Second Prize in the Winter Moon Awards for Haiku 2009

her sixty fifth
she shows us a rare iris
deeply veined


and Carolyn Thomas's commentary...

"Before I looked up the names of the winning poems (they are always chosen blind) I thought a woman had penned this one,and I saw her as the subject. It feels that personal. I was surprised to discover a man had written it. I had to then read it from a different perspective, a strongly poetic one because 'he' sees the beauty, the connection, between the rare iris and the woman who has lived life. Now I have the choice of two options....
I choose to experience this haiku as I originally read it because it evokes the deepest emotion from me. Here is an older woman appreciating who she is, honouring her life's journey; she knows she is the rare iris deeply veined. She says to everyone in her world, "This is who I am."
.
.

Third prize in the Klostar Ivanic 2009 International Haiku Contest


in the market
only the beggar's dog
stares at the eyes


na trznici
samo prosjakov pas
gleda u oci


Commentary, translated by Prof Vida Pust Skrgulja.

An excellent haiku! It is not difficult to imagine a man who had experienced defeat, a man completely broken by his way of life. Our experience lets us know the fact that such people can't look into other people's eyes any more. There are many reasons of that - feeling shame, fear, pain, being hurt, rejected, inferior. Animals (in this case a dog) do not suffer from such negative feelings. They know by instinct that everything that happens in their life is OK. They are direct, sincere, always having the strength to look into the eyes, and search for help. This haiku is excellent just because the beggar is only mentioned, while the accent has been put on the dog (having positive feelings)
.
.