The
Toast Point
Haiku Contest!

Since 1995!

A Japanese Garden of Verse

Entries from December, 1998

Water writes 12/31/98

Joe Gill writes 12/29/98

Miyaunna Cleveland writes 12/29/98

The poet comments, "I've never written a haiku before. This is actually my first time writting this kind of poetry!"

Daniel111 writes 12/28/98

Johnny Bungalow writes 12/28/98

The poet comments, "The idea of haiku expressing nature when compared with western ideals for explaining phenonenon when captured on any media, such as film, in a distinct slice of time."

Mihajlo Mika Pavlovic writes 12/28/98

The poet comments, "The title : "Mightiness""

After rainstorm
the washed sun sets
rainbow on fire.

The poet comments, "the title: "The Stake""

Tear-shaped shadows.
The bridge from willow branch-
circle of dream bells.

Bridge shadows -
wings of river banks.
Interlaced wingless forms.

Vid Vukasovic writes 12/28/98

Amy Katherine Walker writes 12/28/98

The poet comments, "Inspired by living in the Deep South, the most thunderstorm-prone area in the world."

Your smile burns the ice
From haunted caverns frozen
After summer’s death.

The poet comments, "For JMG, titled "Sun Face.""

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/28/98

killing frost --
red bleeds from begonia's
withered petals

Christmas morning;
decorating a bare tree
two hawks

Jenn writes 12/27/98

My dog's name is Champ.
He is a real pain sometimes,
But I still love him.

Stuart Reed writes 12/25/98

The poet comments, "These are haiku written whilst milking cows."

Is your claim to fame
Persistent inconsistence?
Are the drugs to blame?

Urine assaults my
Nostrils. I wipe urea
Off my wet left ear.

Compost is composed
Of decomposition. Rot
Is its rotten lot.

Out of the mouths of
Babbling babes comes language in
Total disarray.

Random fractals flood
My screen. Light is both a wave
And a particle.

The woven wool of
Long-haired, dung-spattered Afghan
Sheep is fashion chic.

Stern admonitions
Don't dissuade me. I prefer
Gentle persuasion.

The rock of ages
Was suddenly established
In nineteen sixty.

A moving picture
Is now a fixture of my
Static living room.

We should say goodday
Every day, unless, of course,
We've had a bad night.

Are you trenchant or
Do you slip away like a
Firework display?

Are you a silk moth
Growing fat on mulberry
Leaves? If so, please weave.

Are you D2R
2? Are you a robot in
A Star Trek movie?

Out of the mouths of
Cows come moos. Oddly enough,
Cows are now my muse.

The poet comments, "I've had this song on my mind all night. It's called "Yalla, Bye." It manages in two words to incorporate three langauges - Arabic, Hebrew and English. It's also a heck of a tune. So yalla, bye."

Daniel111 writes 12/24/98

Thrown writes 12/23/98

Cavac Kolok writes 12/23/98

Kelly Britt writes 12/22/98

O Moon writes 12/22/98

The poet comments, "As a student of Haiku, I have been taught to ignore other people's attempts to disregard my use of syllables. As long as there is harmony or some sense of balance it is still essentially Haiku. One can not sacrifice a breathing Haiku just to please the syllable nazis."

Streak of white
Circling the morning moon
An urban gull

Darksinderella writes 12/21/98

The poet comments, "My age may inhibit me from driving (not anymore), smoking, voting, marrying, drinking...But not feeling...Don't judge me for my years, but for my merits... "

Tiffany Cobane writes 12/21/98

Bidisha Basu writes 12/20/98

Juliet writes 12/19/98

Brian Horwitz writes 12/19/98

The poet comments, " This is a slight adjustment on a previous poem i wrote not in haiku form!"

Robyn Brooks writes 12/19/98

A column of light
falls down from heaven on him
G-d shines on him love

Joe Gill writes 12/18/98

The poet comments, "Ho ho holy shit! "

Toast Point comments: According to the elves in "Santa vs. the Snowman", the epithet is "Holy Night!".

