kamakura English

Simply Haiku: An E-Journal of Haiku and Related Forms July-August 2004, vol. 2, no. \| Contents \| Archives \| About Simply Haiku \| Submissions \| Search \|

	*The Kamakura Shrine One Verse Competition* - English section**
	*First Prize* the evening rain in reminiscence-- my back feels wet thinning watercolors with Perrier close of day the barrage of questions mom's story hour	First Prize: the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kifu Futagami thinning watercolors Chiharu Fukunaga close of day the barrage of questions John Tion Chunghoo
	*Second Prize* the evening rain in reminiscence-- my back feels wet thinning watercolors with Perrier hoar frost the dead spider drawn into a star	First Prize: the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kifu Futagami thinning watercolors Chiharu Fukunaga close of day the barrage of questions Sheila Windsor
	*Third Prize* the evening rain in reminiscence-- my back feels wet thinning watercolors with Perrier each waterway has a line of cherry blossoms going down the stream	First Prize: the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kifu Futagami thinning watercolors Chiharu Fukunaga close of day the barrage of questions Nobuyuki Yuasa
	*Runners Up* a path appears faintly by moonlight our journey begins light from the north-facing window a model's pale skin various hues of hydrangeas skirt the graves... giggling students a plume of steam-- blue flames flicker under the teapot to a mime, the make-up artist tells her secret scented breeze jacaranda's blossoms on the duck's feet infectious laughter of a baby being tickled after dessert she passes the waiter her private number a brief flash the sunset bleeds into the horizon at sunrise the camper removes the rocks from under the tent computerese ordinateur, octets French dictionary	First Prize: the evening rain in reminiscence-- Ray MacKenzie the evening rain in thinning watercolors Michael Ketchek the evening rain in reminiscence-- Carmen Sterba the evening rain in thinning watercolors Carol Raisfeld the evening rain in reminiscence-- Juanito L. Escareal the evening rain in thinning watercolors Ron Moss the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kirsty Karkow the evening rain in thinning watercolors Paul Conneally the evening rain in reminiscence-- Carol MacRury the evening rain in thinning watercolors Jeff Whittingham the evening rain in reminiscence-- Stephan Rojcewicz	*cat.* a fai 4ou th in 2y th in *2&5m the in 1 th in 3 th in 4 the in 5 th in 3my th in 1&6* the in 3my th in 1
	*Honorable Mention* torrid noon beads of moisture coat my ice tea glass her breath expands the sun's image on a bubble ripples on a puddle revealing the sound of silent rain koi a living palette flushes beneath lilies your brush dripping with starlight morning sun light an ant's shadow traces the peony now stay there the shape of cherry blossoms kaleidoscope spring sunshine the rainbow trout disappears in a cloud shadow clouds arc of rainbow there, and there pastel sunset skimming the river-- bats watermirror Monet's nenuphars on the pond	First Prize: the evening rain in reminiscence-- Allen McGill the evening rain in thinning watercolors Christopher Herold the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kuniharu Shimizu the evening rain in thinning watercolors Brenda Roberts the evening rain in reminiscence-- Robert Wilson the evening rain in thinning watercolors Stanford Forrester the evening rain in reminiscence-- Tateshi Tsukamoto the evening rain in thinning watercolors Earl Keener the evening rain in reminiscence-- Dr. Peter H. Pache the evening rain in thinning watercolors elehna de sousa the evening rain in reminiscence-- Marius Geerts	*cat.* a fai 1 th in 1 th in 1m the in 2 th in 2 th in 2 the in 2 th in 2 th in 2 the in 2my th in 2
	beneath the field the samurai sleep past the temple bell the tears fall as do the raindrops washing the heart incense swirls beneath a tall gingko our kiss deepens will the pharmacist renew your prescription for coumadin? carrying my plate outside to dine with the weeping cherry spring breeze tied to the wind chime cord a blossom haiku the slap of my feet along this stone path echoes through time deep forest I trace a path I've dreamed a baby's dimples plump enough to make the Buddha grin our giggles echo within Spring's garden where moonlight hides a faint smile as a forgotten moment brings warmth	the evening rain in reminiscence-- Sara Winteridge the evening rain in thinning watercolors Doug Sterver the evening rain in reminiscence-- Angelee Deodhar the evening rain in thinning watercolors Christopher Herold the evening rain in reminiscence-- susan delphine delaney the evening rain in thinning watercolors Stanford Forrester the evening rain in reminiscence-- Tateshi Tsukamoto the evening rain in thinning watercolors Kikuyo Sugiura the evening rain in reminiscence-- John E. Carley the evening rain in thinning watercolors Bette Wappner the evening rain in reminiscence-- Kylie Hooklyn	a fai 3 th in 3 th in 3 the in 3 th in 4 th in 4 the in 4 th in 4 th in 5 the in 5 th in 5
	pull me into a now painted with stars quick as lightning a gleam comes out of an eye of a blue heron between storms in distant glass towers lightning from the canvas a memory of moonlight	the evening rain in reminiscence-- Robert Wilson the evening rain in thinning watercolors Nobuyuki Yuasa the evening rain in reminiscence-- Brenda Roberts the evening rain in thinning watercolors Dina E. Cox	a fai 6 th in 6 th in 6 the in 6

A Thank You Note from the Adjudicator In concluding the contest my heart goes to all contributors; thank you for entering the first One Verse Contest, and for engaging with the tradition of haikai-no-renga. Unlike a haiku contest, here we shared the same starting point which we found in and between two tiny verses. I am trying to explain to myself why I am still so touched, not only by the diversity, but also by the patterns recognizable in the way in which the added stanzas seek to develop the poem. This enthusiasm must be from witnessing, time and again, the sincere endeavour of each individual as they honour their fellow poets through such imaginative attempts to extend the poem. This whole experience as judge represents the exact opposite to the notion that understanding each other is extremely difficult . . . a notion that seems to be wide-spread in Japan through the recent best-seller: The Wall of Idiots (baka no kabe). The contest affirms that we can understand each other. My enthusiasm must spring from the confirmation that shared humanity has so much to do with the writing of poetry. Aren't we almost destined to share our precious collage of memory, of dreams and inner vision in this uniquely human way called poetry? As you will have found from the above results, I could not help categorizing candidate verses into several groups: poems which give the image of instability, or on-going transformation poems about visual impact or about imagination triggered by art-related words poems written by humanizing the scene based on dramatic imagination on human nature poems on various flowing-out images poems on laughter (often combined with either to 3 or 4) poems on sudden insight, impulse or motion It has been so difficult to select the prizes out of so many well-qualified verses. And yet now I am perfectly firm on my selection. *first prize* I love a delightful shift from pushed out watercolor paints flowing into a tiny Perrier puddle to told-out stories that released 'a barrage of questions'. *second prize* I admire the link between ice-cold Perrier and the dead spider in hoar frost! The vivid image of a spider drawn to a star is poetically convincing. *third prize* The sound of English 5-7-5 is rarely this natural. Here the sound of the poem is effectively and gracefully entwined with the visual image of the verse. I have also chosen 11 runners up and quite a few verses for honorable mention. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have. Lastly, let me share with you my own humble try:
	footpath along the inlet: I ran into a handsome boy	the evening rain in reminiscence-- Eiko Yachimoto	3&4
Sincerely yours, …………………Eiko Yachimoto