The objective of this competition is to develop closer ties across the European community of haiku creators (although haiku authors from other parts of the world are welcome to submit entries as well). Starting 2018 we are planning one competition yearly: EUROPEAN KUKAI (in 2013-2017 we organized 4 separate quarterly competitions in each year: EUROPEAN QUARTERLY KUKAI). The competition is led in cooperation with the Publishing House KONTEKST from Poznań.

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Results of the EUROPEAN KUKAI 2023 (#5/25) - the last


Dear participants and sympathizers!

It is with undisguised sadness that we announce the end of the last edition of European Kukai (2018-2023), previously known as European Quarterly Kukai (2013-2017), which we had the pleasure of leading with the participation of Kontekst Publishing House.

242 authors from 50 countries took part in the last 25th edition. We have already managed to get used to the high level, accepting many times your suggestions that casting votes for only 3 haiku out of over two hundred is too small to choose from.

Our last meeting ended with the victory of Daniela Misso from Italy, who overtook Vladislav Hristow from Bulgaria and Daniel Birnbaum from France. Congratulations to the winners and all participants of the last European Kukai. The victorious haiku was won by spring, manifested in flowers and birds. After all, it is the most beautiful time of the year in our climate.

Since 2013, we were connected by a common interests, we created a great global group from all corners of the world and in our opinion that was the most important thing. Our Japanese masters would be proud of the statement "Haiku connects us" and probably surprised the worldwide success of their legacy.

From 2013 to 2023, during the 25 editions, you sent us the huge number of 4,877 haiku. Thank you very much for every poem, for every vote you cast. You are and will remain our friends.

This is our last meeting. We have been through peaceful times together as well as the covid pandemic. We hope that the war in Ukraine (on which there have been many poignant haikus in this edition) will soon end and we will enjoy peace around the world again.

As organizers, we say goodbye to the hope that we will meet in new projects. The world and time do not stand still, changes are constantly taking place. So we're not saying goodbye to you, but see you again.


Robert Kania and Krzysztof Kokot
European Kukai team

March 21, 2023.


Edition 2023 (#4/25) - 242 participants from 50 countries:

Australia (4), Azerbaijan (1), Bangladesh (1), (2), Belgium (2), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1), Brazil (6), Bulgaria (19), Canada (12), Colombia (1), Croatia (19), Cyprus (1), Denmark (1), Finland (1), France (7), Germany (13), Hungary (1), India (18), Indonesia (1), Iran (1), Ireland (1), Israel (2), Italy (25), Japan (1), Kazathstan (1), Lithuania (5), Montenegro (2), Nepal (1), Netherlands (2), New Zealand (2) North Macedonia (2), Norway (6), Pakistan (2), Palestine (1), Philippines (3), Poland (11), Portugal (1), Romania (16), (5), Serbia (4), South Africa (1), Spain (1), Sri Lanka (2), Sweden (1), Taiwan (1). Tajikistan (1), Trinidad and Tobago (1), United Kingdom (10), Ukraine (1), USA (18)

FIRST PLACE:

095 Daniela Misso, Italy
(8-10-5) = 49 points
(from:CAN, FRA, ITA, IND, AUS, NED, CAN, BUL - IND, ITA, IRE, ROM, IND, USA, BUL, ITA, UK, LIT - ITA, CRO, IND, ITA, ITA)


orphanage 
at the side of the road
forget-me-nots


SECOND PLACE:

085 Vladislav Hristov, Bulgaria
(10-3-2) = 38 points
(from: ROM, PAL, BUL, ITA, CRO, BUL, ROM, ITA, TRI, USA - GER,    , IND - CAN, ITA)


a child raises his hand
to catch it –
nightingale’s song


THIRD PLACE:

120 Daniel Birnbaum, France
(6-5-5) = 33 points
(from: USA, POL, BUL, GER, NOR, ROM - IND, FRA, MAC, CYP, BRA - UK,   , NED, BUL, SWE)


the bird on the fence
knowing nothing
about fences

 