Cavac Kolok writes 12/18/98

The poet comments, "Inspiration for the poem comes from experiencing the Japanese Garden and the Tea Ceremony on the campus of the University of British Columbia. It is most- highly recommended. "

Iye matsu-san writes 12/17/98

The poet comments, "This most unworthy lout apologizes to The Sage for his impatience. Gomen nasia goziemas"

The Sage bows graciously.

Ed Shustack writes 12/17/98

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/17/98

in winter's grayness
heavenly bamboo berries
wear Christmas red

Mrelia writes 12/16/98

Pat Grantt writes 12/16/98

The poet comments, "Saw snow angels again today."

Just one fading note
then a flutter of blown leaves
And he sings again.

Brandee Winstead writes 12/16/98

JesusisLord writes 12/16/98

Iye Matsu-san writes 12/16/98

The poet comments, "YTM, Jade Princess"

awaiting judgement
though I attempted but Good
when will Sage update?

The Sage restrains from peevishly snapping at the poet.

Daniel111 writes 12/14/98

Vid Vukasovic writes 12/14/98

A metal sea crab
watches high seas
from the cabin window.

Mihajlo Mika Pavlovic writes 12/14/98

The poet comments, "The title: "The Yellow Crow""

The summer scent.
At the bottom of a picture:
green leeches of mist.

The poet comments, "The title: "At the Bottom""

The snow covered nest. Ice.
Fire reflections in the mirror
disappear in the mist.

Motley masks dance.
A shapeless snail of night
swallows dreams.

The poet comments, "The title : "Night Snail""

Stephen M. Sunshine writes 12/14/98

The poet comments, "for Maria, Winter 98' "

J.B. Troost writes 12/14/98

The poet comments, "The original is in Dutch and based upon an article in the Dutch newspaper 'Trouw', somewhere last week. I can send you one (the haiku, that is) upon request."

Toast Point suggests that those who read Dutch contact the poet via e-mail.

Son of Earth writes 12/14/98

Early writes 12/12/98

The poet comments, " My name is Teshia Taylor... I'm 15 years old and a sophomore. I love to write all kinds of poetry. My friends and family think I have a real talent for writing, so after my mother had a dream that I won a $25,000 poetry contest, I started submitting some of my poems on the net. I've had a small book that I've written all my special writings in since fourth grade. It's very special to me and I want to share it with everyone who will appreciate it. Maybe someday..."

Welcome!

Maryn writes 12/12/98

The poet comments, "Well.. it is the nineties.."

Sketchley writes 12/12/98

Stuart Reed writes 12/11/98

The poet comments, "These are haiku written whilst milking cows."

Will the animals
Be well behaved even though
We are well depraved?

Don't believe a word
We say, much less a sentence
Or a resume.

Twin troublemakers,
Five years old, appear with sticks
And yelps. Come to help.

Obviously, they
Are an enormous hindrance,
A pain in the ass.

Obviously, in
Spite of their sticks and yells, I
Treat them like angels.

Don't believe a word
We say. Animals behave.
Humans are depraved.

The poet comments, "And as an afterword -"

It is cold and I
Am hungry. Let's thank God for
Electricity.

Brian "Love Machine" Weiss writes 12/11/98

The poet comments, "I've used this for so many different things I've lost count. The question is... did you ?"

Doreen Bradley Satter writes 12/11/98

The poet comments, "This is an exception to my own strict 5-7-5 rule!"

The red maple tree
Splatters blood over the grass--
As cold breezes blow

The poet comments, "I see this view from my window."

A nest stubbornly
Clings to bare winter branches--
Last clue of summer

The poet comments, "This nest was spotted when the tree in the above Haiku lost all its leaves."

