THF Monthly Kukai — March 2026

 
 
Welcome to the THF Monthly Kukai.

This month’s theme:
silver
 
 
 
Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. Please respect this to offer the reader (and voter) the opportunity to choose only the poem.

The THF Kukai Overview

A kukai is a (usually quite casual) poetry contest. The administrator of the kukai (that’s us) assigns a theme for a given writing period and posts to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) on the THF site, which is then redirected outward through our various media outlets. Poets write work to this theme during the allotted time and submit it to the administrator. The work submitted is gathered into an anonymous roster and posted to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) for public viewing. At that time all participating poets and other interested readers may vote for their favorites. Votes are tallied and the results made public. The top winners will be acknowledged each month, and offered their choice of prizes from a list compiled by the Foundation. Please remember that everyone who votes is a winner — the process of choosing your personal favorites is not just fun, but also one of the best ways to improve your own haiku practice!

Results of Last Month’s THF Kukai

theme: medal

In February there were 176 submissions from thirty-one countries across five continents.
One hundred three voters casting ballots determined the following results.

First Prize
 
award ceremony
the child gives me
a dandelion
    — John Green (90 points - 10; 4; 5; 3; 3)
 
With the Winter Olympics fresh in my mind, this opening line suggested a grand occasion or celebration of accomplishments. Instead, we have an enactment of a different sort. The dandelion is often considered a weed, but we now see it through the child’s eyes. It is nature’s gold. I appreciate the quiet charm of this haiku, how it honors the small moments.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
homeless
his medal
shining in the moonlight
     — Lanka Siriwardana
 
We don’t know why this person is homeless, what earned him the medal or when. There is a lot of room for the reader to speculate or imagine. But what I find most powerful about this haiku is the juxtaposition and the way it prompts us to think. Being homeless is a state of accommodation, caused by any number of things — temporary or extended — that could affect any one of us. Medals, on the other hand, are awarded for actions of extraordinary bravery or significant accomplishment. As this haiku poignantly reminds us, one does not preclude the other.
 
wrinkled face —
victories of my mom
on every line
     — Kashinath Karmakar
 
The theme of this month’s kukai is “medal,” but instead of a medallion or ribbon, this poem offers a different perspective. At a time when ageism is common and people in the public eye worry about appearing “old,” it honors an aging mother’s face. Every furrow is a victory, as hard-earned as accomplishments that are more often heralded.
 
spring rush —
kerria and daffodils
competing for gold
     — Orense Nicod
 
I was enchanted by the image this called to mind — the idea of flowers rushing to be first in this race of seasonal change. It really captures that feeling of uplift when we see these early spring flowers.  I also appreciate that the poet used “kerria” rather than some other yellow flower. It is less commonly seen in haiku, but with “competing” in the next line, it provides a nice echo in the sounds.
 
fallen soldier
the weight of the medal
in her palms
     — Sandip Chauhan
 
This haiku could be read in two ways: either as a medal awarded posthumously for valor, as some Medals of Honor or Purple Hearts have been in the U.S., or as a medal earned in life that is now being held by the soldier’s loved ones. In either case, it is the second line — “the weight of the medal” — that gives the poem its poignance. It reverberates with loss.

Beverly Acuff Momoi is THF Monthly Kukai Commentator. She is an award-winning poet and author of how the wind sighs and Lifting the Towhee’s Song. From 2019 to 2021 Beverly served as a panelist for the Touchstone Distinguished Book Awards.

Writing for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai

On the first day of each month The Haiku Foundation will announce the kukai theme for that month. This theme should be the topic of your poem, and may be stated (by using the theme word or words) or implied. Form may be traditional (three-line, 5-7-5) or free (various numbers of lines and/or syllables). Season words (kigo) may or may not be used at the poet’s discretion. A poet may submit one poem per theme. All poems must be the original, unpublished work of the author. In order to maintain the spirit and fairness of the kukai, a poem that has appeared anywhere with its author’s name cannot be allowed for submission.

Please use the Kukai submission form below to enter your poem, and then press Submit to send your entry. No other submissions will be recognized or honored. Once a poem is submitted it cannot be revised. All poems must be signed (that is, no “anonymous” poems will be accepted, and the Submit button will not be available until both Name, Email, and Place of Residence fields are filled in). Poets will not receive acknowledgment of their submissions. Poems will be accepted from the announcement of the theme through midnight of the 15th of that month. All poets are eligible to participate. Administrators of the kukai are ineligible to submit poems. Your submission form to us should look something like this:

line one
followed by line two
and then line three

or

this poem is all in one line

or

            jjjjjjjjjjj
kkkkkkkkkk
                    lll
   mmmmm

[all lines right-justified]

If your poem has special formatting requirements you should note them as in the third example above.

Good luck, and have fun!