.. The multi-personality f/k/a Gang is heading “home” to Rochester for a few days, to see Mama G. and my siblings. Posting and comment moderation may be slow or non-existent, and we hope someone will miss us a little.
The results of the 6th Annual Shiki Poets’ Choice Kukai (haiku contest) were announced last night by Robert Bauer. You should be able to find all the winners in a day or so at the The Shiki Monthly Kukai website. Here are three highly-rated poems by two of our Honored Guest Poets:
early spring
all night the pond ice
shifts its weight
…. by tom painting (2nd Place, 2008 6th Annual Shiki Poets’ Choice Kukai)
first firefly 
the electrician shuts
his toolbox
a field
of faceless pumpkins…
Autumn begins
…. by ed markowski
“a field” – (3rd Place, 2008 6th Annual Shiki Poets’ Choice Kukai)
“first firefly” – (10th Place, 2008 6th Annual Shiki Poets’ Choice Kukai)
If you’re in the mood for poems with an autumn theme, check out our post from September 25th, which featured that month’s Shiki Kukai results.
p.s. Prof. Yabut got up quite early and is particularly grumpy this morning. He wants me to ask our Shiki friends to reconsider the way they enumerate and describe contest results. Right now, e.g., if there are four poems tied for 3rd Place (all receiving the same number of points), the next poem is designated 4th Place by Shiki, when it is actually in 7th Place. Similarly, if two poems are tied for 2nd place, they call the next poem 3rd Place, when it is really 3rd. It’s sort of like grade-creep. [Lawyers are so picky, aren’t they?]
still blocking
my river view –
a few stubborn red leaves
tank full
and bladders empty —
soon, vice-versa
…….. by dagosan