4th place - 28 points (2 authors):

grassland
the wind
has no home


029 Stefanie Bucifal, Germany
(6-3-4) = 28 pts

==

mandala -
the spider designs
a new world

108 Florin Golban, Romania
(6-5-0) = 28 pts

5th place - 26 points:

forget-me-nots..
what if tomorrow starts
without me

210 Kashinath Karmakar, India
(5-3-5) = 26 pts

6th place - 25 points:

broken rice bowl -
I never stopped
to be a daughter

070 Maria Teresa Sisti, Italy
(3-5-6) = 25 pts

7th place - 24 points:

long illness -
the seasons go by
at her window

172 Maria Teresa Piras, Italy
(7-1-1) = 24 pts

8th place - 23 points:

Gaza morning-
perching on the barbed wire,
a migratory bird

056 Rita Odeh, Palestine
(6-2-1) = 23 pts

9th place - 22 points:

train slumber
every second station
a dream

149 Jon Vassbotn, Norway
(4-4-2) = 22 pts

10th place - 21 points:

clear morning
a little girl talking to
a flower

140 Nikolay Grankin,
(3-4-4) = 21 pts

20 points (2):

rockets in the sky-
in the eyes of a child
the shooting stars

028 Angela Giordano, Italy
(4-2-4) = 20 pts

== 

dropping the fish-
a seagull feeds
its reflection

223 Pamela Cooper, Canada
(4-3-2) = 20 pts

19 points (3):

grandpa's funeral
my fingers tightly grip
dad's hand

039 Ravi Kiran, India
(2-5-3) 19 pts

== 

starting convoy ...
palms of father and son divides
a cold bus window

042 Silva Trstenjak, Croatia
(4-3-1) = 19 pts

== 

talk of war—
the girl on the swing
swings

106 Brendon Kent, United Kingdom
(3-3-4) = 19 pts

17 points (2):

snow falling
on the bamboo …
again cancer

024 Deborah Karl-Brandt, Germany
(4-1-3) = 17 pts

== 

blank pages
my sick diary
of alzheimer's

063 Vincenzo Adamo, Italy
(3-3-2) = 17 pts

16 points:

end of festivities
a star disappears
in the vacuum cleaner

048 Eleonore Nickolay, France
(1-4-5) = 16 pts 

15 points (2):

rubble in Kiev –
a lost child prays
even the moon

001 Dennys Cambarau, Italy
(4-1-1) = 15 pts

== 

crossroads...
the wind has no reason
to pause

047 Srini, India
(4-0-3) = 15 pts

14 points (4):

crabapples
three fall down
as I reach for one

026 Radka Mindova, Bulgaria
(3-1-3) = 14 pts

== 

abortion -
my snowman melts
once again

049 Archana Kapoor Nagpal, India
(4-0-2) = 14 pts

== 

deep forest
rainwater vibrates
in the tiger's pawprint

114 Iliyana Stoyanova, United Kingdom
(2-2-4) = 14 pts

==

bombardment
the swallow does not find
its nest

203 Nazarena Rampini, Italy
(2-2-4) = 14 pts

13 points (3):

autumnal wind
the crowns are filling
with sky

045 Gabriele Hartmann, Germany
(3-1-2) = 13 pts

== 

mountain sunset
if only you would stay
a little longer

060 Sandi Pray, USA
(1-3-4) = 13 pts

==  

liberation
the sign on the scarecrow:
мін немає
* translated from Ukrainian - No mines

152 Artur Lewandowski, Poland
(2-3-1) = 13 pts

12 points (3):

spring hike...
I find myself praying
for world peace

033 Ed Bremson, USA
(2-3-0) = 12 pts

== 

reflection on the glass
landing on the moon
a moth

065 Christiane Ranieri, France
(2-3-0) = 12 pts

== 

night train
the full moon is shaking
with passengers

083 Zoran Doderovic, Serbia
(1-2-5) = 12 pts

11 points (6):

summer wind -
among the rubble
a book of haiku...

