Haiku Society of America Rengay Awards - 2026

Haiku Society of America Rengay Award
in Honor of Garry Gay

2026

Judged by
Bryan Rickert & C.X. Turner
Judges Commentary

 

2026 First Place

 

Reflection

alpine lake
a single acorn
blurs its tree

blue sun
my mother's eyes

contrail
we move through
the what ifs

beak of breath
I don’t know how
to begin

the quiet rustle
of hours and worms

cymbal splash
resurfacing
wet wings

 

Kat Lehmann: 1,3,5
Stacy Nigliazzo: 2,4,6

 

2026 Second Place

 

Leather Pouch

spare button
on the inside lining
winter moon

a quarter glints
in the raven's beak

bone handle knife
fresh snow piles up
against the door

a screw loose
on the cabinet hinge
wind-driven sleet

leather tobacco pouch
clouds heavy with rain

mountain wind lifts
the thatched roof . . .
another pin on the map

 

Ron C. Moss 1,3,5
Paula Sears 2,4,6

 

2026 Third Place

 

Dark Amber

garden walk
aster to aster
silence to silence

under mountain mint
the dreaming bee

mead moon
in transit
bitter brew

no word
for meadow
waggle dance

a swarm of stars
dusting the orchard

sun through
the honey jar
morning Assam

 

Barbara Sabol 1, 3, 5
Dylan Stover 2, 4, 6

 

2026 Honorable Mention 1

 

Again

winter wake
the pale groove left
by a wedding band

an ens? brush
lifts off the page

coffee table rings
he starts to sound
like his dad

wolf moon
curl of a woolly bear

couch nap
one hand closes
over another

audible click
the LP slows to a stop

 

Billie Dee 1,4
Lorraine A Padden 2,5
David Green 3,6

2026 Honorable Mention 2

 

Deep Dive

rolling whitecaps
double Scotch
on the fisherman's breath

a splash
stirs the senses

heat lightning
in the dark of the pond
a sinking ship

losing signal
beneath the surface
a pool frog croaks

a string
of light silvered bubbles

what began
with a breath
surface tension

 

Jeremy Haworth 1,3,5
R.C. Thomas 2,4,6

2026 Honorable Mention 3

 

Sea Shanty

long twilight
the lighthouse beam
a cobalt blue

scent of beach roses
drifting the dunes

oars come to rest
the fisherman throws
a perfect net

catching sunset
the salt-sprayed windows
of a weathered shanty

the drunken admiral
stumbling home

moonlit shore
a white clam shell
bubbling at the seam

 

Ron C. Moss 1,3,5
Paula Sears 2,4,6

 

~ ~ ~

 

 

 

 

These awards for unpublished rengay are sponsored by the Haiku Society of America in honor of Garry Gay, the inventor of rengay.

Winners by Year: | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |

See the contest rules for entering the next Haiku Society of America Rengay Award competition. 

 

Ingredients We Look for in Exemplary Rengay:

by Garry Gay and Renee Owen

Adherence to Form – 2-person rengay (3/2/3/3/2/3) and 3-person rengay (3/2/3/2/3/2).

Compelling Themes – at least one discernable primary theme with a possible bonus for a secondary theme.

Universality of Meaning – why the poem matters and what it speaks to.

Effective Haiku – preferably strong haiku that carry enough weight to stand on their own.

Linking & Shifting – linking creates a pleasing flow, with 2-line stanzas linking well with the lines directly above and below, while the shift adds a new dimension.

Interesting Title – especially compelling if it doesn’t echo a line from the first few stanzas.

Exceptional Writing Style – incorporates poetic techniques, fresh imagery and word choices, a variety of sensory details, varied line/stanza structure, noteworthy sounds (like alliteration, consonance, etc.), avoids cliches and contains no spelling or grammatical errors.

Sense of Mystery or Something Left Unsaid—to engage and stimulate the reader.

Satisfactory Ending – a sense of completion and a possible link between the final and first stanza.

Multiple Rereadings – the poem continues to deepen and hold our interest.