what haiku are to the poetry world!),
but it's important to get them right nonetheless.
Line 3 is working well, but I think "the weight of clouds" would be cleaner than "the weight of the clouds".
Two definite articles may be one too many in one line.

So, my version would read something like this:

this swan
circling a lake
the weight of clouds

or even

the weight of clouds
circling a lake
this swan


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On haiku 9:
 
Veterans' Day...
stumps in neighboring yards
where pines were felled

In haiku 9 I like line three, where pins were felled, it for me invoked the scent of them, the image of a wood.
I did take exception to veterans day and the word stumps being together.
It may not have been the authors intention but I felt it had other connotations which for me took from the other wise good haiku.



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On haiku 18:

end of the day
these millions of leaves
still waiting to be ruffled

I like the concept of this haiku. but a few leaves, or one leaf, is more striking than millions which one cannot really envisage.
Direction to take

end of the day
pile of leaves in the garden
still waiting  to be ruffled.


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On haiku 22:

draught under the door
the one he has promised
to exclude


While it catches a moment, for me it's not an "awe" moment, but more on "ouch" moment.
I like haiku to  include nature ( but you could argue it does have the wind?)
For me there's a hint of frustration in the tone, maybe that's what I don't like.
Perhaps if the writer had used the room or a memory in connection with the draught?
I'm not sure what to make of it it. Would like to hear otherpeople's views.


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About 19, 29 and 30:

19.
 
All Souls' Day
dust flying across
my windshield


29.
 
wind in the long grass
sighs of forgotten lovers
under canyon trees

30.
 
fully-fledged robin
admiring his reflection -
graduation day


I put these 3 haiku together as I find they have a common point/aspect: linking an event
(that has personal subjective connotation such as All Souls Day, Graduation day, love) with an observed situation (driving...)

Most haiku work on a "contradiction" (i.e. a surprise, an unexpected twist that gives the emotional impact...)
or on a linking like this of 2 separate concepts/events.

But for this kukai, the 2 winners

snow-hushed night--
on the north wind a faint
tinkling of bells

and

stormy night--
who is that snowcapped traveller
from the north?

are actually not relying/based on this "system" but simply on the description of one situation (night, wind, cold),
deeply rooted in seasonal impact and one action (bells tinkle, person walking).
But the relation (rapport) between these 2 elements (situation/action) is simply natural, delicate:
I think that's the reason why (subconsciously?) these two were more pleasing, satisfying and got the votes (in large majority).

Also because they were rationally/logically seasonal and we could identify/relate to them?