Haiku Society of America Haibun Renku Awards for 2014

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

~ ~ ~

HSA Renku Awards for 2014

Shokan Tadashi Kondo
judge

Grand Prize

Warmth of Rail

Tom Clausen, Ithaca, NY
Hilary Tann, Schuylerville, N
John Stevenson, Nassau, NY
Paul MacNeil, Onawa, ME
Yu Chang, Schenectady, NY

~ ~ ~

Warmth of Rail
a summer kasen

Jo

damselfly—
the coziness sampled
from each chair

Tom

a turn of the lock
at the boathouse

Hilary

spotless crystal
and polished silver
on display

John

the movie billboard’s
ten-gallon hat

Paul

moon-viewing
through the arms
of a Joshua tree

Yu

our state fair organist
chooses his stops Hilary

Ha

a ballet
of departing swallows
in the wind

Tom

the Queen Mary offers
a “paranormal tour”

John

is undying affection
enough to court
my sweetie?

Paul

sent to the bedroom
to revise a love poem

Yu

their urge
to touch the screen
as they Skype

Hilary

after the train has passed
the warmth of the rail

Tom

a plume of smoke
that appears to be the moon’s
visible breath

John

local news
touts a whiteout

Tom

panic buying
based upon rumors
of kielbasa shortages

Paul

a gecko disappears
down the rabbit hole

Yu

reflections
of cherry blossoms
at the Vietnam Memorial

Hilary

putting off spring cleaning
permanently

John

morning mist
so slow to pull away
from mountains

Paul

It’s a bird!
It’s a plane!

Hilary

an airman
comes out of
the closet

John

she dresses
to kill

Yu

they start in bed
only to fall
to the floor

Tom

enso
in the sandbox

Yu

circumnavigating
through the longest day
of your bi-polar moods

John

I cope with the heat
while collecting swizzle sticks

Paulan

E.T. fossil
from the Antarctic
core sample

Hilary

islands of plastic
bobbing offshore

Yu

hotel room photo
of the moonrise
between the twin towers

Tom

the giant harvester
fills truck after truck

Paul

Kyu

her daughter-in-law
makes the phyllo dough
for mushroom strudel

Hilary

scent of pine
through the open door

Yu

blinking lights
for both intersections
in the old mill town

Tom

hopes arising from
the vernal equinox

John

the last petals
around miniature apples
drop away

Paul

a rainbow kite
received as a gift

Hilary

~ ~ ~


Second Place

Straw Hair

Ron C. Moss, Tasmania, Australia
John Stevenson, Nassau, NY

~ ~ ~

Straw Hair
an autumn kasen

Jo

twilight glow
a scarecrow’s straw hair
lifts in the breeze

Ron

the moon is gentle
on the ladies

John

crickets pinned
in the Victorian display case
by royal command

Ron

luxury in detail
aboard the Cunard liner

John

dominoes lean
in a cigar smoke haze
towards port

Ron

snowfall deepens
in the mirror

John

Ha

under the pillow
the tooth fairy
is short of change

Ron

gas masks issued
to dough-boys over there

John

our first
hot buttered kiss
as the movie starts

Ron

she gives me credit
for pursuing her

John

a tourist
plays the blues harp
down under

Ron

taking shelter
from the hailstones

John

we dare each other
to go skinny dipping
in the moonlit lake

Ron

a rare computer user
who knows how to make one

John

the watchmaker
has more time now
for Facebook

Ron

it will be all Easter
this weekend

John

apple blossoms
on the oil skin coat
of the drover

Ron

the whole family
smelt fishing in the creek

John

how one thing
leads to another
in a local bar

yJohn

more protein powder
to get that pump

Ron

the Hudson
widening on its way
to New York

John

it takes a year to save
for your diamond ring

Ron

finishing
each other’s sentences
with exclamation marks

John

the heat of sunburn
as we say goodnight

Ron

soaking in
a rare shower
during fire season

John

the speaker stands tall
at the protest rally

Ron

who was it
who was supposed to
inherit the earth?

