blue bird

twilight shadows--
the flash
of a bluebird's wing
--Cara Holman; USA

This is such a familiar scene; i slip with ease into Cara's haiku, i wonder whether the familiarity had anything to do with her emerging into the winners slot; as her voters declined comments with their votes. But its not only familiarity that works well for this haiku; its the stuff that a good ku is made from.
The aha moment is easily achieved; and the reader settles into a haze of nuances.Through all the silhouettes of day's ending, there is a dash of colour visible enough in its instant to distract and to attract us. Something happens and its quick, and its enlivening; it happens amidst the wanning of light and the dying of day; Her choice of report for this event is simply stated ' flash of'
Just enough to whet our appetites; just enough to reel us into her contemplation of eventide. Nothing else is important at this particular instant; she has experienced something awesome, and so also have we; she has already caught us in a snare of awe. Just a glimpse of wing is visible as bird and day departs, it leaves us wanting more ...

Well done Cara

--gillena cox
coordinator; Caribbean Kigo Kukai



The theme for the kukai, was blue bird

thunder

Two offerings of thunder were chosen by the kukai players, to emerge into the winning slot, this time around.

One impacts an element of surprise, the other faintness; they are both enigmatic and compelling; causing their own shared responses.
The reckoning of adult decisions and the innocence of childhood juxtaposed in the minds of players; produced a tie into first place.

In both haiku thunder introduces the scenerio, compelling the reader, to seek out what this qualified element has in store for its personae; in one instance it proves to be heavy and commanding; in the other it is light and mischeivous; in both situations we do not know enough until we read on.

Thunder disturbs us, is repeated here in both of these haiku; in their interrupting dramas, and changing atmospheres in the active scenes presented. That is the ethereal, the quintessential aspect that is thunder; the chosen kigo of the kukai

Two types of persons in the Mediterranean society who devoted themselves to knowledge of the sky. One type of person was those called “the wise men, the learned, the scholars.” These people were in awe of the sky and insisted that no one could really grasp the greatness and magnificence of the celestial spheres... thunder is interpreted as God's voice (" God replied to him in thunder")...The sky to them was the all mighty everything that the sky did like lightning, thunder etc. For the ancients, nothing could possibly happen in the sky that did not in some way impact the earth and its inhabitants...They would never take anything for what it was meaning they would not just say okay it is noise coming from the sky.

sudden thunder
we forget
our quarrel
--Marleen Hulst, The Netherlands


distant thunder
my children's room full
of whispers
--Jacek Margolak;POLAND

Well done Marleen; Well done Jacek

But even outside of the season of the rains; thunder follows us from week to week in our daily calendar; borne on the wings of fantasy and myth from the god of thunder; son of Odin and Jord, the earth goddess. The Norse believed that during a thunderstorm, Thor, the god of thunder, rode through the heavens on his chariot, pulled by Tangrisinni and Tanngnost, two goats. Today long after the christianization of Scandanavia; Thor lives on not in religion but in the day following Wednesday it is said Thursday (Thor's day) was derived from this mythical legendary

--gillena cox
coordinator; Caribbean Kigo Kukai



The theme for the kukai, was thunder