f/k/a archives . . . real opinions & real haiku

If you love to read or write haiku, Mardi Gras might be best celebrated

with a parade of some of the best haiku published in 2005.  Yesterday,

Feb. 27, 2006, The Heron’s Nest made that easy — it announced the

winners of its Readers’ Choice Awards Vol. VII  (2005).  There are two

categories, Best Poem and Most Popular Poet.  All those participating

in the poll agreed to read all of the poems published at THN in 2005.

 

                                                                                              

 

  We at f/k/a are celebrating extra hard, as four of our Honored Guest

Poets were among the six winners — with Carolyn Hall topping both

categories.

 

Here are the contest results:

“THNLogoG” 

 

Best Poem Vol. VII (2005)

 

GRAND PRIZE (120 points)

so suddenly winter
baby teeth at the bottom
of the button jar

            — Carolyn Hall  Commentary

 

 

FIRST RUNNER-UP (94 points)

– Click to see Rick Tarquinio‘s haiku

 

 

 

SECOND RUNNER-UP (75 points)

unemployed
the uneven edge
of a quahog shell

            — paul m. Commentary

 

 

 

THIRD RUNNER-UP (58 points)

– click to see David Lindsey‘s haiku
 

 

Popular Poets Vol. VII (2005)  “THNLogoF”

 

GRAND PRIZE

Carolyn Hall (5 of 7 poems received votes – total = 163 points)

– click to see each of Carolyn’s Vol. VII poems: 0701 EC#1,  0701 5#8,  

0702 2#5,  0703 7#8,  0703 9#9,  0704 2#8,  0704 3#2

 

FIRST RUNNER-UP

paul m. (6 of 7 poems received votes – total = 141 points)

– click to see each of paul’s Vol. VII poems 0701 1#10,  0701 7#5,  

0702 3#4,  0702 7#6,  0703 EC#1,  0703 8#5,  0704 5#5

SECOND RUNNER-UP (a tie)

Rick Tarquinio (4 of 6 poems received votes – total = 135 points)

-click to see each of RIck’s Vol. VII poems: 0701 9#9,  0702 EC#1,  

0702 3#9, 0703 6#1,  0704 10#3,  0704 12#8

John Stevenson (8 of 8 poems received votes – total = 135 points)

– click to see each of John’s Vol. VII poems: 0701 11#4,  0701 7#1,  

0702 10#4,  0702 8#2,  0703 1#8,  0703 10#6,  0704 EC#3,  

0704 10#10

 

THIRD RUNNER-UP

Yu Chang  (4 of 4 poems received votes – total = 93 points)

– click to see each of Yu’s Vol. VII poems: 0703 7#1,  0703 7#7,  

0704 12#3,  0704 7#3.  (Being an engineer and a stickler for

precision, I bet the ever-humble Prof. Yu would point out that

a tie for Second makes him the Fourth Runner-Up.)

 

  Celebrate Mardi Gras with a pair of poems from each of f/k/a‘s

Honored-Guest winners from Vol. VII of the Heron’s Nest:

 

 

Arlington
the tulips
wide open 

 

rain-streaked windows
    how to paint
    the finch’s song

 

 

Carolyn Hall

 

 

 

pull of the moon
I am not myself
tonight

 

 

 

fallen sycamore —
the chess players move
to another tree

 

yu chang 

 

 

daffodil shoots–

all these years

as an accountant

 

 

 

drifting seed fluff . . .

the rented horse

knows an hour’s worth

 

 

paul m

 

 

 

 

evening light
a loaf of bread
on the cutting board

 

 

 

 

fresh snow
for the hands,
for the face

 

John Stevenson

 

 

 

  There’s one big difference between The Heron’s Nest

Mardi Gras celebration and traditional ones: THN will still be feasting

on Ash Wednesday — with its first edition of 2006 (Vol. VIII). Check

it out on March 1st.

 

  By the way, in April, THN‘s first annual paper edition

will be published, containing all of the poems that

appeared online in 2005, plus the Reader’s Choice

Awards result.  It’s only $15.  Details here, in the left-

hand margin.

 

p.s. dagosan didn’t win any THN awards this year, but still felt like a

winner a year ago, when this poem appeared in Vol. VII: 1 — his

very first haiku in a haiku journal:

 

alone —
hugging
warm laundry

 

      david giacalone

 

 

On Feb. 17, we wrote that New Orleans resident

David Lanoue planned to go all out this year celebrating Mardi

Gras post-Katrina.  We hope the good professor has a great

time and brings something more than a headache to his

creative writing class on March 1.

 

 

somebody’s little sister

     Bourbon Street

        stripper

 

 

 

the city recovers
restaurant
by restaurant

 

the city Care forgot
is drowning, Care
remembered

 

 

David G. Lanoue