THF Monthly Kukai Voting Ballot — November 2025
This month’s theme:
brown
Voting for The Haiku Foundation Monthly Kukai
Shortly after the conclusion of the submission period, an anonymous ballot comprising all submitted poems on that month’s theme will be posted to Troutswirl (The Haiku Foundation blog) on the THF site. Any reader of this ballot is eligible to vote for their favorite poems at this time. A voter may vote for up to five (5) poems per theme. A top vote will receive 5 points, a second-place vote 4 points, a third-place vote 3 points, a fourth-place vote 2 points, and a fifth-place vote 1 point.
Please use the Kukai voting form below to enter your selections, and then press Submit to cast your votes. No other votes will be recognized or honored. All votes must be signed (that is, no “anonymous” votes will be accepted, and the Submit button will not be available until both Name and Email fields are filled in), and no poet may vote for his or her own work. No commentary upon the poems will be accepted or published. Votes will be accepted from the appearance of the ballot on the 18th of that month through midnight of the 24th of that month. Readers may vote only once per ballot. Administrators of the kukai are ineligible to vote.
Note: Anonymity is an essential part of any kukai. If you know who wrote the poem then that entry is no longer anonymous. Please respect the Kukai and do not vote for that entry.
The Ballot
1 | 1st of June stirred with mud and water yet another brownie | |
2 | a basket full rich brown chestnuts perfume the fire | |
3 | a butterfly in the amber . . . child bride | |
4 | a hare bounding over tall grass my mojo is back | |
5 | a round and joyful face not born of me, yet mine still — my brown-toned beloved | |
6 | a shivering field mouse peers from his shelter of dried grass and snow | |
7 | A sip of coffee A bit of brownie And a kiss on her neck | |
8 | abandoned house pictures stain in quiet dust turning deeper brown | |
9 | accessories — autumn leaving a leaf on a flagstone | |
10 | after the red one — brown cardinal feeding alone | |
11 | another brown leaf twirling to fall’s floor autumnal pirouette | |
12 | arabica drought I prowl like a junkie brown beans or bust | |
13 | autumn adding more brown sugar in my tea | |
14 | autumn — non-dolorous brown | |
15 | autumn . . . the brown color of the woods | |
16 | autumn advances green, yellow, gold and red turn to brown | |
17 | Autumn arises Leaving adorning dry broomsedge While crows dream of Spring | |
18 | autumn aurora the reds and greens explode from brown | |
19 | autumn delight the crunchy brown topping of an apple pie | |
20 | autumn dusk — the stains deepen on a busser’s apron | |
21 | autumn leaves beneath my feet morning toast between my teeth | |
22 | autumn leaves brown rustle underfoot winter silence nears | |
23 | autumn noon a cup of coffee in mom’s hands kuchisabishii* *lonely mouth: longing to have or put something in one’s mouth | |
24 | autumn signs on mom’s hands age spots | |
25 | autumn twilight — my father’s tobacco-stained fingers light up my memories | |
26 | autumn wedding a brown leaf clings to the bride’s veil | |
27 | away from the crowd a street cat in a brown study | |
28 | bacon browning in brown sugar before his trip- le by-pass | |
29 | barren branches fall color in my afghan | |
30 | bicycle my wake of brown leaves deep autumn | |
31 | bitter sweet taste of chocolate in my mouth runner up | |
32 | bottoms up! amongst browning leaves a squirrel buries nuts | |
33 | bread crust above the pan her warm hands | |
34 | breakfast at grandma’s we lick away our chocolate moustaches | |
35 | breaking bread Mum’s eyes around the table | |
36 | brittle brown leaves chatter as they ride the winds of fall | |
37 | Brown color of true love’s eyes nope, blue | |
38 | brown her eyes too leaves | |
39 | brown . . . every shade of deep in the river | |
40 | brown beech grove in snow first spring breeze — all leaves fall at once | |
41 | brown briefcase his keepsake after the iroko fell | |
42 | brown chocolate stains on her white blouse what a sweet embarrassment | |
43 | brown earth . . . the love and warmth of mother | |
44 | Brown eyes deep into blue ones The fire alarm goes off Once again | |
45 | brown history — she says you don’t look that brown | |
46 | brown hydrangea winter sleep snoring curled hedgehog | |
47 | Brown leaf falls below While youth still clings above | |
48 | brown leaves a dead pile without my dog | |
49 | brown leaves carcel beneath traveler’s feet | |
50 | brown leaves in fleeting autumn ghost notes blow for miles | |
51 | brown leaves . . . more and more age spots | |
52 | brown on buff on beige in the house wren’s song a rainbow | |
53 | brown paint swatches list of flavored coffees | |
