2018
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HAIKU (Judge: Lee Gurga)
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First Place ($100)
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such young men shooting stars
Frank Hooven, Morrisville PA
Is the poet pointing to the ephemeral nature that young men and shooting stars share? Or perhaps that we are seeing actual young men shooting at the untouchable reminders of the vastness of the cosmos rather than at country stop signs with their .22 rifles? A young pilot in a night fighter watching tracers streak across the sky? It is our choice and our pleasure to contemplate these and other possibilities. Like many fine haiku, this ku hinges on a single word: such. How could it be that the key element of a “poem of nouns” could be an adjective? And yet, once again here, a single unobtrusive modifier significantly increases the depth of meaning and moves the poem from the realm of mundane observation to that of wisdom literature.
Lee Gurga, judge
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Second Place ($50)
first awake a lake of mist
John Stevenson, Nassau NY
Third Place ($25)
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whale spouts
this thin line of hope
migrating north
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Renée Owen, Sebastopol CA
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Honorable Mentions
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dusk
to darkness
meadow to woods
John Stevenson, Nassau NY
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fading light
ripples of a sail
become the sea
Seren Fargo, Bellingham WA
terns
chasing terns
the perpetual surf
Brad Bennett, Arlington MA
White Christmas
my shadow
kind of blue
Scott Mason, Chappaqua NY
cornbread
and a cup of cider
autumn equinox
John Stevenson, Nassau NY
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SENRYU (Judge: Christopher Herold)
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First Place ($100)
my father and I
a puzzle we've done
before
Peter Newton, Winchendon MA
Ah! Such implications. Each reading takes me deeper, all but one interpretation applying equally without negating the others. Most superficially, I see a partially assembled jigsaw puzzle on a table. But the final two words are what establish this poem’s intended relevance and poignance. Since the puzzle has been “done before,” I am led to a father who, in his dotage, is becoming senile. Perhaps he now resides at an assisted living facility. Piecing together a puzzle provides two benefits. On one hand, it offers stimulation that can help impede mental decline. On the other, it may serve as a focal point that deflects awkward breaks in a chat between a father and his son or daughter. Taken a step further, I see this as the puzzle of a lifetime—the continuous striving of a parent and his offspring to understand one another: how best to interact, to be supportive, to please. The poem is also suggestive of a more universal riddle—puzzling over generational differences at a social or cultural level. Or, if you really want to get out there, the poet is recalling a previous lifetime.
Christopher Herold, judge
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Second Place ($50)
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old pond one splash after another
John Stevenson, Nassau NY
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Imagine that Basho never wrote about a frog and that old pond. Without such a celebrated poem to allude to, these six words would need to be submitted to a haiku contest. And how old is that pond? The Big Bang you say? Yes, and only the tiniest fraction of those frogs are poems.
Third Place ($25)
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labyrinth i walk into and out of myself
Debbie Strange, Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
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Yes!. Both! Love it.
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Honorable Mentions
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stayin’ alive
the groom’s parents revise
their disco moves
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Bruce Feingold, Berkeley CA
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all the king’s horses accepting my new normal
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Julie Warther, Dover OH
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new doctor
I evaluate his care
of waiting room plants
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Susan Antolin, Walnut Creek CA
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TANKA (Judge: Kenneth Slaughter)
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First Place ($100)
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the wind strokes
willow’s messages across
the scum covered pond
...inscribed in shriveled skin
all the times you touched me
Linda Jeannette Ward, Coinjock NC
On a windy day, a willow appears to write messages on a pond. The pond is covered with scum, without which the messages could not be written. In line 1, the poet might have said “the wind writes”, but the word ‘strokes’ captures the movement of the wind and introduces the sense of touch, which we will find later in the poem.
Lines 4 and 5 are two of the most memorable lines of poetry I have ever read. Memories of being touched are written into the very skin of the aging narrator. The willow could symbolize grief, implying that the “you” in the poem might have passed away. Are the willow’s messages being sent from beyond the grave? So much to ponder in this wonderful tanka.
Kenneth Slaughter, judge
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Second Place
a star tortoise
carries the universe
on its back...
are we slowly moving
away from each other
Debbie Strange, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
Tortoises and turtles are survivors. The star tortoise, however, is an endangered species. Because of its beautiful shell. Humans like to collect them. It’s an earthbound creature that carries the symbolic weight of the universe on its back. There are many ways to go in lines 4 and 5, and the ellipses give us a moment to ponder the possibilities.
Scientists know the universe is expanding, and everything is moving away from everything else. The poet reminds us of this and wonders if, on a human level, we are also drifting apart. The “we” could be a married couple. Or it could be all of us, as we struggle with alienation, loneliness, and a growing distance from one another. This is a very topical poem, suggesting a whole lot in just five lines.
