156

[famous haiku by Matuso Basho (1644-1694) image made with Bing AI creator]

 

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL HAIKU POETRY DAY APRIL 17th 2025

None of the comments during the kukai are from the kukai coordinator. Comments and votes of the players are anonymously stated.

PLAYERS

1. Ed Bremson, USA; 2. Jackie Chou, USA; 3. Mona Bedi. India; 4. Nitu, India; 5. Corine Timmer, Portugal; 6. Marina Bellini, Italy; 7. Ana Drobot, Romania; 8. Daniela Misso, Italy; 9.Melissa Dennison, UK; 10. Eduard Tara, Romania; 11. Tracy Davidson, Uk;  12. Mark Gilbert, UK; 13. Billy Antonio, Phillipines; 14. Amoolya Kamalnath, India; 15.Mohua Maulik, New Delhi, India; 16. Swagata Soumyanarayan, India; 17. Devoshruti Mandai, India;18. Lakshmi Iyer, India; 19.Cezar Florescu, Botoșani, Romania; 20. Cristina Pietraru,  Romania; 21.Henryk Czempiel, Poland

FIRST PLACE

18

stars everywhere 

joining dots in search

of dad's constellation 

Lakshmi Iyer, India 

VOTES: 333***SCORE:18

COMMENT 1:Touchy and can relate. 

COMMENT 2:The poignant yearning in this ku was touching

COMMENT 3:Too many stars or too few and constellations can't be seen.

COMMENT 4:This is something painful yet an acceptance of the same. Simply showing love for Dad.

SECOND PLACE

8

children's laughter -

everywhere I look 

daisies

Daniela Misso; Italy

VOTES: 132***SCORE:13

COMMENT 1:Loved the juxta of the children's laughter to blooming daisies swaying everywhere in the fields. An image that shows the beauty of the poem.

COMMENT 2:The image of the children's laughter is evocative, vivid and vibes with the white and yellow of Daisies. There is a certain simplicity and innocence in both children and its comparison with daisies is so apt!

COMMENT 3:L1 and L3 are exquisitely complementing each other. Beautiful ku.

THIRD PLACE

2

mirrored windows

everywhere I turn 

winter narcissus 

Jackie Chou; Pico Rivera, California, United States

VOTES: 1*3***SCORE: 10

COMMENTS

10

milky way

everywhere memories

about fireflies

Eduard TARA, ROMANIA

VOTES: 24****SCORE:10

COMMENTS

19

lavender field...

everywhere I look

only mom's eyes

Cezar Florescu,  Botoșani, Romania.

VOTES: *22***SCORE:10

COMMENT 1:What a wonderful juxta to depict the lavender to a mother's eyes, the colour, the texture and all that that sums up a mother!

COMMENT 2:The emotion felt by the poet about her/his mother is beautiful and touching. It may be a mother who is living or has passed on but the thought is poignant.   

RESULTS CONTINUE

1

barefoot at the beach,

everywhere I'm picking up

sand burrs

Ed Bremson,Raleigh, NC, USA

VOTES: ******SCORE: 

COMMENTS

3

wayside moon

lingering everywhere 

honeysuckle wind

~ Regards, Mona Bedi.

Delhi, India 

VOTES: 111***SCORE:06

COMMENT 1: Nice short/long/short, nice pivot. I wonder if the key word "everywhere" worked better in the pivot, line 2? nice images, love honeysuckle.

COMMENT 2: Atmospheric, complex, structurally ambiguous. 

4

blossom rain

everywhere 

scent of spring ,

Nitu, India

VOTES: 11****SCORE:03 

COMMENT 1: Nice pivot, great images. We're in the middle of spring here, with all the pollen, and blossoms.

COMMENT 2:This is a quadrum, a poem in which the number of syllables in each line equals the number of lines. The pivot line works to generate a feel of universality.

5

first warm breeze . . .

everywhere birdsong

Corine Timmer; Faro,Portugal

VOTES: 12****SCORE:05 

COMMENT 1:Relatable. With the new season, comes the birdsongs.

COMMENT 2:This is eloquent. Just two sentences that capture a moment of joy. The first warm breeze of spring. Reading this I can feel it. The air alive with bird song. Beautiful. Life returns, along with hope for better days.