54 | Brown rice Uptown pigeons prefer Whole grain organic | |
55 | brown river a boy fishes from the bank with no shirt on | |
56 | brown sap bleeds from tree autumn prepares leaves release sacrificed sweetness | |
57 | brown study at the vending machine arms akimbo | |
58 | brown sugar he says my skin is just as sweet | |
59 | brown the taste of petrichor freshly baked | |
60 | brown to gray in an old album our youth | |
61 | brown vines — a crow perching on a post | |
62 | brown wrens bent heads tilt toward winter | |
63 | brown-eyed doe if only she had airbags too | |
64 | brown-skinned i avoid looking at the mirror | |
65 | browning the piece of an apple in your waiting | |
66 | Browning .50 sounds of the old war in the new war | |
67 | browning leaves on the dog eared page a lost love note | |
68 | browning leaves the grit of sand still in a shoe | |
69 | bulking up for winter the grizzly snags another salmon | |
70 | Buster Brown saddle shoes painting the white parts every Sunday night | |
71 | childhood cache of dreams asleep under brown leaves | |
72 | colorblind she paints the sunset brown | |
73 | Darcy’s hair thick and curly the color of chestnuts | |
74 | Dark chocolate — Heady fragrance of grandma’s skin. | |
75 | darker months sidewalks become lined with brown shirts | |
76 | diving in the molten bronze a drone | |
77 | doo-doo brown so as not to appear conspicuous | |
78 | drizzly fall morning on the menu, a cup of mulled beer | |
79 | dry rosehips conceal a derelict orphanage forgotten orchard | |
80 | fading dusk in her brown eyes the summer sun | |
81 | fallen leaves — the forest all in colour of our missing dog | |
82 | falling chestnuts . . . nothing excepting some ellipses | |
83 | fire crackles chestnuts pop — winter scent | |
84 | first date a stranger’s brown tresses on my head | |
85 | first fall’s black walnuts detonate . . . brown feet | |
86 | foolish hunter the rabbit in the weeds brought his summer coat | |
87 | forest fire a butterfly totters in moth wings | |
88 | forgive me — childhood butterfly between brown pages | |
89 | galactic iris eternal starry expanse — color of your eyes | |
90 | girl on her bike a trail of brown leaves turning | |
91 | golden hour hugging her brown skin a new found home | |
92 | Grandpa’s khaki legs crunching through dry grass berry bucket in hand | |
93 | grassland autumn brown prairie badgers aerated roots earthworms winter warm | |
94 | grinding coffee beans . . . how gentle grandpa’s gurgle was | |
95 | her downward focus in the Brownie’s lens / a child studies her new shoes | |
96 | her mousy brown hair now silver — autumn deepens | |
97 | Hip-shaped prairie ridge harvested tilled bright and brown. Wild turkeys gleaning. | |
98 | ice freezing autumn leaves goosebumps on brown skin | |
99 | Imperial Army — a fierce fight against the brown bear | |
100 | in a box of eight the only one left untouched after a rainbow | |
101 | In autumnal chill I turn to heart-warming tea: stained comforting cup | |
102 | Indian marriage plantain tree with green leaf welcomes all | |
103 | job interview — he folds his hope in a brown envelope | |
104 | Joyful mud spattered On boots | |
105 | kaleidoscope of brown leaves crinkle beneath our feet amid bright red, bright silence | |
106 | kudzu covers the old brown barn years collapsing | |
107 | leaning ‘gainst a gnarly trunk — dead leaves swirling down onto her newly penned haiku | |
108 | Leaves hit the ground now The brown earth captures them in The pit of its glove | |
109 | leaves in the wind the colour of homebound sparrows | |
110 | little girl’s endless game of sun mica wardrobe’s finishing touch | |
111 | loud crack — crunched acorns fill the path last oak leaf clings | |
112 | marshmallows reach the perfect color bonfire season | |
113 | merging into each other a brown owl and its hollow | |
114 | moments of umber fall from barren boughs like tears . . . shadows of summer | |
115 | monkey swing in the blink of an eye her chocolate is gone | |
116 | monsoon afternoon . . . darker by the hour our hennaed hands | |
117 | morning fumes — staining the old coffee table coffee | |
118 | mourning dove she lines the nest with auburn hair | |
119 | muddy shoelaces . . . trailing in leaves — beaver moon | |
120 | my tortie persian taps be awake — sharing the owl hoots | |
121 | not sure what do do . . . hidden between brown leaves pink blossoms | |
122 | Nursing my mug of hot tea — as brown as my thoughts . . . | |
123 | old banyan tree the endless circle of life in shades of brown | |
124 | Old brown suitcase clasp — no longer restrains memories of departed loved one. | |
125 | olive-brown and shiny — then it leaps! | |
126 | on a railing with a brown rash growing house keys | |
