Haiku Society of America Rengay Award
in Honor of Garry Gay
2022
Judged by
Kristen Lindquist & Michael Dylan Welch
Judges Commentary
2022 First Place
An Extra Leaf
realizing
there ’ll be no grandkids
winter deepensanother autumn
too old for a puppyalways leftovers
we fatten up
the straysan extra leaf
in the closet
family dinnerspare rooms
just spare roomssamara seeds
a blue ribbon tied
to the neighbor ’s mailboxBryan Rickert 1, 3 & 5
Terri L. French 2, 4 & 6
2022 Second Place
Weavings
rose-laced dawn
a young girl sweeping petals
from the courtyardold narrow bed
our parents sleep entwinedGanga ghat
the barefoot cobbler
with crossed legsa rickshaw puller
wipes his sweat
city dinfestival tuk-tuk
my driver ’s betel-stained teethVedic chants
weaving prayers in one thread
a garland of marigoldsBillie Dee 1, 3 & 5
Neena Singh 2, 4, & 6
2022 Third Place
In the Expanse
faint echoes
from the stones
a raven ’s callguinea fowl pick over
the empty waterholescratched onto blue
the black
of an eagle ’s wingsemus . . .
spinifex
to the horizoncrested bellbird – courting notes
buried in the dunesa puddle
filled with sky
pink cockatoosKristen Lang 1, 3 & 5
Lorraine Haig 2, 4 & 6
2022 Honorable Mentions (in judges' rank order)
Angst
sneaking back in
past curfew
a prick of the rose bushsnapped twig
the motion sensor lightmy mother
sits on my bed
not another talkwaning moon
my daughter ’s
monosyllable answerstwo weeks grounded
my light turns offbathroom trash can
I worry about
her periodYvette Nicole Kolodji 1, 3 & 5
Deborah P Kolodji 2, 4 & 6
Drifiting Out of the Frame
turning to dust
what ’s pinned in
the shadowboxher love letters
in faded inkbecoming more
mother ’s face
or less minewings worn down
to gossamerlavender sachet
her memories no longer come
when calleddandelion seeds drifting
out of the frameMichele Root-Bernstein 1 & 4
Laszlo Slomovits 2 & 5
Jennifer Burd 3 & 6
Off You Go!
corn stubble
the camouflage
of a killdeer's eggdots under a dock leaf
left by a butterflyon a pond
the sound of nothing . . .
frogspawnsunlight
filling the blossoms
with beesmilkweed fluff
off you go!the last crack
opens the world
hummingbirdAlan S. Bridges 1, 3 & 5
Jacquie Pearce 2, 4 & 6
Desert Highway
the feather trapped
in a Chevy grill
dust devil horizonriding an updraft
turkey vulturesrock doves
preen in the heat
ATV exhaustwindswept dunes
distant echoes
from campfiresold coyote
scavenging scrapsstar-filled night
a kangaroo rat
noses the tent flapBillie Dee 1, 3 & 5
Naia 2, 4 & 6
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