052 Vanice Zimerman, Brasil
(2-1-3) = 11 pts

== 

apples on the snow ...
the abandoned garden
in no man's land

118 Natalia Kuznetsova,
(3-0-2) = 11 pts

== 

my life
comes full circle  -
blank page

179 Vinay Leo R., India
(3-1-0) = 11 pts

== 

morning mist
skipping stones
to wake the lake

180 John Pappas, USA
(1-2-4) = 11 pts

== 

black marble
a widow sweeps away
the first snow

226 Sebastian Chrobak, Poland
(2-2-1) = 11 pts

==

spring wind
an old farmer breathing in
the earth's fragrance

232 Cristina-Valeria Apetrei, Romania
(1-3-2) = 11 pts

10 points (3):

at the cemetery
competing with themselves
tombstones

025 Bakhtiyar Amini, Tajikistan/Germany
(1-2-3) = 10 pts

== 

old classroom
never seen oceans
in winter sunlight

041 Anna Viazmitinova, Ukraine
(1-3-1) = 10 pts

== 

outdoor acting class
a longhorn beetle
plays dead

162 Tomislav Sjekloća, Montenegro
(2-1-2) = 10 pts

9 points (6):

birth –
an innocent prisoner opens
the door of sin

016 Aljoša Vuković, Croatia
(2-0-3) = 9 pts

==

the moon
in her white linen
growing each day

170 Amrutha V. Prabhu, India
(2-1-1) = 9 pts

== 

starry night -
there is no way to say goodbye

178 Nicoletta Ignatti, Italy
(3-0-0) = 9 pts

==

5 star hotel
day-long seminar
subject: poverty

182 Tanzeev Haque, New Zealand
(1-2-2) = 9 pts

 ==

passing clouds
the green of the bushes
waxes and wanes

187 Suraja Roychowdhury, USA
(2-1-1) = 9 pts

== 

home late -
all the dandelions
blown by the wind

233 Mihaela Iacob, Romania
(2-1-1) = 9 pts

8 points (13):

poplar trees
the misty sky splits
into a rook's cry

005 Marilyn Ward, United Kingdom
(2-0-2) = 8 pts

== 

turning over the soil
a robin's song
follows me

019 Claude Lagadec, France
(2-1-0) = 8 pts

== 

losses
and crosses
winter fields

044 Mike Fainzilber, Israel
(2-1-0) = 8 pts

== 

mid-winter
the variation
in the blackbirds silence

079 Oddbjørn Aardalen, Norway
(1-2-1) = 8 pts

== 

breaking dawn
across the border post
a dung-beetle rolls the day

127 Pitamber Kaushik, India
(1-2-1) = 8 pts

== 

fresh snow -
another shade or two
of white

143 Nikola Đuretić, Croatia
(1-1-3) = 8 pts

== 

a vine
aiming for the sun
joins the queue

160 Vibha Malhotra, India
(2-1-0) = 8 pts

== 

spring dawn ...
when did you come back
little bird with no name?

197 Lucia Cardillo, Italy
(2-0-2) = 8 pts

== 

now blue
now green again
unfurling wave

208 Mike Gallagher, Ireland
(1-2-1) = 8 pts

== 

earthquake
gaping cracks
in our souls

214 Kristina Todorova, Bulgaria
(2-1-0) = 8 pts

== 

inheritance...
the neighbour's bees
preserved our garden

234 Mihovila Čeperić-Biljan, Croatia
(0-2-4) = 8 pts

==

Mother’s Day
can surgery mend
a broken heart

240 Elena Calvo, Canada/Spain
(2-1-0) = 8 pts

==

thunderstorm
the unexpected cracks
on your hands

241 Sandra St-Laurent, Canada
(2-0-2) = 8 pts

7 points (9):