127 | on a stone the rest of a leaf two deep silences | |
128 | Ooh roasted chestnuts . . . we remember you | |
129 | palo verde boasts vibrant green bark not drab brown | |
130 | parallel universe mushy brown spots on Eve’s apple | |
131 | part of human race half white, half brown can’t find home | |
132 | perhaps the brown marigolds will also purify our thoughts and roots (Marigolds (Tagetes) are flowers that are planted to disinfect the soil and are then ploughed under as green manure.) | |
133 | planting onions in the wake of the plough dark soiled furrows | |
134 | potato gathering earth scent trickles through my fingers | |
135 | potato planting the dark of the earth beneath my nails | |
136 | powdered snow on sparrow wings thin underbrush | |
137 | raw sienna so many skin tones in crayons | |
138 | recurring dream in a field of withered wheat I am a sketch of crow | |
139 | rhythm from his brown eyes . . . the violinist | |
140 | riverside paradise flooding rain muddies the waters | |
141 | root beer float my troubles rise to the surface | |
142 | same colour as the dug up earth a coffin | |
143 | searching for a place to land autumn leaf | |
144 | seasonal affective the browning apples never touched | |
145 | sharpening the brown crayon — autumn woods | |
146 | silver skies — but acorn caps hold sips of light | |
147 | snake charmer sinking deeper into those deep brown eyes | |
148 | sparrow its fruitless beaking in an artificial lawn | |
149 | stained glass — carnations and lilies rot in the basket | |
150 | stale blood on a soldier’s forehead . . . white doves in the sky | |
151 | Starlit night No screen on the door Sleepless | |
152 | steamy stories swapped on a brownstone stoop summers come and go | |
153 | sticky river mud — foot pulls free schlurpop! | |
154 | stolen life extinguished color brown leaf epitaph | |
155 | strawberry weather the hem of her dress trailing mud | |
156 | summer goddess — under the water’s surface your smooth brown spine | |
157 | sun-browned leaping into the waves the girl I was | |
158 | superhero cape the humble friar’s tattered robe | |
159 | tears escape from her brown eyes fallen leaves | |
160 | the bones of your lens swallow me whole — I become you | |
161 | the browning tips of dad’s peace lily Ukraine talks | |
162 | the deep red of blood turning mahogany-brown on the battlefield map | |
163 | the dog licks brown crumbs from the birthday boy’s fin- gers | |
164 | the funeral her dear uncle once again wears his brown suit | |
165 | the nun I understand — but the princess! she, too, prefers brown rice | |
166 | The pumpkin-scented candle exhales its autumnal breath into the floral air of night. | |
167 | the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog hey diddle diddle | |
168 | the sparrow-brown thread through the beak of the needle stitching myself wings | |
169 | the trumpet passes through majors and minors — again for Clifford (for Clifford Brown — from “I Remember Clifford,” composed by Benny Golson, 1957.) | |
170 | tipping his cowboy hat — turkey tail mushrooms all up the tree trunk | |
171 | To foster insects entangled branches layered carpet of brown leaves. | |
172 | topsoil brown kernel | |
173 | Trafalgar Square child with brown Wellies dances in the rain | |
174 | true colors our old coffee table painted mahogany | |
175 | turning my stick above the coals s’more | |
176 | two coins in his little brown bowl — homeless man | |
177 | two names scribbled in a glass bottle brown river | |
178 | Veterans Day fallen brown leaves line the road | |
179 | war zone the spider plant’s brown tips | |
180 | wedging the lump of clay . . . another pink slip | |
181 | what do you call something brown and sticky? Down, Rover, Down! | |
182 | windfall apples the bruise in her loosening | |
183 | winter landscape a lexicon of browns | |
184 | winter light — his eyes become a warmer brown | |
185 | with a single vein on the hospice window . . . autumn leaf | |
186 | worn dark brown beam hewn dead tree for noble calling His glorious throne | |
187 | worn shoes a trail of scuffed magnolia leaves |
Kukai Results
On the first day of the following month, results of the tally of the kukai will be announced. The top vote-getters as voted by readers will be posted, along with the number of points each poem tallied, and each poem’s authorship will be revealed at this time. Winners will be invited to select from a list of prizes provided by The Haiku Foundation. The theme for the new month will be announced at the same time, and the process repeated. Poems remain the copyrighted property of their authors, but The Haiku Foundation reserves the right to publish, display and archive all submitted poems for this and other purposes at its discretion.
Congratulations to all our participants!