John

the rolling thunder
all the way to the moon

Ron

what the squirrels know
is where the acorns
are buried

John

golden leaves fall
on the miner’s grave

Ron

Kyu

a crayon map
showing the way from here
to here again

John

the joy to be lost
without a GPS

Ron

in lucid dreams
I realize this is
my imagination

John

the frog that awoke
as a prince among men

Ron

castle folly
in the company
of blooming cherries

John

through haze I see her
both happy and free

Ron

~ ~ ~


Honorable Mention

Yellowing Willow

Claire Chatelet, London, England
Eiko Yachimoto, Yokosuka City, Japan
Chris Drake, Hatoyama-cho, Japan (sabaki)

~ ~ ~

Yellowing Willow

Jo

yellowing willow
along the canal towpath
a smattering of rosehips

Claire

a moonbeam woven shadow
stops, searches for a key

Eiko

the time a deer cried
and I went right in
without knocking

Chris

a volute of steam rises
from a chipped teapot

Claire

slice a daikon radish
into rings one inch thick
and boil till tender

Eiko

in cold wind they hold hands,
surround the nuclear plant

Chris

Ha

a street artist
draws a portrait of Einstein
with colored chalk

Claire

the age of innocence
buried for good

Eiko

seeing the man
on a high wire sway
suddenly they kiss

Chris

the cooing of turtle doves
somewhere in the pines

Claire

with a feather pen
on fine washi I scribble
letters of your name

Eiko

seven ghost sightings
on the same block tonight

Chris

cool us, moon!
in this heat even anthills
turn into mirages

Claire

dividing the tall grass
a rope like snake

Eiko

the distinction
between war and peace
a convenient fiction

Chris

mourning Mandela
my rainbow child and I

Claire

the patter of rain
lets up: open now
and fly, my blossoms!

Eiko

chunks of ice from upstream
flash between green reeds

Chris

white clouds race
across the muddied lake
as swans build their nest

Claire

seized by sad news, I see
the past coming alive

Eiko

for John Carley
the new was a patina
obscuring the newer

Chris

sincerity comes first
wabi, sabi someday

Eiko

between well and hearth
how many times must the clay pot
cross the threshold?

Claire

poppies bloom in the remains
of an ancient stone circle

Chris

in the green storm
briefly leaving the trees
a summer butterfly

Eiko

love makes you see
signs everywhere

Claire

her portrait
has his left eye
clearly larger

Chris

ignoring border walls
wedding bells ring out

Eiko

for one night
the moon flawless between
waxing and waning

Claire

the debt collector finds
red leaves in the envelope

Chris

Kyu

dripping dew
a bicycle heads up
a mountain road

Eiko

engraved on a cattle trough
the year 1888

Claire

a union organizer
came to this village
and found friends

Chris

when making tofu
every detail is crucial

Eiko

what stirring
deeper than the deepest roots
for all blossoms

Claire

a spring wind brings
the sound of distant waves

Chris

~ ~ ~

 

 

 

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 |

 

2014 judges commentary:

These three kasen are very close to each other. “Warmth of the Rail” has more interesting and deeper love poems. I enjoyed all of the kasen, and I was impressed by their effort to master the kasen form. I used the judging method innovated by Professor Meiga Higashi, which looks at four levels of the renku structure.

     1. quality of one verse
     2. quality of linking
     3. quality of shifting in the third verse
     4. variety of topics in the mandala-like world

In addition to this, I think it is important to have among participants a well-balanced sharing of long/short verses and moon/blossom verses. The linking order might need a little more study. One of the most important principles in renku is to avoid the regression, both short distance and long distance, so I think a deeper understanding of objects and events in the world will improve the quality of renku.Thank you for sharing the renku with me. A happy future for American renku, and I look forward to seeing more of them.

With best wishes, Shokan Tadashi Kondo

~ ~ ~


About the judge

Tadashi Kondo, founder of Renku United Nations, is Professor Emeritus of Seikei University, Tokyo, and director of the renku societies of Japan and Kyoto. He has studied haiku and renku since 1968 and has published widely in these areas.

~ ~ ~