cold morning
silence from the light
fills the empty nest

023 Vibeke Laier, Denmark
(1-1-2) = 7 pts

== 

midwinter flatland
a bit of blue sky
goes a long way


067 Keith Evetts, United Kingdom
(2-0-1) = 7 pts

== 

open gate -
still distant
the moon

068 Ana Drobot, Romania
(2-0-1) = 7 pts

== 

migration
waves touching the seashore....
somewhere

101 Bernard Gieske, USA
(2-0-1) = 7 pts

== 

until crocuses…
we sleep the sleep
of bees

105 Tony Williams, United Kingdom
(0-3-1) = 7 pts

== 

the silence as she
pours the tea,
stinging nettles

126 Amada Burgard, USA
(0-3-1) = 7 pts

==

Woodpecker's tapping
a forrest ranger learns
the Morse code

186 Karolina Piotrowska, Poland
(1-2-0) = 7 pts

== 

breath on the window
I miss my mom
the entire time

201 Stanka Boneva, Bulgaria
(1-2-0) = 7 pts

== 

old cemetery –
more cherry petals fall
on the cold stones

235 Maria Tirenescu, Romania
(2-0-1) = 7 pts

6 points (20):

his remembrance day
pushing out of the ground
crocus flowers

003 Silvia Kempen, Germany
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

glacial moon. . .
every time you sign
a slight tremor

004 Surashree Joshi, India
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

nightfall
scavengers tilt 
the darkness

040 Lakshmi Iyer, India
(0-2-2) = 6 pts

== 

rumble behind the hill --
and my empty page
for a last haiku

062 Vanya Stefanova, Bulgaria
(2-0-0) = 6 pts

== 

forest fire —
what little remains
when we are gone

076 Mona Bedi, India
(0-2-2) = 6 pts

== 

nightingale song
outside the open window
the doctor allowed

100 Wiesław Karliński, Poland
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

vernal morning –
on the electric wire the couple
kiss of beak

107 Mauricio de Oliveira, Brazil
(2-0-0) = 6 pts

== 

cracked ice
long overdue
intimate conversation

109 Philmore Place,
(0-2-2) = 6 pts

== 

one by one sink the stars
in the fishing net
daybreak


112 Radostina Dragostinova, Bulgaria
(0-3-0) = 6 pts

== 

emptiness and fullness
leaves fall
on leaves

132 Sława Sibiga, Poland
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

==

Ukraine invasion—
the hawk’s eye
on the pigeons’ nest

139 Rick Clark, USA
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

the wind frees -
a soul of a kite
from every prison

146 Patrizia Cavallone, Italy
(2-0-0) = 6 pts

== 

the underground tremors
flips over instantly
a whole life 

154 Nijolė Kerušauskienė,  Lithuania
(2-0-0) = 6 pts

== 

earthquake...
her birthday cake's cream
on her own corpse

168 Munia Khan, Bangladesh
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

Valentine's Day-
my gray hair wrapped
in her smile

173 Franjo Ordanić, Croatia
(0-3-0) = 6 pts

== 

tourist sight
the oohs and aahs
in every accent

200 Mona Iordan, Romania
(0-2-2) = 6 pts

== 

sunrise licks the field
a donkey takes the apple
from a child's open palm

209 Karin Hedetniemi, Canada
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

arriving in Paris . . .
paper signs
with refugees' names

221 eddy lee, Germany
(0-2-2) = 6 pts

==

devastated village
a stork doesn't find
its family nest

229 Ivan Georgiev, Germany
(1-1-1) = 6 pts

== 

maple harvest-
a snowball lands
in the sap bucket

239 Ellen Cooper, Canada
(1-0-3) = 6 pts

5 points (18):

