Haiku Society of America Haibun Renku Awards for 2009

Haiku Society of America Renku Awards
in Memorial of Bernard Lionel Einbond

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HSA Renku Awards for 2009

Jerry Ball and Patricia Machmiller
judges

Grand Prize

Circles of Strangers

Christopher Herold, Washington
Carol O’Dell, Washington

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Circles of Strangers

campground fires
small circles of strangers
under a vault of stars

CH

I watch a ladybug
walk along the table

CO

she inspects
the leaves of all the plants
in the arboretum

CH

matched pink pearl earrings
behind a thick glass window

CO

moonshine
splits the inky darkness
of Half Moon Bay

CH

another long, sleepless night,
he takes a pen and starts to write

CO

how relaxing
the scent of chamomile tea
from a clay mug

CO

“grandma’s deaf
so we don’t have to be quiet”

CH

the rhythmic thump
of our silken headboard
against the wall

CO

through her hand into my hand
each quick kick from her belly

CH

as I slice
bananas into the trifle
the Jell-O wobbles

CO

airport security finds
plastic explosive in his shoes

CH

rabbit tracks
hidden by shadows
cast by the moon

CO

snow-blind and frostbitten
the team descends to base camp

CH

Papillon
puffs on the cigar
offered by a leper

CH

they watch ragged clouds
billow across the sky

CO

without wind
the cherry blossoms fall
straight down

CH

children and their ribbons
dance around the Maypole

CO

on TV
a parade of tanks, etc.
files past the Kremlin

CH

paths, lanes, streets, roads, avenues boulevards, turnpikes, highways . . .

CO

an official
from the public works committee
lobbying for funds

CH

two months before retirement
she applies for a passport

CO

in a vivid dream
I see a flock of egrets
land on a palm tree

CH

Ann & Sue have been friends since childhood,
so close they’re like white on rice

CO

another evangelist
rants about the evils
of same-sex marriage

CH

nothing fills us with more joy
than our baby’s smile

CO

this afternoon
my teen introduced me
to her Goth boyfriend

CH

at the assisted living home
just one man willing to dance

CO

the bright autumn moon
in every drop that drips
through the IV tube

CH

a puddle of dew
on the seat of a deck chair

CO

she mended
the tear in the scarecrow’s pants
with a leather patch

CO

it seems the mediator
had a bit too much to drink

CH

what more do you want
in your Dagwood sandwich?
Maybe some bologna?

