Results of the 2nd Haiku My Photo Challenge

Dear haiku friends,

First of all, I’d like to thank everybody for joining the 2nd Haiku My Photo Challenge. I thought hosting this contest was badly timed with all the flurry of excitement last August on NaHaiWrimo and the looming deadlines of submissions for other haiku contests and journals, but your overwhelming support, more than I had imagined, all proved me wrong.

Every morning I looked forward to checking my email. Several participants expressed how much they enjoyed reading the list of haiku and voting for their favorites. It was a fun experience for me, too, as I felt like I was accepting precious gifts from the heart from all over the world.  Most of the haiku I received have love stories to tell, giving me reasons to start my day with a smile. Others prodded me to ponder and view my photo in a different light.

Submissions came from 10 different countries. Here's the list of all the participants:

1. John Daleiden, USA  2. Angelo Ancheta, Philippines  3. Josie Hibbing, USA  4. Mandeep Maan, India  5. Gillena Cox, Trinidad and Tobago  6. Ernesto Santiago, Philippines  7. Pravat Kumar Padhy,  India  8. Rick Daddario, USA  9. Elizabeth Fanto, USA  10. Sandi Pray, USA  11. Hansha Teki, New Zealand  12. Cara Holman, USA  13. Pat Geyer, USA  14. Kat Creighton, USA  15. Vasile Moldovan, Romania  16. Ed Bremson, USA  17. Jayashree Maniyil, Australia  18. Alegria Albano Imperial, Canada  19. Kirsten Cliff, New Zealand  20. Stella Pierides, UK  21. Ted van Zutphen, USA  22. Patty Hardin, USA  23. Asni Amin, Singapore  24. Sanjuktaa Asopa, India

Before I announce the winners, let me point out a few reminders:

1) None of the votes and comments are from me. 

2) All the votes and comments will remain anonymous even    

    after the contest. 

3) All haiku entries are posted with the author’s name. Votes  

    will appear as follows.

    Ex. 0, 5, 4 = 14

    This means that no voter gave three points, 5 voters gave two points, and 4 voters gave 1 point. Total votes is equivalent to 14 points. 

Finally, the results of the contest! 

 FIRST PLACE

  #8

twilight

the rooftop sound

of evensong

~ Rick Daddario, USA

Votes: 2, 6, 4 = 22 pts. 

Comments:  really fits the picture well 

SECOND PLACE

        (click for a bigger picture)         

 #24

lilac dusk-

a song we are yet

to sing

~ Sanjuktaa Asopa, India

Votes: 2, 5, 5 = 21 pts. 

Comments #1  This haiku provides a fine sense of anticipating something that is about to happen.  Together, they would make a nice haiga.  There is lots of “dreaming room” here;  we can imagine all sorts of stories that might be sung in a few minutes—we  have only to wait, to be patient and listen…. 

Comments #2  nice mood here 

THIRD PLACE

(click for a bigger picture)

#19

in your eyes

a songbird calls

shades of blue

~ Kirsten Cliff, New Zealand

Votes: 3, 2, 2 = 15 pts.

Comments:

The rest of the results are here:

#1

two lovers

waiting for the evening moon—

first star at dusk

~ John Daleiden, USA

Votes: 1, 1, 0 = 5 pts.

Comments:  neat juxtapositioning of ideas 

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#2

deep blue sky ...

the unbearable lightness

with you

~ Angelo Ancheta, Philippines

Votes: 1, 3, 1 = 10 pts.

Comments:

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 #3

turtledoves--

the afterglow fading

into this love song

~ Josie Hibbing, USA

Votes: 0, 1, 1 = 3 pts.

Comments:

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#4

MORNING RAYS 

AHA ! I SEE TWO BLUEBERRY

ON COMMAN WALL

~ Mandeep Maan, India

Votes: 0, 0, 0 = 0 pts.

Comments:

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 #5

family stories -

told to a child

cardamom grains

in ice cream

~ Gillena Cox, Trinidad & Tobago

Votes: 0, 0, 0 = 0 pts.