all that I learn 
from a leaf in the wind
slanting rays

010 Anitha Varma, India
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

autumn sidewalk
through the twirling leaves
a giggle

034 Martin Gotlieb Cohen, USA
(0-2-1) = 5 pts

== 

catholics, orthodox
prayers aloud -
bombing

037 Antonio Mangiameli, Italy
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

drizzling
drenches the meadow
autumn sadness

057 Dejan Ivanovic, Serbia
(0-2-1) = 5 pts

== 

spring wind -
imagine a space
around the heart

066 Mauro Battini, Italy
(1-0-2) = 5 pts

==

steady rain—
a wall between us
and the neighbours

078 Beth Skala, Canada
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

calm sea
my image in the water
hides the excitement

088 Viktoriya Marinova, Bulgaria
(0-1-3) = 5 pts

==

birds of passage -
without wings the sky
is about to fall

104 Dan Iulian, Romania
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

greenwashing father’s grave snowdrops

124 Tim Gardiner, United Kingdom
(1-0-2) = 5 pts

== 

travel journal
in the folds of a leaf
scribbled elegy

136 Teji Sethi, India
(0-2-1) = 5 pts

==

boundless sky...
a sudden wish to become
an eagle

150 Daniela Rodi, Finland
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

heron's cry
the south wind
awakes the sea

153 Françoise Maurice, France
(1-0-2) = 5 pts

== 

twilight
mouse-colored
daikon tail

158 Nataliya Yerkhova, Kazakhstan
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

sultry night . . .
the saxophonist plays
in blue

161 Marion Clarke, Northern Ireland
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

a snowy apple tree–
in my hands
your breath

174 Jolanta Szymańska, Poland
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

== 

scarecrow
I learn to open
myself

177 Alvin B. Cruz, Philippines
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

==

stand up
in the teacup
a smile

212 Hans Egerer, Germany
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

==

yellow notes in May –
my whole short-term memory
flying out the window

218 Anne Zooey Lind, Norway
(1-1-0) = 5 pts

4 points (21):

empty deck chairs -
echoes of laughter
in summers gone

002 Anne Curran, New Zealand
(0-1-2) = 4 pts

== 

funeral and wedding
on an unknown grave
the wind howls

006 Ljiljana Dobra, Croatia
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

a curlew’s cry
stirs me from my dream . . .
your sudden passing

013 Cynthia Rowe, Australia
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

==

winter migration
news of your passing
darkens the sun


020 Michael Henry Lee, USA
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

Rust on brake discs
Salt sprinkled on icy roads
Poetry of life

032 Jo Mykle Hofseth, Norway
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

==

at the patient's bed
perceived in a new way
haiku of the ancient masters

035 Igor Shugan, Taiwan
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

fewer fireflies
we don't know
our neighbors

077 Tom Bierovic, USA
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

veiling clouds
the crystalline song
of a warbler

086 Klaus-Dieter Wirth, Germany
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

in Fukushima
red spider lilies outlive
our own atom bomb

089 Gregory Skala, Canada
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

== 

piano concerto
white peacocks and black swans
together

094 Maya Kisyova, Bulgaria
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

rain of cherry petals
mom’s eternal home
in a spring rainbow

119 Stoianka Boianova, Bulgaria
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

== 

painted kites
over the ocean
flight to infinity

130 Minko Tanev, Bulgaria
(1-0-1) = 4 pts

== 

sunflowers bend over the grass war

133 Mariangela Canzi, Italy
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

==

winter solstice--
ravens in my haiku
make room for chickens

145 Eugeniusz Zacharski, Poland
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

== 

Among the ruins
A young tree is
The strength of survival

147 Virginija Sakalauskiene, Lithuania
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

== 

All Souls' Day
on the leaves a breath
of frozen wind

157 Eufemia Griffo, Italy
(0-2-0) = 4 pts

==

snow silence
even cicada forgets
its lyrics

185 Sudebi Singha, India
(0-1-2) = 4 pts

== 

rain falls
on the first flower bud
his sudden passing

191 Maria Concetta Conti, Italy
(0-1-2) = 4 pts

== 

a walk in the park
between us
the smell of lilac

204 Andrzej Dembończyk, Poland
(0-1-2) = 4 pts

== 

tank traces
full of snowdrops...
armistice

230 Cezar Ciobîcă, Romania
(0-1-2) = 4 pts

==

the sky has floated
down to earth
bluebells

238 Julia Wakefield, Australia
(0-2-0) = 4 pts 

3 points (19):

