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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
Judged on Friday by Tanya McDonald and Michael Dylan Welch
(Separate post on Saturday haiku upcoming)
Pictures by Peggy Garber
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
The Seattle Japanese Garden’s annual moon viewing festival returned again for two nights on Friday, September 10, and Saturday, September 11, 2021. This was after a break in 2020 when the festival was not held because of the coronavirus pandemic. For 2021, both nights were sold out to a maximum of 250 attendees, and everyone wore masks—and so did the moon both evenings, masked by clouds and thus unseen. This year we limited entries to one poem per person (we had welcomed up to two in previous years), which sped up and simplified the judging process. We received 44 entries the first night and 47 the second night, for a total of 91 haiku.
The following are our selections for Friday. As before, we selected poems for their clarity, freshness, sometimes humor and timeliness, and for evocatively portraying the moon, even if we couldn’t see it. No prizes were available this year, but we believe that everyone “won” simply by taking a moment to write about their moon-viewing experiences. Our congratulations to each winner, and to everyone who tried their hand at writing haiku. Our gratitude to the Seattle Japanese Garden for its ongoing support of haiku through these annual contests.
For more information about Haiku Northwest, which meets monthly in the Seattle area, and holds an annual haiku retreat, please visit www.haikunorthwest.org.
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
Friday, September 10, 2021
First Place
wonder how to dress
for a moon viewing party?
the koi wear white, gold
David Takami
Second Place
the air is still—
suddenly three birds launch
searching for the moon
Paul Pietromonaco
Third Place
we change, earth changes—
I look up at the same moon
my ancestors did
Aaron Morton
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
Honorable Mentions
(in alphabetical order by last name)
it’s a moon viewing
in the grey . . . it’s beautiful
anyway . . . the garden
Brady Curtis
northwest moon, hiding
with the gods, behind gray clouds
holding back the rain
Robert Diaz
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
koi beneath the bridge
bonsai balancing moonlight
pines piercing the sky
Larry Hubbell
moon’s first glimmer
long across the water
first soft kiss of a new night
Nick Kreucher
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
we gathered to see
Lady Luna hides her face
the clouds make her shy
Dana Pietromonaco
cloudy evening
trace of moonglow
autumn’s coming
Doug Santoni
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
Honorable Mentions (Youth)
gentle moonshine—
draping the walls in silver
balancing the world
Piper Belfiore (age 14)
the moon climbs the sky
the earth is under my feet
the sun is far gone
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
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| SJG • 9/10/21 |