CO

the vegan convention
will meet on April Fool’s Day

CH

tourists arriving
from all around the world
to see the tulips

CO

we change our voices
with helium balloons

CH

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First Honorable Mention

Streaks of Dawn

Allan Burns, Colorado
Christopher Herold, Washington
Ron Moss, Tasmania

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Streaks of Dawn

streaks of dawn
Christmas tree needles
between floorboards

AB

far out on the snowy plain
the train rails come to a point

CH

approaching shore
a lantern swings back and forth
in the captain’s hands

RM

eyes on the birdbath, the cat
thwacks the carpet with its tail

AB

I devour
an entire meatless pizza
by moonlight

CH

a boy and his dad
in the scarecrow’s shadow

RM

an autumn breeze
through the mail slot
startles the widow

AB

the scent of sagebrush
fills a narrow gorge

CH

after the date
she puts roses out
with the trash

RM

he recalls the hem
of her floral dress

AB

old friends in stitches
as they learn details about
our wedding snafu

CH

a glitter of broken glass
where the rivers meet

RM

clouds part
and a night-heron flies
across the moon

AB

ribbons flutter from the fan
as it swivels side to side

CH

the flash
of heavy artillery
lights up a bunker

RM

a cobweb rises slowly
toward the sooty ceiling

AB

on tiptoes
the boy shakes plum blossoms
into their picnic lunch

RM

friends yelling EARTHQUAKE
on April Fools’ Day

CH

as you wait
a butterfly’s reflection
rippled by carp

AB

in the zendo meditating
on Chuang Tse’s dream

RM

a young concubine
tries to get the eunuchs
to flirt with her

CH

after the YouTube song
they dance to the bedroom

AB

on the cabin wall
two pairs of old skates
feathered with frost

RM

as the woodpile grows
the ax blade loses its gleam

CH

shouldering a keg
a burly Scotsman
takes the high road

AB

with each broad stroke
the cobalt blue sea appears

RM

his coma persists
despite another dose
of thrombolytic drugs

CH

she slaps down her last
Uno card with relish

AB

from the firelight
sparks spiral toward
a blood moon

RM

my dew-drenched sleeping bag
dries out beside Crater Lake

CH

through the fog
the smell of simmering beans
and fresh-brewed coffee

RM

the guest bewildered
by a hieroglyphic

AB

this fossil
from the Eocene epoch
is a missing link

CH

grandma’s up late
polishing her gold coins

RM

on the bus from D.C.
cherry blossoms
in the rearview mirror

AB

remember how we loved to chase
soap bubbles across the lawn?

CH

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Second Honorable Mention

Gunnysack

John Stevenson, NY
Hilary Tann, NY,
Paul MacNeil, Florida
Yu Chang, NY

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Gunnysack

a gunnysack
by the kitchen door
autumn dusk

JS

moonlight from the lake
caught up in the pines

HT

wild cheering
for the World Series
home team

PM

four fortune cookies
left untouched

YC

the recording engineer
accepts her last take
with reservations

HT

limo, show,
and hotel shower

JS

a long blonde hair
exactly like
my wife’s

YC

lion tails denote
tribal authority

PM

the sign that says
“thin ice”
is half-submerged

JS

surprise gift
of an overcoat

YC

a thundersheet
accompanies
the deus ex machina

HT

cloud shadows
graze the mountainside

JS

Will the wine
and chocolates
be enough?

PM

they eloped
on Independence Day

HT

after the fireworks
we walk back
with the moon

YC

a crow’s hop
changes to strut

PM

finest grade
of sandpaper
in Geppetto’s shop

JS

distant relatives gather
for her confirmation

HT

apple blossoms
are coming into view
beyond the fallow fields

PM

choosing a high spot
to fly a kite

YC

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The Haiku Society of America sposors this annual award for renku of 36, 20, or 12 stanzas.

See the contest guidelines for the HSA Renku Awards.

For more information about the goals of this contest, download a copy of the HSA Renku Contest Committee Report (pdf) published in Frogpod XIII:2 (May 1990).

Awards by year:

| 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 |

 

2009 judges commentary:

Grand Prize was awarded to: “Circles of Strangers,” a summer kasen renku by Christopher Herold & Carol O’Dell. "Circles of Strangers" was awarded a Grand Prize because of the consistently high quality of its verses, the variety of subject matter which gives a liveliness to the poem, and adherence to the renku form.

Honorable Mention went to: “Streaks of Dawn,” a winter kasen renku by Allan Burns, Christopher Herold, & Ron Moss. Good quality of verses and an effective ending sequence (verses 34 through 36).

Second Honorable Mention went to: “Gunnysack,” a summer nijuin renku by John Stevenson, Hilary Tann, Paul MacNeil, & Yu Chang. This renku has an exceptionally strong opening sequence (verses one through three) and a good variety in subject matter.

Criteria for selection were five: adherence to the renku form; quality of the opening and closing sequence; quality, originality, and variety of verses; variety in tone, rhetoric, and person from verse to verse; and effectiveness of the links.

~ Jerry Ball & Patricia Machmiller

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About the judges

Jerry Ball is a founder of Haiku North America and the Southern California Haiku Study Group and has been President of the Haiku Society of America for two terms. He has published five books of haiku, the most recent being Pieces of Eight (2005).

Patricia Machmiller is a past president of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, and a columnist for its journal Geppo. She has published a book of her own haiku, Blush of Winter Moon (2001), and together with Fay Aoyagi translated Kiyoko's Sky: Haiku of Kiyoko Tokutomi ( Brooks Books, 2002).

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