It´s a tender breeze
that caresses my whole face
with Sakura petals

007 Fabián Padilla Hernández, Colombia
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

sleet in graveyard
on the soldier's feet
boots never worn

054 Mirela Brailean, Romania
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

winter morning
the path in front of me white
with snowdrops

055 Vessislava Savova, Bulgaria
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

sunwarmed patio
peaceful catnap in sunbed
cuckoo alarm sound

064 Ellen Margrete Grong, Norway
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

huddling in the dark…
burnt edges of grandad’s
chestnuts

071 Stella Pierides, Germany
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

sea wind...
the bead curtain
tinkles slightly

074 Ana López Navajas, Spain
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

winter dusk —
losing myself in hours
of bad television

080 Goran Gatalica, Croatia
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

heavy snow on roof
cracking interior drywall -
the weight of one haiku

097 Louise Carson, Canada
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

A twist in the Earth
Keeps green running at high speed,
Past life regression.

113 Marieta Maglas, France
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

cracks deepen
in granny’s glasses…
curdled sky

115 Hifsa Ashraf, Pakistan
(0-0-3) = 3 pts

== 

Winter sea.
The barefoot wind walks
on the water.

116 Daniela Koleva, Bulgaria
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

looking at the sky
farmer with folded hands
ask for rain

137 Reneu do Amaral Berni, Brazil
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

snowflakes
I give milk
to stray cat

138 Marco Pilotto, Italy
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

one cloud
bleeding with beauty -
unnoticed

155 Gordana Kurtović, Croatia
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

deep winter
a destination
at every step

192 Carmela Marino, Italy
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

Swallow's nest -
an old woman retraces
forefathers' footsteps

196 Ornella Vallino, Italy
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

train noise –
a deer jumps through
the field of rye

207 Tomislav Maretić, Croatia
(0-1-1) = 3 pts

== 

ripening sun
the many languages
of surprise

222 Mark Gilbert, United Kingdom
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

== 

minefield
two-leaf clovers
all around

237 Henryk Czempiel, Poland
(1-0-0) = 3 pts

2 points (18):

master artist -
the moons portrayal
no flaws

011 Miclaus Silvestru, Romania
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

birch
in misty rain
the abandoned pram

015 Arne Haukdal, Norway
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

==

street flash flood  –
in upturned umbrella
sails some mud

036 D.V. Rożić, Croatia
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

between rain and snow -
butterflies and wasps fall down
in this warm winter

050 Dante Bianchi, Italy
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

 ==

the game of tides
scattered with shades of blue
picture of sun 

051 Zvonko Jurčević, Croatia
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

sitting aloof
in his place
a sunlit rock

058 Richa Sharma, India
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

yellow crocus
where the snow angel’s halo
should be

061 Jennifer Thompson, USA
(0-0-2) = 2 pts

== 

starry sky
and fear freezes
over Ukraine

084 Refika Dedić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

abandoned house ----
a mournful standing
of a leafless tree

110 Manoj Sharma, Nepal
(0-0-2) = 2 pts

==

rough hug --
dawn with a frosty mantle
draped rose

121 Štefanija Ludvig, Croatia
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

==

I seem to see you
In the spray of images
Of the wild rivers

123 Ma. Milagros T. Dumdum, Philippines
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

==

A yellow herbarium
I recall
grandmother’s hands

131 Yelizaveta Yevstigneeva,
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

==

long war
the candles of the chestnuts
drip

148 Lyudmila Hristova, Bulgaria
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

==

in brazilian lands
warm, sun, and sea
days of rain

181 Sandra Laurita, Brazil
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

modern plumbing-
the path to the old outhouse
overgrown with weeds

189 Sally Quon, Canada
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

dolls eyes
covered with dirt
town in rubble

199 Nadejda Kostadinova, Bulgaria
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

lake crowded with swans . . .
the way my daughter learns
trigonometry

220 Ivan Gaćina, Croatia
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

== 

milky way
unfolding paper
snowdrops

228 Lori Kiefer, United Kingdom
(0-1-0) = 2 pts

1 point (25):

Ocean waves hitting
into the cleft granite walls …
Watching it a while

008 Horst Ludwig, USA
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

winter cold—steel knife
slicing clouds to thin grey threads
obscured stars grateful

