The results are in for the haiku contest and listed on the bottom of this page. Congratulations to all the winners! However, it might be nice to first get acquainted with our very fine judges and then see who wrote which haiku. Of course, you are very welcome to skip to the chase! Also, please do consider commenting if you particularly liked a haiku or two or would like to thank the judges.
The Judges
Renee Badenoch
Renee Badenoch is chic twenty-something who is majoring in Elementary Education and How To Avoid Becoming a Cynic and Misanthrope in a Post-Modern World. She likes: tragedies, children, traditionally mailed letters, and her cat, mostly. She dislikes: mushrooms, making beds, texting, and the word “texting”. Follow her daring escapades at www.xanga.com/rehoba
Bob
Bob is a social work student and resident of Saint Louis for one year. His passions include community development, urban life, great food and, of course, writing. He’s tickled pink to be a judge in this year’s competition and hopes shared poetry will become a habit for each of the participants.
Haines Eason
Haines Eason’s poems have appeared in numerous national journals including New England Review, Yale Review, American Letters & Commentary, and elsewhere. His chapbook, A History of Waves, was selected by Mark Doty for a PSA Chapbook Fellowship and will appear in the spring. He attends the MFA Creative Writing Program at Washington University in St. Louis.
Anne M. Doe Overstreet
My work has appeared in a variety of journals, including DMQ Review, Relief, Talking River Review, Cranky, and MHP: the Matthews House Project. I am a Soapstone Resident, a Pushcart Nominee, and have participated in Seattle City Council’s WordsWorth program. I read locally and have taught workshops on building a long-term writing practice, journaling to create poems, and the power of repetition. I keep the cats in cat food by working as a freelance editor and private gardener.
Brady Shuman
A native of Mississippi, S. Brady Shuman has lived in the St. Louis area for eight years. She is currently a librarian at Covenant Theological Seminary, where she also directs the Writing Center and encourages creative writers.
1
The fall crisp fresh air
brings many fun things to do
crumpling fall leaves
The joys of winter
can be found inside and out
snow play, hot cocoa
Rebecca Brady
Yorkville, Illinois
2
September spangles
Bright blue skies, warm wind shifts south
Monarch butterflies
Light snow in white sky
Five crows dancing on the wind
Grace tumbles upward
Damaris A. Schmitt
St. Louis, Missouri
3
My Favorite Season
Mist, like lace, adorns
Hills clothed in colors of warmth
Completion and joy.
Trees in Winter
The creak of bare limbs
Disguises laughter of trees
Secretly alive.
Sally B.
St. Louis, Missouri
4
Embers die above
Shedding leaf shadow below
Bare trees await snow
Among snowflakes, birds
Ornament cold, stark limbs as
Feathered winter leaves
Charlie H.
St. Louis, Missouri
5
Sun shines through new holes
The green roof now a brown floor
A walk in the park
A cold gift of sun
Trees bare glistening fingers
A walk in the park
Erin Nolan
St. Louis, Missouri
6
:: hayride
crisp air stings my face
as we bounce along the path
pumpkins all around
:: snow day
blanketing the ground
soft crystals accumulate
begging me to play
Adam Houston
St. Louis, MO
7
Since autumn can fall
But fall can never autumn,
Fall’s th’autumnal verb.
In case of winter:
Warm cocoa, spice, stir and sip
Summer in a mug.
Adam F. Allred
St. Louis, MO
8
Child on the playground
where the dull knife rusts, lying
only half-buried;
severed evergreen
lives in the homeless shelter —
miracles to spare.
Jeremy Huggins
St. Louis, MO
9
burning with color
dyed by God, leaves are dying
cold flames light the sky
the cold world does fight:
soft white and hard gray against
the warm glow of home
George Faithful
St. Louis, Missouri
10
October in Uganda:
Storm whips green trees – its
quick chill reminds me of gold
leaves on clear blue sky.
Winter in Norway:
Fine frost flowers on
your window gather glowing
rosy morning rays.
Alison Wiltbank
Kampala, Uganda
11
Cider spice warms hand,
Throat and heart, huddled on hay,
‘Neath stark, starry skies.
Road salt, dirty white;
Tires on frozen pavement etch
A path- come again.
Heidi H.
St. Louis, Missouri
12
Autumn leaves wafting
Without a care in the world
Golden rain droplets
Rain, sleet, hail and snow;
Claps of thunder, lightening bolts…
Winter in my heart.