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Third Place
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small embers
of rose hips in snow...
the look
in mother’s vacant eyes
so hard to define
Debbie Strange, Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
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Rose hips provide some rare color in winter, which makes the snow appear even more beautiful. Comparing them to small embers suggests a fire that is slowly dying out. In these lines we feel a fireplace losing its warmth, and we see the red rose hips brightening the cold snow.
A person near the end of life, with dementia, often has a peculiar vacant look in the eyes. We wonder what is going on inside. Lines 1 - 3 show that the poet sees glimpses of the warmth and beauty this mother once had. A sensitive poem with excellent visual imagery.
Honorable Mentions
will I ever
belong...
the squirrel
at the birdfeeder
hungry too
Susan Burch, Hagerstown MD
with light
from the near side of death
I reassemble
my Picasso pieces
to find who I really was
Linda Jeannette Ward, Coinjock NC
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RENGAY (Judge: Deborah P Kolodji)
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First Place ($100)
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Light Through a Crack
Angela Terry, Lake Forest Park, WA
Julie Warther, Dover, OH
scones with jam
and clotted cream—
rereading Peter Rabbit Angela
the scarecrow’s blue jacket
flaps in the breeze Julie
still searching
for the key
to the secret garden Angela
swinging skyward…
a sprinkling
of fairy dust Julie
a Sunday Ramble
through the 100 Acre Wood Angela
home again
light through a crack
in the wardrobe Julie
This rengay captivated me with its magic, each link working well as an individual poem about a different book, each a favorite from childhood. The links between verses are whimsical and I felt like a child again each time I re-read it, revisiting each of these magical tales, from Peter Rabbit and The Wizard of Oz all the way through to Winnie the Pooh and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Even as I kept coming back to this and re-reading it during the judging process, this poem had me with its delicious first link, "scones with jam/and clotted cream--/rereading Peter Rabbit"
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Second Place
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Whiteout
Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, WA
David Terelinck, Queensland, Australia
first snow—
empty seats
in the passing bus Michael
last year’s Santa
sentenced to life David
mountain pass—
the pickup in front of us
loses its chains Michael
an avalanche
of January mail—
divorce papers David
the ice scraper breaks
on the new windshield Michael
whiteout
on the birth certificate
the father’s name left blank David
This poem is much darker than my first place choice, but no less well crafted. The linkages between verses and the quality of each link are exceptional. I was profoundly moved by this rengay as it moved from empty seats on a bus to whiteout on a birth certificate, with a series of catastrophes in between.
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Third Place
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A Summer’s Tale
Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, WA
Sarah Welch (age 13), Sammamish, WA
wind and waves—
the warm yellow sand
shifts beneath my toes Sarah
high cirrus
clouding the tidepool Michael
scuttling crab—
seashells rattle
with the sea Sarah
reddening sun—
her castle
not yet taken Michael
crisp, salty air
flowing through my hair Sarah
all that’s left
of our footprints
wind and waves Michael
I love the way this rengay occurs in the same spot - the beach in summer. It starts with "wind and waves," ends with "wind and waves," and provides snapshots of what is happening on this beach in between. I could imagine being on my favorite beach and experiencing this with my own eyes.
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Honorable Mentions (not in ranked order)
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Unplayed Harmonica
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Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, WA
Carmen Sterba, University Place, WA
tree fort—
the trumpet’s spit valve
stuck shut Michael
a toy piano
out in the rain Carmen
a few empty seats—
the timpani roll fades
into dusk Michael
foreclosure—
unplayed harmonica
on the mantelpiece Carmen
a stringless banjo
from papa’s attic Michael
ring of primroses
in an upturned French horn—
Easter morning Carmen
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Water Song
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Alan S. Bridges, Littleton, MA
Jacquie Pearce, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
a bit of wind
on my walk
familiar drops Alan
her bubbling laughter
at the water park Jacquie
a plaque marks
his hole-in-one…
spray from a sprinkler Alan
summer heat
a dog bites
the liquid arc Jacquie
at the Vienna Opera House
Lorelei’s coloratura Alan
coins in the fountain
after all these years
the same wish Jacquie
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Six of One
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Andrew Riutta, Traverse City, MI
Michael Dylan Welch, Sammamish, WA
at one
with the morning fog,
my cigarette smoke Andrew
champagne uncorked
at a table for two Michael
a single wishbone
for a family of three—
New Year’s Day Andrew
each foot and hand
touching a different state—
Four Corners Michael
even without coffee
I manage to take five Andrew
six feet under—
the wave curls
over my surfboard Michael
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