Month: October 2018

 

1^st Place

hard to read
Mum’s cursive loops
her last wishes

Jane Williams

 

This is a powerful haiku on so many levels and I’m sure there is more to this story than we will ever know. But like all good haiku, we can bring our own thoughts and memories to what is presented here. With a few well-chosen words, so much is evoked and the strong linking to the writing equipment brings this haiga to another level. The stunning use of the wording of cursive loops and the difficulty in reading, or perhaps knowing another, generates momentum that ends with the uncertainty of her last wishes. What’s written in ink, stays in ink, and our deep connections to each other are always a bittersweet mystery.

 

2^nd Place

clearing fog
loose leaves in grandma’s
memory book

Polona Oblak

 

Memories and fog have such a powerful connection and we also have the loose leaves to contemplate another story of family. What is written in a memory book can hold the passage of time but what of the loose leaves and the teaching of impermanence. Once again the haiku connects strongly with the image without illustrating what is there but creating a link and shift to another place and time.

 

Highly Commended

scarlet or indigo?
today, there’s no need
to shout

Greg Piko

 

A fun moment here in the tradition of a senryu where the poet seems to be making a comparison between the modern use of capital letters to SHOUT or force a word, and using good old red ink scribed on an old ledger. This was often done with old convict records to highlight something and the tradition has carried over to the modern era but has become lost in a world of texting and email.

 

Highly Commended

midnight…
the many ways my poems
are born

Pris Campbell

 

A lovely moment to ponder and appreciate and think about the many ways our creative spirit is with us. The poet’s dark ink-like midnight connects well with the image, and that of a new day, with a new poem to follow. We never know when our muse will visit us, and when it might leave which gives us all the more reason to make it welcome. Perhaps over a nice cup of tea.

 

Highly Commended

war-time love letters…
his eyebrows on
my grandson’s face

Nathalie Buckland

 

A lovely haiku that captures the span of generations and how our lives are so deeply entwined with those who have gone before. This haiku blends well with the image and gives us the scope to remember our own physical attributes that come from close and distant loves. The days of letter writing with pen and ink seem to be fading as we move into an increasing digital age. This passage of time has always been so beautifully captured with these great tools and the skills that come with it – long may it continue.

 

 

1st Place

tea ceremony
a plum blossom drifts
into my cup

Lucy Whitehead

Sometimes the simplest moments in time are the most profound. The image of a drifting plum blossom is such a wonderful contrast to the hard iron teapot. There’s a lovely pause in time suggested here, when the blossom lands amongst the precision and mindfulness of the tea ceremony. This haiku stood out for me as a winner for the seemingly effortless way the haiku blends with the close-up of this lovely teapot. The mark of all good haiga is the individual craft of both haiku and image and how they come together to make something greater.

 

2nd Place

plum blossom
the sweet taste
of homemade bread

Polona Oblak

Once again we have the plum blossom connection to the pattern on the iron teapot. This time our sense of taste is activated and we are transported to many warm memories of good nurturing food and home cooking. The sweet tastes of many things are evoked here and taking the time to stop in our busy lives and savour such a moment brings many rewards. There is also a strong link between the lovely pink of the teapot and sweet taste of homemade bread.

 

Highly Commended

early snowmelt –
I turn the teapot
three times each way

Jane Williams

 

The last of winter gives way to early spring and this very traditional way of handling a teapot to encourage the brewing has been handed down through generations of tea lovers. My own dear wife uses this ritual as well and there is something about old traditions that nurtures the soul and gives us a sense of timelessness. We also have a link between the turning of the seasons and the teapot and a cosmic feeling of everything in balance as it should be.

 

Highly Commended

spring dusk—
the blush of a peony
about to bloom

Martha Magenta

 

The blush of the peony and the warmth and colour of the teapot work together in harmony to give us a haiga that connects on many levels. The lovely moment of spring dusk adds more layers to the colour connections inside the haiku and image and we feel the bloom and sense what is about to unfold.

 

Highly Commended

spring renewal
the imprint of a garden
on my hands

Marietta McGregor

 

Even after a long day working in the garden, the newfound order and tidiness always feel nurturing, and sore hands and backs can be soothed with a nice hot bath. The imprints on our hands can reveal great mysteries to those who can read a palm. The interesting link between the imprints in the teapot in the image and those on our hands makes this a very successful haiga.