Tanja Cilia
13
Autumn
Falling leaves, turkeys
Apple orchard pumpkin patch.
The sights of Autumn
Pseudonym
Frosty the Snowman
Seems harmless, but really he’s
Abominable.
Carissa B.
St. Louis, Missouri
14
leaves, loud, leitmotif
hark, the herald colors sing!
tones resound, golden
hymn’s and autumn’s “N”
song and season end as one
winter soughs, amen
Adam F. Allred
St. Louis, Missouri
15
Leaves and darkness fall.
Temperatures and rain fall.
A dying change: Fall!
Hemming us in: snow!
Now blowing us to and fro.
Where, when will it go?
George Faithful
St. Louis, Missouri
16
Empty nest, bald tree,
thrift store answering machine–
always one missing.
Lone red leaf, lying,
rejects the earth’s equation:
buried equals dead.
Jeremy Huggins
St. Louis, Missouri
17
green, the leaves whisper
when yellow and red, they laugh
brown, end of life sigh
a cold snap comes through
branches sag, powder piled high
cold sun, I’m blinded
Melissa Horton
St. Louis, Missouri
18
Foggy Autumn day
Stirs emotions at the core
Tears fall from branches
Each leaf holds its freight
Snowflakes enmeshed, intertwined
Adding fearsome weight
Damaris A. Schmitt
St. Louis, Missouri
19
Gilded summer leaves
shimmering gold and scarlet…
Autumn’s Midas touch
Sparkling white diamonds
adorn ebony branches…
Winter’s Regal Robes
Linda Crank
Cincinnati, Ohio
20
Chilled trees caught summer
and gave it back to the wind
where north and south met.
Now the last glimmer
of autumn still warms my mind.
The New Year can wait.
Kilby Beisner
Prescott, Arizona
www.kilbyspoetry.blogspot.com
21
russet robin, gone –
a sweeping change blusters in
to redden the ground
silvery snowbanks
blanket dormant life below –
future’s past, present
Caroline Jones
St. Louis, Missouri
22
autumn fashion hit
outrageous hues by Jack Frost
gold gilds persimmon
even the word lacks warmth
winter Ebenezer Scrooge
Humbug cold comfort
Phyllis Jean Green
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
http://www.authorphyllisjeangreen.com/home.html
23
leaves absorb glory
but with this comes the dimness
of stretched out shadows
my blanket is pulled
and tucked for a season of
hushed hibernation
Abigail Barr
Portsmouth, Virginia
24
Crisp, chilly wind blows
Gold, crimson, orange leaves blanket
The earth grows weary
The ground patiently
Marks time under a white powder
Waiting for renewal
Jenny Totten
Charleston, West Virginia
25
homemade crusty bread
complements vegetable soup
pleasant autumn fare
succulent beef stew
slowly cooked to perfection
warms the wintry air
Rebecca Brady
Yorkville, Illinois
26
not yet come to terms,
one forlorn leaf, trembling, clings –
but all are fallen
lonely frosted leaf,
brittle, weighed down, and weary,
falls – freedom at last
Caroline Jones
St. Louis, Missouri
27
Luminescent fire,
Rain towards divested earth.
Leave the trees vacant.
Drift, unrelenting
winds carry through barren skies.
Flake, one of millions.
Will St. Pierre
St. Louis, Missouri
28
We just had the talk
Under a harvest moonrise
Questions still looming
Window pane is cold
Electric blanket feels good
Winter brings more sleep
Nathan Gemayel
St. Louis, Missouri
29
Glowing red maple
Aflame with brilliant beauty
Please lend me a leaf
Wake up with a burst
The snow fell without a sound
Grab your sled and go
Laura Wachsmuth
St. Louis, Missouri
30
Cold rain taps on glass
Huddled over chips and pints
The pub in autumn
Long table upstairs
Strewn with scarves, drinks, dimly lit
The pub in winter
Heidi H.
St. Louis, Missouri
31
boughs glow with color,
their saturated hues in
relief against gray
the last leaf struggles
vainly against bitter wind,
falling in defeat
Adam Houston
St. Louis, Missouri
32
The earth bears fruit as
the shrinking sun slides south and
our hearts swell with thanks
Sol suspends his slide
and gives the earth a chance to
catch its frosty breath
Eddie Jones
St. Louis, Missouri
33
The day has arrived
Lone petal deserts its bud
Dancing in the wind
single floating flake
glides smoothly just like others
one drop in the storm
Colin Mollenkof
The Dassler Effect 