2015 Results

At the Fourth Edition of The Haiku Contest SHARPENING THE GREEN PENCIL 2015 organized by Romanian Kukai Group have participated 286 participants from 6 continents and 40 countries. as follows: AFRICA: Tunisia (1); ASIA: India (13), Indonesia (1), Iran (1), Israel (2), Japan (1), Philippines (5), Yemen (1); AUSTRALIA: Australia (15), New Zealand (11); EUROPE: Austria (1), Belarus (1), Belgium (1), Bosnia and Herzegovina (4), Bulgaria (21), Croatia (30), Denmark (1), France (4), Germany (19), Hungary (1), Italy (4), Lithuania (7), Macedonia (1), Montenegro (3), Netherlands (2), Poland (18), Portugal (2), Romania (31), Russia (4), Serbia (14), Slovenia (4), Spain (5), Switzerland (2), Ukraine (2), United Kingdom (5); NORTH AMERICA: Canada (6), United States of America (38); SOUTH AMERICA: Argentia (2), Brazil (1), Colombia (1). The organizers would like to express their gratitude to the participants for such a large interest and invite everyone to participate in the fourth edition, which will start in February 2016. Corneliu Traian ATANASIU, President of the Jury Cezar Florin CIOBÎCĂ, Member of the Jury Dan DOMAN, Member of the Jury Eduard ŢARĂ, Secretary Congratulations to the winners and commended haiku poets.

WINNERS

First Prize quiet rain... a robin slips through my chemo fog Roberta BEARY Bethesda, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The first part of the poem – quiet rain – sets up the atmosphere of an almost resigned sadness. Only in the final words we learn that both the rain and the silence have a pendant in the dizziness caused both by the illness and by the treatment. And we are not sure anymore if the fog is associated to the rain or to the chemotherapy. Or maybe it links these two together, making them as one.           And yet, sliding imperceptibly, a bird sneaks through this adverse matter, bringing news, a memory, a sparkle of life and of hope? Could it be a sign of relief, a farewell, a reconciliation? comment by Corneliu Traian ATANASIU translation by Liliana NEGOI

Second Prize whisper of spring – snowdrops besieging a cartridge case Petru-Ioan GÂRDA Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA The obvious contrast between the spontaneous vernal burst of snowdrops and the cartridge, remnant of some bellicose intentions, is enough to trigger the appetite for parable of the reader. Could snowdrops be a squadron of restoring or maintaining the peace? Have they isolated the cartridge case in order to secure the place from contamination? Or maybe they invaded it with playful intentions, inviting it at some ingenuous game?           The poem, as it befits a haiku, doesn’t decide upon this thing, but the whisper of spring, tempts our thought with the peace and quiet of the forest. The apparition of snowdrops is just an innocent reproof against hunters. comment by Corneliu Traian Atanasiu translation by Liliana NEGOI

Third Prize stargazing... the warmth of the sun still in her hair Chase GAGNON Detroit, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA           Two images that can be paired in different combinations. We can think about a couple who, after spending a long time under the summer sun, enjoys also the appearance of stars. We can shift the events, the stars being watched during another season, and the sun’s warmth being only a reflex of her golden hair, just like the glow of sun during summer. It is possible also that only he is watching the stars, and the sun’s warmth, still caught in her hair, could be just a memory risen right there from the darkness in which she vanished long ago.           However, in both situations the chillness of the stars finds a counterweight in the warmth of the sun. Or maybe just the hair, thus become an eternal substitute of the sun? comment by Corneliu Traian ATANASIU translation by Liliana NEGOI

COMMENDATIONS

bent tree... the last apple plunging into the fountain's abyss Gabriel ALEXE Botoşani, ROMANIA
	all the shadows join together at evening – I stay alone Francesco DE SABATA Pescantina, ITALY
spiderlings hitch a ride on thistledown – new beginnings Marilyn HUMBERT Sydney, AUSTRALIA
	The first day of school – her legs waving on a bench far from the floor Nina KOVAČIĆ Zagreb, CROATIA
war soldiers on both sides of grass Andrius LUNECKAS Vilnius, LITHUANIA
	scorching heat dragonfly's eyes reflect dry pebbles Boris NAZANSKY Zagreb, CROATIA
mist rising – the castle ruins reconstituted Minh-Triêt PHAM Paris, FRANCE
	trench lines in the bramble a soldier's sigh Shloka SHANKAR Bangalore, INDIA
out to pasture only the wind upon her bent back Debbie STRANGE Winnipeg, CANADA
	how harmlessly they rustle in the breeze, the poppy capsules Božena ZERNEC Krapina, CROATIA