6

country lane

everywhere I look

daffodils

Marina Bellini, Italy 

VOTES: *11***SCORE:05

COMMENTS: A visit to a village and the beauty of nature is simply presented

7

everywhere 

the same sun -

globalisation

Ana Drobot (Bucharest, Romania)

VOTES: *21***SCORE:07 

COMMENT 1:The idea of the sun going global is a unique take and i found it amusing.

COMMENT 2:In just 5 words this haiku makes a powerful statement about humanity. This is its strength: brevity. Whoever we are, wherever we are, we are all under the same sun. We are all equal.

9

warm night

everywhere seeing stars...

does someone return our look?

Melissa Dennison, UK

VOTES: 1*****SCORE:01

COMMENTS: The leap from observation to speculation, and the leap in scale

11

an unwanted species 

spreading itself everywhere... 

mission to Mars 

Tracy Davidson, United Kingdom

VOTES: *12***SCORE:08 

COMMENT 1: I wonder if this is more senryu, but I love it, so metaphorical Emoji

COMMENT 2: Science will progress as it must. But one can already visualize the destruction of Mars. A relatable ku that resonated with me.

COMMENT 3: I find this verse both ironic and comical. There is an antagonistic effect with unwanted but everywhere, even reaching beyond where this species now inhabits. It's even more situational now with what's going on at a global level.

COMMENT 4: I A scifaiku covering millions of years.

12

thunder everywhere

rain from nowhere

day moon

Mark Gilbert, UK

13

leaves everywhere

the reunion postponed

indefinitely

Billy Antonio; Laoac, Philippines

14

not just here

but everywhere 

so spotlessly clean

this hospital

 Amoolya Kamalnath, India 

15

quake!

everywhere people running

as nurses steady cribs

Mohua Maulik, New Delhi, India

VOTES: 1*1***SCORE:04 

COMMENT 1:A recent event one cannot forget. Very touchy and poignant, and hence it stands out for me.

COMMENT 2:This verse showcases a huge respect to the frontline workers especially the compassionate nurses. In spite of life becoming tosy-turvy for the whole population, the only thing the nurses care about, even more than themselves or their own families, is their patients, who are like their own babies, not just their patients. A very heart-warming observation.

16

cicada songs

break the still night -

everywhere summer 

Swagata Soumyanarayan, Mumbai, India.

VOTES: 31****SCORE:05 

COMMENTS

17

dusty grey everywhere 

an old man mumbling 

' wars will end soon '

Devoshruti Mandal, India

VOTES: *12***SCORE:08

COMMENT 1: This haiku well describes people feelings during these awful times. 

COMMENT 2:HOPE - the one thing most of us hold on to, all our life, even after experiencing utter hopelessness in various situations in different circumstances.

COMMENT 3:This is poignant and timely. We all crave peace and yet from Gaza to the Sudan to Ukraine, the killing continues. Here an old man stands defiant in the rubble. Hope undimmed. Powerful.

20

nursing home

out of the window

buds everywhere

Cristina Pietraru,  Romania

VOTES: 211***SCORE:07

COMMENTS:A very poignant haiku and the reading picks up a whole circle from last line to the first. A very generalised experience of nursing, maybe the newborns or the aged; love and care are of the same nature!

21

New Year's Eve

fireworks everywhere

except Ukraine

Henryk Czempiel, Poland

VOTES: 111***SCORE:06 

COMMENTS

155

Welcome back to Caribbean Kigo Kukai

Dear haiku friends you are invited to participate in The Caribbean Kigo 'International Haiku Poetry Day' Kukai 2025

The Kigo is everywhere
SEND one haiku,   any form,  which MUST include the word everywhere
Your entry should include your name, and country from which you are sending.

EXAMPLE
the universe -

everywhere we breathe and dream

morning sky
© gillena cox; St James, Trinidad


Deadline for sending entries is April 2nd 2025
Deadline for sending votes is April 10th 2025


A voting list will be e-mailed to all players

VOTING
Votes to be scored using a total of 6 points; voters must use all 6 points

EXAMPLE
Haiku#76………3pts
Haiku#34………2pts
Haiku#8………1pt

The example given is just one of several ways you can allot your points


COMMENTS
Comments during voting are encouraged but must be limited to 3 lines [about forty words]. When published, these comments and votes will be given anonymous listings. Comments should be kept in the nature of encouraging the continued good haiku writing practice.