014 Lawrence Wilson, United Kingdom
(0-0-1) = 1 pts

== 

Valentine's Day –
in the orchard floating
a dove flake

017 Capotă Daniela Lăcrămioara, Romania
(0-0-1) = 1 pts

== 

he says, too loudly
I turn pages of the book -
snow moon insomnia 

021 Goda Virginija Bendoraitienė, Lithuania
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

narcissi
knowing no better
—war garden

027 Ingrid Baluchi, North Macedonia
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

winter stars…
we share my bowl of rice pudding
and your armchair

038 Steliana Cristina Voicu, Romania
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

cat food
first lesson to the puppy
don't touch

043 Slobodan Pupovac, Croatia
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

spring breeze...
watching the pinwheels spin
in the garden

092 Nancy Brady, USA
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

at the phone –
you listen to the blackbird
from my garden

111 Angelica Seithe, Germany
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

fog from the sea...
slowly dissolved
the first shadows

117 Angiola Inglese, Italy
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

magnolia buds--
in the front yard
gibbous moon

128 Tuyet Van Do, Australia
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

looking out the window 
snow and  frost are sibblings -
carols on the radio

129 Mariana  Tanase, Romania
(0-0-1) = 1 pts

==

reading Shiki
under my lemon tree
a robin sings

134 Margherita Petriccione, Italy
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

spring leaves -
I keep talking
to no one

141 Anna Maria Domburg-Sancristoforo, Netherlands
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

sunflower seeds
discount to buy 2 summers
for the price of 1

144 Dainius Dirgela, Lithuania
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

snowdrops
draw with white
in the sky

164 Lilia Racheva, Bulgaria
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

rustling leaves-
browns and yellows envy
the polka-dot hat

166 Aleksandra Guzik, Poland
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

Whispering for us
Paths of the cemetery
By fallen leaves

169 Jonas Vaicekauskas, Lithuania
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

chrysanthemums
on the headstone
their unbearable weight

176 David Josephsohn, USA
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

autumn moon
warm glow of kettled rice
upon my face

183 Douglas J. Lanzo, USA
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

night's Lady -
forgotten letter
sense aroma

184 Marisa Tereza de Sá, Brazil
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

full moon filled
an empty window
a child cries

216 Sovjeta Grubešić, Serbia
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

==

in the bomb shelter –
the young girls sing a song
in close harmony

217 Annette Akkerman, Netherlands
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

covid ward -
a beeping monitor
redefines my life

225 Eleni Antoniou-Constantinou, Cyprus
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

== 

my pride
overtakes
my only chance to jump

231 Goran Lowie, Belgium
(0-0-1) = 1 pt

no points this time (42):

razor-wire fence
cries of grief echo
a crimson sunrise

009 Corine Timmer, Portugal

== 

a womb
without ready-made penalty -
spring bud

012 Ernesto P. Santiago, Philippines

== 

Happy music resonates
The last goodbye
To my extraordinary grandmother

018 Solène Lagadec, France

== 

footprints in the snow -
a snow man wears
his tartan scarf

022 Gillena Cox, Trinidad

== 

davos
how can we forget the sparks
of the dying campfire

030 Eduard Tara, Romania

== 

At his departure
many tears at the window-
alone in the house

031 Liette Janelle, Canada

== 

shooting stars
the border guard
first patrol

059 Marta Chociłowska, Poland

== 

salt gathered
from the tears
muddy track

069 Barbara Anna Gaiardoni, Italy

== 

The start of rain
The mother dog licks her puppy
Road side.

