I would like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone who participated in the summer solstice kukai. I looked for some interesting and somewhat different images this year, hoping that the responses would also be of a similar nature, and I’m pleased to say the winner’s list reflects just that. The seasonal image was captured looking from the porthole of the Earnslaw, a 1912 Edwardian twin-screw steamer based at Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand – a stunning cruise if you ever get the chance to view one of the most beautiful places in the world.
1st Place
wind-snapped sky—
out by the heads
the seal colony barking
Sandra Simpson
From the very first reading, I was taken by the original opening line, wind-snapped, which is a perfect description of the sharpness and power of a blue sky. The poet places us in a nautical setting with the haiku, artfully creating a subtle double meaning with out by the heads, which is of course a land mass, and perhaps also the seals barking their heads off! Such fun and a worthy winner that works very well with the seed image and, rather than describing the image, gives us a strong shift to another place with beautiful descriptive language.
2nd Place
beach combing crow stealing our sandwiches
Julie Constable
One cannot help but love this mischievous crow here, unless of course they are your own sandwiches! This one-liner is very effective in capturing the moment, reading like a swooping motion, and we all know too well what opportunistic birds they are. Many of us are familiar with a hot chip-addicted silver gull on the beach, but in Tasmania, we see many types of birds dining out on seaside gatherings.
Highly Commended
daydreaming…
wave after wave
sinking my blues
Hifsa Ashraf
I loved the soft cradling motion in the construction of this haiku, the poet masterfully capturing a soothing tide of emotion. There are various links to the image – the water, the blue sky as well as the overt feeling of depression that is often represented by that colour. But in this poem, an evocative mixture of daydreaming and the movement of the waves brings a sense of peace.
Highly Commended
turning tide
the blues beyond
a curlew’s cry
Gavin Austin
What could be more uplifting than to see such a bird in full flight and to hear the sound of that cry? Perhaps the poet is suggesting the changing emotion of turning tide that takes one beyond the feeling of being ‘blue’ to an eventual transition to something less burdensome. A lovely nature setting that confirms our connection with nature and the oneness of all things.
Highly Commended
classical dance
the glint
of her nose pin
Ravi Kiran
Such a strong lift and shift from the image that appeals very much. The poet has cleverly taken the shininess of the porthole brass to the nose pin jewellery of a cultural dancer. I enjoyed such an exotic haiku full of colour and movement in such an unexpected way from the seed image.
Ron C. Moss
Australian Haiku Society 