Haiku Society of America

Haiku Society of America Rengay Award
in Honor of Garry Gay

HSA Rengay Awards 2024

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Judged by
Billie Dee & Richard L. Matta
Judges Commentary

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2024 First Place

 

Ding Dong Ding

white coral bells —
those endless rounds we sang
as children

still wanting to believe
life is but a dream

the third blind mouse
suddenly
able to see

the fuzziness
between sleep and wakefulness
morning bells are ringing 

the farmer’s wife pauses
to catch her breath

warm breeze . . .
cherry petals drift
gently down the stream 

Angela Terry 1, 3 & 5
Julie Schwerin 2, 4 & 6

 

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2024 Second Place

 

Post Roe

without her
bindweed starts
to flower

until the smell
mousetraps forgotten

migrations
a monarch stops
in the purple aster

front porch
a dish of water
for the strays

trust the barn light
to cross the prairie

far back pasture
a young cow
drops her calf

Dan Schwerin 1, 3 & 5
Julie Schwerin 2, 4 & 6

 

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2024 Third Place

 

Blow on By

whoosh of wind
a crimson leaf lands
in a new year

around the corner
unseen chimes

cool breeze
the scattering scraps
of a torn letter

sharp screech
high above the well pump
metal blades wheel

origami cranes
fly in the swift draft

in the garden
a whirligig cardinal
wings spinning

Eavonka Ettinger 1, 3 & 5
Annie Holdren 2, 4 & 6

 

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2024 Honorable Mention

 

Strata

cradled in a curve 
of wave-carved sandstone
intertidal life
 
sprouting from the millennia  
jewelweed in a roadside cut
 
midsummer heat 
we escape into the coolness
of an escarpment crevice
 
where Thoreau's writings 
come alive                              
kettle pond
 
fossil hunting 
another layer of memory
 
holding up  
this blue sky
basalt columns

Jacquie Pearce 1, 3 & 5
Alan S. Bridges 2, 4 & 6

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