072 Hossein Habibi, Iran

== 

cocktail party
one alone out of mood
his father’s cudgel 

073 Sarma Radhamani, India

== 

land by the blue sea
dark floods are threatening
mirroring the sky

075 Wolfgang Rödig, Germany

==

troubled water
rusting
love

081 Birk Andersson, Sweden

== 

Hand-me-down books from
Beloved older cousin
My own library

082 Jennifer Gurney, USA

== 

yellow to one tree's leaves
all the others
teeming with sunlight

087 Marshall Hryciuk, Canada

== 

lunar eclipse -
by dint of the perfume
you'll find me

091 Diana Teneva, Bulgaria

== 

after moonset
barely shimmering
a  few fireflies

093 Vasile Moldovan, Romania

== 

not a single firefly
curious who turned off
the last light

096 Isabella Kramer, German 

==

budding forsythia
his first wobbly rides
without training wheels 

098 Joseph P. Wechselberger, USA

== 

roses in bloom -
yet the old is dressed
in his greatcoat

099 Branka Vojinović Jegdić, Montenegro

== 

cat's cradle
things got more confusing
as we grew up

102 Alex Malley,

==

apart from
the pole and the bird
thick, thick fog

103 Viviane C. M. Leite, Brazil

== 

rusty skis –
ski slopes
are waiting for snow

122 Vladimir Ludvig, Croatia

== 

matcha
bamboo spoon
in a gray cup

125 Željko Vojković, Croatia

== 

flower bike -
riding from source
to mouth

135 Danijela Grbelja, Croatia

== 

a fly on another –
the nicest way to die
my darling says

142 Marie Derley, Belgium

== 

storm outside
woman blows her hardest
kindling the hearth

156 Ashoka Weerakkody, Sri Lanka

== 

a bunch of ants
creating river
- sunken courtyard

163 Nina Šesto, Croatia

== 

stooped woman smirks
the board reads-
Angelic Smile

171 Hema Ravi, India

== 

breeze of dragons’ breath
baby shrieks shatter Mama masks
berg wind blues

175 Ayesha Kajee, South Africa

== 

begging calls...
among the fallen yellows
the baby leaf

188 Yasir Farooq, Pakistan

== 

my daughter
returning from salon -
kingfisher on a coconut palm

193 Radhika De Silva, Sri Lanka

== 

In a nursing home
I recite for an old bloke
One day I'll be him.

194 Marcell Domonkos, Hungary

== 

creek Stones
I still believing
in first light

195 Mircea Moldovan, Romania

==

along the alley
and on the back of my dog
white petals falling

198 Tsveta Omilla, Bulgaria

==

sodden forest floor
heavy boots leave a mud trail
in mockingbird’s repertoire

202 Emin Masimli, Azerbaijan

==

persistent rain -
fluorescent sticker stars
inside the room

205 Maria Tosti, Italy

==

Icicles gone
cherry trees budding out
in silence

211 Hidenori Hiruta, Japan

==

A sense of relief
Swept upon so suddenly
But the sun still shines

215 Prisha Patel, USA

== 

silent warm dusk
drawing a staff
song for a guitar and fireflies

219 Albena Todorova, Bulgaria

==

frosty morning
rye baguette
floured

224 Andrey Nemo,

== 

the first spring rain
touches the black tulips slowly
nature's first kiss

236 Rolanda Stefanova, Bulgaria

== 

i complement
the young moon
with one muffin

242 Toni Pavleski, North Macedonia

no results (authors who didn’t vote - 11):

light touch -
with pointed roofs
snow drips

046 Silvia Bistocchi, Italy

== 

confined
in his bed...he waves
to the falling snow

053 Marilyn Henighan, Canada

== 

springtime blossom
petals dance to robin's song
dreams in perfumed air

090 Christopher Calvin, Indonesia

== 

a mint leaf
dipped in the cup of tea
the sun rises

151 Arunachala Shiva Ravisankar, India

== 

tumbledown house
cheerful hubbub of children
mum is doing laundry

159 Ljubinka Tošić, Serbia

== 

in between
the baby's cry --
a full moon

165 Joan Canby, USA

== 

Pieces spread on my table
Puzzle of The World
where do I fit in?

167 Rivka Tzur, Israel

== 

little I imagine
in the world
peaceful as a haiku

190 Maria Cezza, Italy

==

The migrant's nest adorned
with a couple of leaves that bear
the colors of autumn.

206 Šime Škribulja, Croatia

==

Crowd sinks like hotpot,
waves of chandeliers light hope;
feeling winters' warmth.

213 Helen Tung, Australia 

==

Winter lull.
Cutlets left again
in the field kitchen.

227 Boris Tikhomirov,

 

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