The Co-ordinator retains the right to not include a comment as anonymous and to ask the commenter to post his or her thoughts directly to the blog under Comments.


RESULTS
The results of this kukai will be published here at Caribbean Kigo Kukai on April 17th 2025  After results have been posted, I encourage your after-words as general comments, you can post directly here at the blog, just click on Comments at the end of the post.


CONTACT ME
e-mail your Submission, Vote, Comments 

INTERNATIONAL HAIKU POETRY DAY IS APRIL 17TH 2025 


much love
gillena

154

 

Dear Haiku Friends

Look out for the reopening of Caribbean Kigo Kukai, offering one Kukai this year to celebrate International Haiku Poetry Day.  

Check for details the last week of March

Much♡love

gillena cox

153

 

Dear Haiku Friends Caribbean Kigo Kukai is now officialy closed. Thank you for your participation. Wishing you all success in your future haiku endeavours

gillena cox; founder, coordinator

152

None of the comments during the kukai are from the kukai coordinator. Comments and votes of the players are anonymously stated.

Players: 1. Milan Rajkumar, India; 2. Lucia Cardillo, Italy; 3. Ana Drobot, Romania; 4. Pat Geyer, USA; 5. Dan Iulian, Romania; 6. Adjei Agyei-Baah, Ghana; 7. Mona Iordan, Romania; 8. Cezar Florescu, Romania; 9. Cristina-Valeria Apetrei, Romania; 10. Daniela Misso, Italy; 11. Aleksandra Guzik, Poland.

 

FIRST PLACE

7

ashy sky

the bitter colour of

my thoughts

Mona Iordan, Romania

VOTES: *34***SCORE: 18

COMMENTS: Thought provoking. We have done wrong things in our lives. Sky has no colour, yet the poet sees the sky in an ashy colour ... his penitence maybe 

SECOND PLACE

5

deserted hermitage -

only the wind still rings

the old bell

Dan C. Iulian, Bucharest-Romania

VOTES: 222***SCORE: 12

COMMENT 1: Sometimes it's a struggle to be a hermit amid the chaos of life. The repentance is prominently pronounced in a few syllables. 

COMMENT 2:The haiku expresses a feeling of serene isolation and a link to a higher power beyond oneself.

THIRD PLACE

9

first crocus

changing the color

of my sins

Cristina Valeria Apetrei

VOTES: 131***SCORE: 10

COMMENTS: In one way, we are all in a penitentiary of our own. Here the poet is lamenting or changing himself into a better person ...who knows?

RESULTS CONTINUES

 1

journey's end – 

the wild flower I plucked 

and thrown away 

Milan Rajkumar, India 

VOTES: 22****SCORE: 06

COMMENTS: well captured feeling of human regret, maybe even penitence

2

March rain

the little snail climbs 

towards the sun

Lucia Cardillo - Italy

VOTES: 21****SCORE: 04

COMMENTS: an optimistic poem

3

penitent -

bowing and so red

a tulip

Ana Drobot (Bucharest, Romania)

VOTES: ******SCORE: 00

COMMENTS:

4

repenting my sins

i clense myself from evil...

a lenten rose blooms

Pat Geyer, USA

VOTES: ******SCORE: 00

COMMENTS:

6

kneeling in the dark,

heart lightens with peacefulness 

confession box refuge

Adjei Agyei-Baah; Kumasi, Ghana

VOTES: *1****SCORE: 02

COMMENTS:

8

fasting day...

the vending machine swallows

scent of hyacinth

Cezar Florescu

VOTES: 211***SCORE: 07

COMMENTS: the hunger of the fasting day is so palpable here

10

purple mountains 

the elongated shadow 

of a pilgrim's staff

Daniela Misso, Italy

VOTES: *21***SCORE: 07

COMMENTS: a beautful image of faith

11

pilgrimage-

Jacob's shells lead me

to repentance

Aleksandra Guzik, Poland

VOTES: ******SCORE: 00

COMMENTS:

151

this haiga first appeared HERE

Dear haiku friends you are invited to The Caribbean Kigo  Lenten Kukai 2023 

The theme is penitent
SEND 

one haiku after you have pondered the theme. 

