This year, our International haiku contest in English received 306 haiku written by 97 authors from 25 countries: Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Macedonia, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Trinidad and Tobaggo, and The United States of America. Members of the jury were prof. Ruzica Mokos and prof. Vida Pust Skrgulja.
1st Prize
solemn quietness
in a full moon’s night –
ticking of a clock
Ivan Ivkovic, Veliko Laole, Serbia
2nd Prize
bouncing merrily
in the playground –
hailstones
Robert Naczas, Poland
3rd Prize
waterfall –
all I want is
to pass water
Ernest J. Berry, Pincton, New Zealand
Commendations:
seagulls looking
in the same direction
as strong wind blows
Luk de Laat, Alken, Netherlands
goldfish
in a leafless tree
thin ice
GINA, Australia
suddenly
a wind in summer heat –
falling fruit
Visnja McMaster, Zagreb, Croatia
morning rush
my mind is filled
with coffee
Robert Naczas, Poland
fighting the wind
with their swords
yellow irises
Bozena Zernec, Krapina, Croatia
on a lonely path
passing the same post
as I’ve passed before
David Cobb, Braintree, Essex, UK
Children in play
between two air alarms.
Cherry tree blossom.
Pavle Adjanski, Belgrade, Serbia
withered leaf
through its holes
winter sunshine
Patricia Prime, Auckland, New Zealand
summer shower.
the opposite house
flows down the pane
Grzegorz Sionkowski, Poland
midnight –
neon advertising
lit eyes of a dog
Dejan Bogojevic, Valjevo, Serbia
a little boy
rushes to the waves
to fill a bucket
Owen Bullock, New Plymouth, New Zealand
wizened hands
pick first blades of nettle –
a spring soup
Tanya Dikova, Tel Aviv, Israel
chilliness in bones
tonight is the full moon,
only the full moon
Dubravko Korbus, Ivanic Grad, Croatia
feeling romantic
she blows them a kiss –
they remain frogs
Deborah P. Kolodji, Temple City, CA, USA
rainbow
I close my eyes to listen
to the waterfall
Jacek Margolak, Kielce, Poland
a dog looked at me
as if it wanted to say…
and closed its eyes…
Milica Ilic Gacic, Valjevo, Serbia
trees dressed
in autumn coats
washed by rain
Bernadette O’Reilly, Dublin, Ireland
Bedtime
my life becomes
a dream
Dietmar Tauchner, Puchberg, Austria
early morning –
a fly is swirling
in a cup of milk
Ana Vazic, Belgrade, Serbia
garden wall.
the white cat gleams
in deepening dusk
Beverley George, Pearl Beach, Australia
Australian Haiku Society 