The Haiku Finalists

First may I say holy crap that was a lot of haiku. Over 2.5 thousand syllables of mini-poem madness. And even if you don't count the ones who didn't count their syllables, that's still a big ol' boatload of poems. (And really, can we begrudge those who missed a syllable or two? I've been known to lose over two-thirds of my kids just on a walk around the block.)

Luckily, I've got a professional on hand for these kind of events. Ladies and gentlemen, and by gentlemen I mean the four of you who read my blog, may I present Claudia Carlson, professional poet. Claudia has agreed to be this year's guest haiku judge, an honor that pays bugger-all, but it does have some perks, like getting email from me once every four and a half minutes asking if the finalists have been chosen yet. Which is probably why the judge of last year's contest hasn't returned my phone calls.

But Claudia is one of those rare poets, a published poet, and her book, The Elephant House, which you can buy here or here or stop by my place and borrow my copy because it's actually one of the books I've read this year, which is saying a lot (there's a reason I don't have a "Looky, Daddy! reads..." sidebar), is awesome, and that's not just because it has a poem called "Pornos: Muse of Hack." Claudia is also a graphic designer, and a blogger,and best of all a good sport, which is why she agreed to judge this contest in the first place.

So without further ado, I'll turn it over to her to introduce this year's finalists:

Dyslexic? by Heidi

Sarah reads her book
But the word "look" becomes "cool"
And bites her backwards

CSC's comment: Love the idea of misread words turning on you and biting.

Bathtime by Sharon

Three kids in the bath
Sudden shrieks and loud screaming
A large turd floats by

CSC's comment: I had to include at least one haiku-poo.

NO ONE WARNED ME by Kristin

breaking my pelvis
she shot out like a bullet
it was all worth it

CSC's comment: Violence of birth--so vivid--and the compensation, both heartfelt and shocking.

How I Find the Time to Shower by Sasha

"Hola! I'm Dora!
And this is my best friend, Boots!"
cheap babysitters

CSC's comment: Fun, from the too bright TV voices to the mother's wry comment. And yes we've all used those tube  sitters.

Approaching Two by Liza

Do you want some cheese?
No! Some apple juice instead?
No! No! No! No! No!

Cheese? Cheese? Cheese? Door? Cheese?
Can you say please? Peez. Tanku.
Mommy! Mommy! Kiss!

CSC's comment: Fantastic capture of two year old speech in rhythmic beat.

Summer, Summed Up by Krista

Two little girls, feet
in matching pink Crocs, fingers
popsicle-sticky.

CSC's comment: Yes, the summer of crocs was 2007, like fingers and feet being coated in pinkness.

Oh, The Shame by ozma

What is that itching?
Buy ourselves a special comb.
Hair's ecosystem.

CSC's comment: Brilliant non-use of the word lice and it plays with near rhyme too.

Blog Confession to My Husband (Basho would be proud) by Sarka

Feeling unsexy
We live only to serve kids
A touch: I quiver

Saturday morning
Cartoons keep them occupied
I am yours briefly

Kissing, just us, nice!
A father--my lover still
Don't you forget it

CSC's comment: Here the yearning is palpable. Nice use of punctuation to heighten turns of though in haiku.

First Head Injury by Abby

He lies motionless
On unforgiving concrete
Heart stops, mine, not his

911, ER
IV, CT scan, tears, fears
Looky, Mom, stickers!

CSC's comment: Such concision, the use of anacronyms, terrific and moving.

Untitled by Chickenpig

Years of IVF
Shots, pain, and money galore
Having twins: Priceless

CSC's comment: Yeah, good send up of the ad.

but I just loved this one too and it is the 11th one!

Peaceful by S

Finally bedtime
The weight of a sleeping child
Heavy against me.

Sadly, though, my webpoll will not accept 11 entries. Apparently it was not designed by a soft-hearted poet. So Peaceful, by S will have to be called an honorable mention today.

Let the voting and campaigning begin!

Updated to add: The polls close at 10 PM EST today, November 9th. Good luck.

Comments

[Kat]

This is sooooo cool. Love the contest and all the Haiku! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks and thought I'd comment. Your life is like a good book that I come back to every couple of days when I find the time to read up and see what happens next.

[deborah]

nooooo! i like #11! i'll still vote, though. :)

[S]

Alas, just missing the mark.

At my high school graduation, it was the tradition to announce the top 10 in the class. And what number was I? You guessed it. 11 out of 367.

History repeats itself.

Appreciate the honorable mention! Thanks! And squeeze those sleeping babies.

[Sue]

I have voted, but my favourite was Peaceful. It really should be moved up from HM into the 10 finalists. They are all delightful, though.

[John]

Those are all great Honorable Mentions. Where do I find the Finalists?

[sasha]

Woo hoo!

I wish I could say I stole this time to comment courtesy of Dora and Boots, but alas, Sam is calling me.

[Krista]

I like "Peaceful" best too; it would've gotten both of my votes.

[Diane]

Great work by everyone! It was hard to pick just 2.

[Abby]

Wow, I feel so honored. I should let my kid fall off our back steps and write a haiku about it more often! ;)

Anyway, my kid had a concussion, I need coffee and donuts, so vote for me!

[Heidi]

How cool is this! It is an honor just to be nominated...but I could really use me some java! I would like to thank the Academy of Lookydaddy, our esteemed Judge/poet/book designer Claudia, and of course, my two girls who show up at school every day and do their best. If you are a parent, you know this is A LOT harder than it looks.

Disclaimer: The posts by "Heidi" are works of fiction. The opinions they express are the sole responsibility of the author and may or may not be shared by her family. Any resemblance to Heidi's actual family is entirely conincidental, even if she does have a daughter named Sarah in first grade.

p.s. Loved Peaceful also!

[Sarka]

Vote for me! Oh wait, I was supposed to first write what an honor it was to be nominated, how wonderful the other nominees are, a nod to Claudia and The Dad for making this possible (The Oscars are sometimes the only TV show I watch all year), and then thank my Mom. However, I'm not sure that my Mom would approve of my haiku, so I'll skip that part and go straight back to
VOTE FOR ME!
Seriously, I am very honored. Thanks.

[Bonnie]

Your site has won a Blog of the Day Award (BOTDA)

Award Code

Thank you,

famous quotes

[Renata]

"Peaceful" is my top pick, too. Can we vote for it as a sorta write-in candidate?

[Renata]

I hasten to add, I enjoy them all!

[Jess]

One vote for sleeping babies, please!

[Liza]

Thank you so much! This was a fun contest, and I'm delighted to be part of such a great group of finalists.

But I know that all parents of toddlers are going to shudder in recognition of that "No!No!No!No!No!" and vote for me. ;-)

[Lisa]

Very creative work by all!