You do not have to use the exact words given.

Your entry should include your name, and country from which you are sending.

Deadline for sending entries is March 14th 2023
Deadline for sending votes is March 24th 2023


A voting list will be e-mailed to all players

VOTING
Votes to be scored using a total of 6 points; voters must use all 6 points

EXAMPLE
Haiku#76………3pts
Haiku#34………2pts
Haiku#8………1pt

The example given is just one of several ways you can allot your points


COMMENTS
Comments during voting are encouraged but must be limited to 3 lines [about forty words]. When published, these comments and votes will be given anonymous listings. Comments should be kept in the nature of encouraging the continued good haiku writing practice.

The Co-ordinator retains the right to not include a comment as anonymous and to ask the commenter to post his or her thoughts directly to the blog under Comments.


RESULTS
The results of this kukai will be published here at Caribbean Kigo Kukai on March 31st 2023  After results have been posted, I encourage your after- words as general comments, you can post directly here at the blog, just click on Comments at the end of the post.


CONTACT ME
e-mail your Submission, Vote, and Comments  

150

POEMS REMAIN THE COPYRIGHT OF INDIVIDUAL WRITERS

None of the comments during the kukai are from the kukai coordinator. Comments and votes of the players are anonymously stated.

Players: 1. Pat Geyer, USA; 2. Eugeniusz Zacharski; 3.Wiesław Karliński,  Poland;  Poland; 3.  4. Ana Drobot, Romania;  5. Marina Bellini, Italy; 6. Dan Iulian, Romania; 7. Daniela Misso, Italy;  8. Lucia Cardillo, Italy; 9. Andrzej Dembończyk, Poland; 10. Cezar Florescu, Romania; 11. Cristina-Valeria Apetrei, Romania;

 

FIRST PLACE

11

Christmas lights

gazing at the stars

in her eyes

--Cristina-Valeria Apetrei

VOTES: 152*** SCORE 17

COMMENTS: Magical and romantic

SECOND PLACE

5

Christmas concert

outside the old church

first snowflakes

--Marina Bellini – Italy

VOTES: **4*** SCORE 12

COMMENT: well-captured moment when nature takes part in the humans' celebration.

COMMENT: A very simple moment that makes me look back to my childhood

THIRD PLACE

6

Christmas truce -

on the front line a fir tree

decorated with stars

--Dan Iulian, Romania

VOTES: 112*** SCORE 09

COMMENTS:

RESULTS CONTINUED

1

sparkling icicles

decorate the evergreens....

December magic

--Pat Geyer East Brunswick, NJ USA

VOTES: *1**** SCORE 02

COMMENTS:

 

2

wartime

the first star approaching us

too fast

--Eugeniusz Zacharski; Poland

 VOTES: 1***** SCORE 01

COMMENTS:

 

3

star of bethlehem

here there everywhere

white and merry

--Wiesław Karliński, Namysłów, Poland

VOTES: *1**** SCORE 02

COMMENTS:

 

 4

birthday party -

in the beggar's cart

a piece of moon

--Ana Drobot (Bucharest, Romania)

VOTES: 31**** SCORE 05

COMMENTS:

 

7

 wishing for peace ...

the gentle swaying

of a candle flame

--Daniela Misso, Italy

VOTES: 32**** SCORE 07

COMMENTS: The sad magic of a candle flame

8

Christmas eve ...

magically time goes back

you are with me again

--Lucia Cardillo – Italy

VOTES: *2**** SCORE 04

COMMENTS: A tender moment of love.

 

9

Christmas Eve -

on an empty table

letter from the war department

--Andrzej Dembończyk, Silesia, Poland

VOTES: 1***** SCORE 01

COMMENTS:

 

10

Christmas Eve...

I want my father to come

alive from the war

--Cezar Florescu

VOTES: **2*** SCORE 06

COMMENTS:

DEAR HAIKU FRIENDS: 

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BRIGHT AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR