World Cup 2018

world cup final
the old couple holding
hands
.--Stella Pierides Neusaess, DE and London, UK



Maybe to a lot of us when we hear World Cup, we think: football, feet, teamshirts, roaring crowds, stadiums pavlions... yes?
To Stella the trigger is endurance and contunity and abiding love. Yes, all of which is necessary; for the next, and the next, and the next World Cup.
In her haiku, Stella attends the macro and zeros in on the micro. In the midst of it all, the hype, the joys, the disappointments, here is a couple "holding hands" [in her phrase, of a most exquisite haiku moment]
And this is what haiku is all about; what most will ignore, the haiku poet arrests.

Well Done Stella

gillena cox; Founder/coordinator-Caribbean Kigo Kukai




The prompt was 'World Cup 2018'. See the details HERE



See the full results HERE

the music invites you in

island parade --
losing myself
in the steel drum
--Paul David Mena

Paul defines for us parameters in Line One. The scenic is left to our imagination to fill in the space. We get to add the people, colours, the sounds and the smells. Then he challenges us in Line Two with his choice of 'losing' taking us along to be absorbed with him into defined territory. In Line Three he awakens us out of our reverie with a particular sound. The music so typical and peculiar to where he has transported us. We can hear with him the music in our minds as we read and i dare say read again this charming little haiku.
He opts for a veer away from the 5-7-5, to the more modern free syllable count. So we are given this experience of his appreciation of an island event and rhythm in 3 lines each carrying four syllables

Well Done Paul

--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator

haiku prompt the music invites you in
revisit the results of this kukai

style

just enough
to dress the empty space
spider's silk
--Gabriel Sawicki, Poland

When we say style, fashion follows the trend of thought; and too, a particular way of doing or presenting. Style sets our eyes on the elegance or ambiance of surroundings and on a more personal note, what is being worn. Gabriel, however in choosing to write a haiku on this theme, looks to nature and what she has to offer. The spider becomes his muse, and she spins into his haiku sphere, the minimalistic features of dedication to space, elegance and fullness of assemblance. He weaves a tale as expertly as the spider himself, with enough nuance to catch our fancy and hold us interested.
He uses the classic three lines: Lines One and Two form his fragment, Line Three his phrase. His three syllable count of Line One is repeated in Line Three giving his haiku control in form and appearance.
The notion of wabi sabi, pertinent in this haiku. Things are as they should be. What else should spiders do, but spin. their spaces into magnificent tales of examples for us, to be ourselves and use what we are given effectively

Well done Gabriel
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator


haiku prompt style
revisit the results of this kukai

glad tidings

Christmas lights
I put the shadows
behind me
--Anna Cates, USA


Truly this is so significant of Christmas, for the new light, who outshines all others is represented in every twinkle at Christmas. We look to that star of Bethlehem which radiates in every symbolic twinkle of lights. The new way is pointed out to us so we are wise to (like Anna) put all shadows behind.
This haiku is forceful in message and light in inspiration
A three line format of fragment and phrase ensues. Line One being her phrase. We read, and look to see what surprise follows.
Essentially a great big message in such a tiny haiku. Thank you Anna

Well done Anna
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator

haiku prompt glad tidings
revisit the results of this kukai

pink bubblegum

pink bubblegum
again she blossoms
under the sakura
-Brendon Kent, England


A really nice juxtaposition, in Lines One and Three, The appeal to our sense of sight is honed, in a very pleasant and celebratory manner. The festivity of sakura blooming and the coy innocence of blowing gum is nicely pitted against each other. What could follow pink bubblegum? Really anything under the sun. However Brendon surprises us with a burst of blossoms which we will understand to be pink

Well done Brendon

--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator


haiku prompt pink bubblegum
revisit the results of this kukai

dance

windy day-
the dance of a bee
deep in a bud
--Rita Odeh Haifa Israel


We are greeted with movement, for Line One presents us with a windy day. So many possibilities before we read on: hats can be blown off, umbrellas blown away, leaves in whirligig and blossoms falling; all this and more can be crammed into a day of gusts.
However, Rita zeroes in on a bee in a flower. The sweetness of its feeding, the offering of sustenance , knowing the right flower to approach. Precision, knowledge, sustenance, delight all of these issues are snapped into this little haiku, an unusual happening, a common place happening; yet, a haiku to makes us pause read and reread, and kukai players to vote to first place. This is not the conventional five seven five beat. but rather the modern day free syllabic counted haiku, which so many of us prefer to write these days.

Thanks you for this offering Rita, Well done.
-gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator




haiku prompt dance revisit the
results of this kukai


[Commentary for the February 2015, last Monthly Caribbean Kigo Kukai, Kukai #56;]

countdown to Christmas

Christmas countdown -
unsent letters to Santa
in my childhood drawer
--Arvinder Kaur, Chandigarh, India

What is the allure of this haiku? what makes it a first place winner from among twenty two others? I think the surprise of Line 3; Line one seems to be happening, very much so in present, the countdown at Christmas time is quite infectious, its there in our faces and our ears, the media makes sure we get caught up. The bargains, the discounts, the prompts the constant bombardment, to lists and gifts and giving.
Line One is our phrase, with a cutter added, so we pause. We pause, in the present scheme of the countdown.
Then, only to be dished the surprise of yesteryears , cleverly hidden in the her fragment; the era of childhood and not of womanhood as we first assumed.
A little seventeen syallable wonder which endeared the other players to her placement

Well done Arvinder

-gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator





Haiku prompt "countdown to Christmas" revisit the results for this kukai

back to school the - new term

first day of school...
a monarch butterfly
spreads its wings
-- Shloka Shankar India

Many students view school as confining and restricted, any sensible teacher carries to the classroom the cognizance of rebellion and disruption, they must be ready to handle such issues. The first day back is the point of starting all over again, hopefully renewed and refreshed.
Although this may seem to be the norm. It may not necessarily be the standard.
For Shokla the distraction on the first day back is the Monarch butterfly. Freedom and the ability to soar over oceans and the span of many skies. This beautiful gift of education is caught in the symbol of the lovely bright colourful butterfly
Shokla's haiku is presented in the short/long/short form of three lines. Using her cutter to end Line One and distinguish fragment and phrase.

Well done Sholka
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



Haiku prompt "back to school the - new term" revisit the results for this kukai

reflection

eraser –
my mother's mistakes
no longer mine
--Shloka Shankar, India

Shloka writes in a contemplative mood here, she is drawn to a simple writing tool which transports her in meditative phase to dwell on past, present and future generations; actions, residues, errors and solutions.This haiku intimates action while remaining in a dormant state. Her eraser filled with innate power is never set to work in the poem, not withstanding, its potential remains to fulfil the requirement of the prompt, for our fifty third kukai. This she accomplishes, mijikai style, with eleven syllables, presented in the three line form.

Well done Shloka

--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator


Haiku prompt "reflection" revisit the results for this kukai

word play

picnic -
butterflies and
flies in the butter
--john mcdonald Ediburgh Scotland

This delightful little haiku was written in response to the haiku prompt "word play" given for the fifty second kukai.
The scene is light and outdoorsy. Line One introduces with one word, a setting where so much fun can be provided: for family, for friend, for lovers. It connotes grassy green spaces, trees, food, gingham spreads, crumbs and ant trails.
Then comes - in the phrase, the care free; he introduces, butterflies. What can be more carefree than butterflies, what can be lighter and more whimsical than butterflies. However John's butterflies fly by not only for whimsy but also for wit, he catches his butterflies and offers them, trapped in butter along with some flies, adding repetition to good measure. LOL, word play indeed.
The kukai players loved this little delight into First Place.



Well done John;
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



Haiku prompt "word play" revisit the results for this kukai

splatter

boy in the puddle
splattering around
his own piece of sky
--Gabriel Sawicki (Poland)

The first word of Gabriel's haiku wields a breaking down effect, lifting years off the reader, reverting the reader to days of childhood. What this era held for us, is in no way debatable or questionable. Why! because as we progress to the Line 3 fragment of his haiku, we grow into his space of wonder. A puddle small enough, to contain the vastness of sky, and the child-like exclusion of everyone else. He makes this little miracle his own. This moment, he captures, he conquers, he owns. It is as large, as he wants it to be and as magical as his child's mind conjours it to be. What freedom, what magnificence, what a great haiku. The players of kukai #51 surely agrees.
Gabriel used the three line form, without placing a caesura, so the pause it left up to the reader; and a 5 - 7- 5 syllable meter is used. As well, Line1 pivots with both Line 2 and Line 3; and can therefore be read as Line1 / Line2, or as Line1 / Line3.

Well done Gabriel
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator




The kigo was splatter

kite

kite shop -
entering with every customer
the summer breeze
--Bouwe Brouwer, The Netherlands

What could be more delightful than, a kite in the wind? Held high out our reach, our only connection a fragile string, which the mighty wind in one moody swing could dramatize who's in control and whose not. The bigness and smallness of this scene wrapped in a tag of experience.

Bouwe does not wait for the outdoor experience, but on the instinct of the haiku magician; he conjours this scene of kite haven, bringing in the star of the show 'summer breeze'. A preview, a trialer to the life of this yet un-bought side star, the kite.

I like the play of time in this haiku, the projection of the future with the image of the present wind. There were no comments with the votes for this haiku, which emerged first this time around, yet clearly chosen as the 'highest flyer'.


Well done! Bouwe
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator




The Kigo was kite

cool down

heated argument...
she nurses her ego
in the shower
--Shloka Shankar Bangalore, India

The intangible hot, and the tangible cooling of the water, here, goes well together. Choice of the word 'ego' in line 2 adding resonance to the haiku phrase. The theme of the kukai is stark and clearly presented, in a simple showing of cause and effect. A 15 syllable account, classic three lines, and a tale well told.
Yet, read at another level, the heat of a hot day can be juxtaposed with the intensity of discord to present a haiku well wrought

Well done Shloka
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator


The theme was 'cool down'

music competition

child guitarist -
a mother's hand
behind the curtains
--Ajaya Mahala

incomplete orchestra -
the missing leaves
of the poplar
--Eduard Tara, Romania

neighbour's triplets-
each one an octave higher
than the other
--Yesha Shah, India.


The above three haiku proved to be the crop of CKK #48, chosen above others as the pick for number one placed winner.
How are they similar as winners? what makes them different from the rest? These are some of the questions i entertained a i approached my commentary.
Well for starters, all three crafted juxtaposition into their haiku, there is mystery, there is surprise. There are stories well told in their minimilistic mode, yet each inviting, and allowing the reader to peer deeper into, getting involved with the writer.

We can see that 'child guitarist' we can sense the anxiety, maybe the child's palms are sweaty; and look behind the curtain, where the audience cannot see. We are privy, because of the writer's skill, to see to know, the wonderful comforting hands of the mother are there.

Then lets look too at the mystery of the missing leaves; everyone loves a mystery, when presented with one, immediately we put on our detective hats and head out to collect clues, just like in the case of Eduard's haiku. Is it autumn, the natural time of falling leaves? were those leaves blown off by strong stormy gales? and the haiku's background music plays on, creating just theright atmosphere of drama.

The crescendo of Yesha's haiku, can be aesthetically enjoyd bringing smile to our lips as the picture of these children surely in their natural instinctive mode of infancy, or child's play, or concert performance is quite, appealing; yet enough is given, yt enough space left to wonder

Have we figured out the intrigue of any of these three haiku. What is, and what isn't, plays a serious hand here adding depth to our appreciative reading of these 3 winning haiku.


Well done! Ajaya, Edward and Yesha
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator




The Theme was 'music competition'

early darkness

early darkness-
on the wings of the egret
a hint of sunlight
--Arvinder Kaur,Chandigarh,India


The year progresses as the flight of the egrets suggests, however our memories will be carried along as traces of our lives spent, like that nuance touching lightly, highlighting, the wings of the bird flying home to roost. An inevitable change of season is taking place, and the wisdom, inherent in the nature of the egret, motivates them to right action maintaining a harmonious balance.

There is a nice muted image painted here, reminding us of those grey areas of life, where there is emergence,without a complete cut-off point. Its about gradation, dynamism and awareness, all bundled into this haiku scenario.

A nice alliterative 'e' processes our visual reading adding another dimension in reception of the printed form of the haiku. When voiced, the sounds roll of our tongue with delight; all sixteen syllables of this moment so well contained.

Well Done Arvinder

--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The Kigo for Kukai #47 was 'early darkness'

film

action film--
my baby's kick
in the sonogram
--Arvinder Kaur,Chandigarh,India

What about this haiku makes it so special, that it emerges the kukai winner? Everyone goes soft when a baby enters the scene? I doubt it. It has to be much more than that. its the set up, I think. It has to be.

Line1 takes us to a place of expectations; in this place, there is darkness, yet everyone is concentrating on a source of light, there is the prescribed consensus of quiet, yet everyone's knows, this rule will be broken, there's food, specifically popcorn and sodas. So here's the pitch, Arvinder takes us there via the Line one's phrase, but nothing of the sort happens, by the time we understand, that we have been conned, the juxtaposition hones in and we are caught in the life drama of a new life happening.

Aha! now it is that we ourselves want to peer into that machine and share in the wonder of a scene so real, yet unreal to us as the haiku audience. Its reality becomes fixed only when we accept Arvinder's fragment surprise, and allow our selves to resonate in the sensation of the cinemascope, that is presented to us in this capsuled moment. The click of a camera will freeze the moment, the aesthetic of haiku take us there again and again, without losing the dynamics of this precious scene.
Arvinder's haiku appears like a sedoka, with the second and third lines being of the same length, and the go sichi go (5-7-5) meter is not adhered to. For those of us who like counting syllables, the haiku stays within the 17 syllable, using a count of 12.

Well Done Arvinder


--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The theme for Kukai #46 was film

afrocentric

migrating birds --
all the colors of
my skin
--Angie Werren, USA

Migration introduces in a powerful way, this haiku of variety and sameness; though the mood reminds me of Michael Dylan Welch's famous 'tulip festival' haiku, still, it presents a freshness of idea and quality. Its transcending quality skews into a methaphorical realm; yet it retains the simplicity and exactness of its Asian genre.

There is the expansiveness that is of the continent of Africa, with its varieties of tribes, clans, cultural practises; yet the "skin" of the connotative Africa becomes a hope of humanity and a universality of borders.

Like a skilful haiku magician, she dips into the hat, and pull the surprise out of nature "migrating birds"


Well done Angie
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The theme for the Kukai #45 was afrocentric

raincoat

moonless sky -
military raincoats hung
on a bamboo fence
--Rita Odeh Nazareth, Israel

The fragment appears first, with the intensity of commanding our attention; for us, she needs to throw some light on this matter, because we really don't know where she is going with this; a mystery resonated.

Line One sketches a drab scenery, universal in quality maybe, yes; we have all been privy to such nights; however what makes the haiku special to Rita is her resonating with raincoats of the militia; Rita hails from Israel a country now in turmoil, (a prayer and wishes for peace in her part of this planet is fitting here).

She juxtaposes a make shift fence, where wet coats hang, with an unwritten scene from life, where nothing seems permanent, is so much more understood; there is the dreary overhang of the ravages of social unrest and warring.
The actuality of this haiku can be raised to the dimension of a contempative chant, a wail from the belly of a haijin, wishing for the peace of stars and sun jeweled raindrops.

Well done Rita
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The kigo for the Kukai #44 was raincoat

wetness

fallen petals...
drops of wetness gleam
on the stalk
--Rita Odeh Nazareth, Israel


The focus of our eyes dips, and in rising, there is more to capture in the moment. The 'fallen ' of Line One intimates a sort of completion of the action, but our focus continues to view even more, the 'gleam' ; both completion aspects are well
juxtaposed to paint an ideally lovely picture, while the use of a present tense verb in Line Two livens the scenario, moving it out of the realm of a still life painting and placing it into the sphere of haiku.

Rita's awareness shared, is enjoyed by the writer and reader; an AHA moment achieved. Is it morning dew or rain? we agree on the latter.


Well done Rita
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The kigo for the Kukai #43 was wetness

flower

in her hair
a white gardenia--
the thrill of tango
S.E. Herrin: Des Moines, Iowa


Tango, a dance for two; full of passion, energy and expression; yet still, elegant and dramatic.

The fragment and phrase of this haiku is as multifacted in its duality as the dance itself. There, a happy juxtaposition of passion and elegance. Very specific, her gardenia is a white flower, a truce in the sometimes associated quarrel of the tango dance language. Here again the duality, the juxtaposition of the writer's thought in composng her haiku, resonates.

How easily we find ourselves in step with the rhythm of this poem, striding the haiku dance floor; but our flower is well placed, securely pinned and stays.

There is enough space, for us as readers of the haiku to fill in our own aspects of this tale, hopefully, the purity of the gardenia, blossoms into a love story.


Well done S.E.
--gillena cox
Caribbean Kigo Kukai - founder/coordinator



The Theme for the Kukai #42 was flower