Katikati Haiku Contest: 2012
Senior section: 286 haiku from 66 poets
harvest moon
the horizon between here
and hereafter
– Lorin Ford, Australia, First
heart failure
folding the sails
before nightfall
– Joanne Watcyn-Jones, Australia, Second
November darkness –
only the tick
of the engine cooling
– Earl R Keener, USA, Third equal
morning sun
a lone crow
scatters frost from the pine
– John Barlow, UK, Third equal
Highly Commended
noon
a quiet bell
reflects the sun
– Earl R Keener
her new wig
the fir trees
shed their snow
– Seren Fargo, USA
enamelled top
my son’s smile
spins around the floor
– Cynthia Rowe, Australia
sun-dried grasses
quietly, the sparrows
whirr as I pass
– John Barlow
Commended
almost dawn
a heron fluffs the stillness
into itself
– Jan Dobb, Australia
bushfire smoke…
yachts on the lagoon
have no masts
– Cynthia Rowe
heavy surf
too many moons
to count
– Pris Campbell, USA
carrying sunlight
the wings
of a dragonfly
– John Barlow
Special Mention
a calf born today
lies still
as a burlap bag
– Genie Joiner, USA
collecting …
for the dead miners
wild violets
– Ernest J. Berry, Picton, NZ
aftershock
across the tiles
peppercorns roll
– Barbara Strang, Christchurch, NZ
Best Local Haiku
the sound of running water
over pebbles
a bird calls his mate
– Gaye Hemsley, Katikati
Junior Section: 388 haiku from 281 young writers
Red poppies
Battlefield
Blood red poppies
– Callum Reed, 12, Omokoroa Point School, First
waiting for the operation
she dreams of swimming
– Harry Frentz, 16, Tauranga Boys’ College, Second
easter holiday
school of fish
brushes past my leg
– Ruby Robertson, 9, Matahui Road School, Third
Highly Commended:
drained swamp –
the landscape
turns to rust
– Harry Frentz
I exhale a cloud
it lingers for a second
I am a dragon
– Geena Williams, 12, Tauranga Intermediate
Commended:
early morning –
tui song
the colour of a camellia
– Harry Frentz
roaring night
in the bush
stags are challenging
– Kieran Lander, 11, Omokoroa Point School
my mother’s advice –
the cows
keep chewing
– Harry Frentz
breathtaking view
no door
sitting on the long drop
– Leah Godkin, 11, Omokoroa Point School
the sun chases me
the wave is roaring at me
my ice-cream runs off
– Oakley Dench, 12, Tauranga Intermediate
shells hit trenches
the death of soldiers
in no man’s land
– Sam Breen, 12 Omokoroa Point School
salty beach scene
sand blowing
tide on the run
– Zoe Nelson, 13 Omokoroa Point School
up above me
puffy clouds float by
taking the day with them
– Isabel Heasman, 12, Tauranga Intermediate
the shock of impact
streets filled with debris
no home, nowhere to go
– Tayla Fraser-Brown, 12, Tauranga Intermediate
Special mention:
And trees are like trees
– Olivier Hooper, 12, Aquinas College
tackling, fending
bursting, step-breaking the line
Try! Yay! Crowd goes wild
– Kingston Langilangi, 10, Gate Pa School