Comments:

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#6

the white bouvardia

in our marriage

two separate books

~ Ernesto Santiago, Philippines

Votes: 0, 0, 1 = 1 pt.

Comments:

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 #7

twilight hour

parents wait for the kids

a mixed shadow

~ Pravat Kumar Padhy, India

Votes: 0, 1, 0 = 2 pts.

Comments:

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 #9

doves' soft coos

against a blue-magenta sky

honeymoon love

~ Elizabeth Fanto, USA

Votes: 0, 0, 1 = 1 pt.

Comments:

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#10

so much sky

pausing to comfort

a friend

~ Sandi Pray, USA

Votes: 0, 3, 7 = 13 pts.

Comments:  I like the figurative implication here; the birds emulate a human situation.  Here the verse extends the photo;  both the verse and the image “show” a situation happening—there is no “telling” here and we are allowed to imagine what the reason is for the need of comfort.  The battle between “telling” and “showing” is difficult! 

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#11

after the storm

a fresh olive leaf

between us 

~ Hansha Teki, New Zealand

Votes: 1, 0, 7 = 10 pts.

Comments:  interesting connection of idea/picture 

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#12

postcards

from another time

fading twilight  

~ Cara Holman, USA

Votes: 0, 2, 1 = 5 pts.

Comments:  

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#13

peace searching

for a new way

with only blank stares 

~ Pat Geyer, USA

Votes: 0, 0, 0 = 0 pts.

Comments:

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#14

early autumn . . .

all this talk

about our direction

~ Kat Creighton, USA

Votes: 0, 2, 7 = 11 pts.

Comments:  The union of this haiku and the photo work well for me. The haiku becomes an acceptable  and indirect metaphor about change—for me change is one of the essences of haiku. “our” could left in or out of the haiku.

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#15

Love story:

two turtle doves

beak by beak

~ Vasile Moldovan, Romania

Votes: 1, 0, 0 = 3 pts.

Comments: A strong sense of loyalty came through in this poem, the kind of loyalty one would observe in a long-term marriage.

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#16

cling as we may

there's no holding onto

the day

~ Ed Bremson, USA

Votes: 0, 0, 0 =  0 pts.

Comments: 

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#17

rooftop –

our climbing

crescendos

~ Jayashree Maniyil, Australia

Votes: 0, 0, 2 = 2 pts.

Comments: 

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#18

stillness

waiting on Venus, again

our first vows

~ Alegria Imperial, Canada

Votes: 0, 1, 1 = 3 pts. 

Comments: 

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#20

nest building –

on the other side of the fence

a deeper blue

~ Stella Pierides, UK

Votes: 0, 2, 3 = 7 pts. 

Comments:  There is a great amount of dreaming room in this haiku; matched with this photo I will be reading a very successful haiga.  The haiku becomes a subtle and indirectly stated metaphor for human relationships, even though it obviously written about the birds.  The images of “nest building” and the hope and imagination implied by the phrases “deeper blue” and “the other side of the fence” are concrete images with subliminal and unwritten (but implied) messages. Together this haiku and image celebrate a highly positive sense of on-going change…. 

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#21

last whisper…

again, summer heat erupts

in all colors

~ Ted van Zutphen

Votes: 0, 1, 1 = 3 pts.

Comments:

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#22

spring morning

two friends

talking stories

~ Patty Hardin, USA

Votes: 1, 0, 2 = 5 pts.

Comments:

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#23

to the moon and back

have I told you lately

that I love you? 

~ Asni Amin, Singapore

Votes: 0, 0, 1 = 1 pt.

Comments: 

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Congratulations to the winners - Rick Daddario, Sanjuktaa Asopa, and Kirsten Cliff! Your postcards will be coming your way soon :-)

Once again, my heartfelt gratitude to all of the 24 participants for making this peer-reviewed contest a success. I hope to see you all on the next Haiku My Photo Challenge. I don’t know when it will be considering my life’s situation. It’s really hard to tell. All I can say is this - one day when you least expect it, I’ll be springing up wonderful surprises again. ;-)

Till next time…..

Blessings to all,

Chrissi