Judge's Comments:
Thank you to all the entrants for sharing your haiku with me, and my thanks also to Chrissi, for inviting me to judge her Haiku My Photo Challenge. The three prizewinners are all haiku that stood up to multiple readings and continued to stand out from the crowd. I judged without knowledge of the authors of each haiku and without having previously seen the photo. And first prize goes to:
leafdance
rippling the sky...
sometimes, I think of you
This haiku stood out for me from the first read through. I find so much to enjoy about it, every line and word choice works: alone as a haiku, and then together with the photo as a haiga. It takes me into the photo as well as transporting me to another place, moving me somewhere deeper. I fell for “leafdance” – what a beautiful image! It breathes new life into the leaves, gives them their spirit back. A few of the haiku entered played with the reflection of the sky on water. This poet achieved the effect flawlessly in line two with “rippling the sky”. The image created is not intrusive or forced: it sounds so natural that the “leafdance” would be “rippling the sky”, whether reflected on the water or not. The pause brought about from the ellipses gives the reader a little extra time than just the line break alone to delight in this experience. Then line three moves the reader along, with that addition of “sometimes” speaking volumes. The mystery, the 'other', is created by this final line and yet the journey for the reader, coupled with the photo too, has only just begun. Stunning work!
reflection …
the arresting music
of leaves
The first line, that one word “reflection”, works two ways: reflection on the water and reflection within ourselves. As in the above haiku, the ellipses worked for me here as it gave that extra pause, that silence in time for the reader to begin the reflection process, to start to sink deeper and think on where this haiku might be taking them within themselves, as well as within the haiga (whether the reader knew that this shift had begun happening or not – maybe most great examples of haiku do this without the reader knowing, at least at first). The final two lines again bring in the spirit of Nature with “the arresting music/ of leaves”. I found this powerful and loved it from my first read through. I imagined the sound, then felt the pull outdoors to listen for it first hand on a new journey of discovery and connection.
spring song
how it draws the heart
to reflection
I'm a fan of alliteration and loved the phrase “spring song” on first reading. It works with the photo and then immediately draws the reader to look outside the borders for further signs of spring. The poet here like the first two, has reminded the reader of Nature's song, of the life essence that is all around us and part of us. And also like the above two haiku, the auditory sense of the reader is engaged, which lifts the photo to another level. The final lines “how it draws the heart/ to reflection” worked to draw me deeply into the centre of the photo, and deeper into the experience as a whole.
Kirsten Cliff
I want to express my sincerest thanks to all the participants. This haiga contest would not have been a great turnout without your support and interest.
I'd also like to thank Kirsten for generously giving her time and effort. She did a terrific job!
I hope to see you all again in the 2nd Haiku My Photo Challenge in June. Stay tuned for more details at the end of the month.