Bumblebee hiding
Drinking the blossom's sweetness--
Too drunk to fly away

Horse tails flick at flies
The long dog-days of summer--
A miserable month

Kites high overhead
Newspaper with wooden spine--
Father and son team

Leaves raked in soft piles
Multi-colored crispy mounds--
Autumn's trampoline

Quail crosswalk warning
Marching with babies in tow--
My engine idles

Rain pelts the windshield
Muddy puddles everywhere--
Oregon winter

The poet comments, "I write about what I know! (Native Oregonian)"

Toadstools springing up
Wet grass and leaves inviting--
Poisonous interest

Iye Matsu-san writes 12/11/98

The poet comments, "The deer are 'helping' shape my bonsai this winter."

Pat Grantt writes 12/11/98

Softly on cold wind
The sigh of unborn buds
Weary of this snow

Today's falling snow
Brought begonias with the mail
Spring's still paper thin.

The poet comments, "Nursery catalogues arrived today."

Icabod's gold moon
So fattened on fall's bounty
Wanes more with each snow.

Steadfast, clinging still
Soft plumes of wild clematis
Cherishing old wood.

iye Matsu-san writes 12/11/98

Eva McPike writes 12/10/98

As the dark storm brews
Rushing wind whispers secrets
To the watchful trees

Baby sting rays catch
A ride in waves that glide
Past patient surfers

This bunch just showed up in our in-box this week. Go figure. Server burp?

Christine Hung writes 11/28/98

Marissa Spencer writes 11/28/98

Stuart Reed writes 11/12/98

The poet comments, "The first is called 'Haiku Is Tough.' The next is called 'The Scales Will Not Fall From Your Eyes.'"

I'd hide in my hide
From exotic birds but I'm
Doomed to detection.

The poet comments, "The next is called 'Responding To The Expected.'"

How many stars and
How many stripes will it take
To conferate?

The poet comments, "The next is called 'Burning Desires.'"

Our tool is a plough
And our beast of burden is
An ox in a yoke.

The poet comments, "The last one is called 'Almost Fair Enough.'"

Sometimes it's a lot
Less easy to be lazy,
Crazy as it seems.

Parents of tubby
Boys will stub their toes on the
Fat, lazy brat's toys.

Whilst visiting the
Toilet late at night, I have
Often tripped on dogs..

For all their seeming
Innocence, trains of thought can
Be catastrophic.

Mistakes writes 11/07/98

Shooting Stars writes 11/07/98

The poet comments, "can i enter more of my haikus here? please reply asap! "

Yes!

Stuart Reed writes 10/30/98

The poet comments, "The next one is called 'Put A Candle In Your Gourd.'"

When he sings his voice
Echoses in the rafters of
The milking parlour.

The poet comments, "The next is called 'A Simian Tang.'"

§oshua writes 10/27/98

Temporal Discontinuity

C.S. Grable writes 12/09/98

Fat rain crash on down,
To sweltering ground collide,
Fog bringing devil.

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/09/98

The poet comments, "Saw this from my kitchen window through perforated mini-blinds "

violating rule
"don't open until Christmas"
--- Christmas cacti

Lesley writes 12/08/98

The poet comments, "I had to share, and thought a poem would be a good way to share. "

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/08/98

Tuau writes 12/07/98

Laura Dadd writes 12/07/98

It feels as if eons
Passed since I heard another's
Breathing falling into sleep

On the other side
Your newness terrifies
I will ovecome fear

Pakalolo Girl writes 12/07/98

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/06/98

Poet of the Shared-Peach Garden writes 12/06/98

The poet comments, "This haiku was written on a rainy Monday in Japan during a class on haiku in English poetry and the problems of translation."

Samuel T. Stearns writes 12/05/98

Fate of a Prophet

Stuart Reed writes 12/05/98

DTSSped writes 12/05/98

Mrelia writes 12/04/98

Damuse writes 12/04/98

Jennifer Whitley writes 12/04/98

The poet comments, "Do I get money for this?!?!"

Jeez, what is it with you mercenary poet types?

Philip Welsh writes 12/04/98

The poet comments, "It's all true. I swear."

Chris writes 12/04/98

The poet comments, "Help! I need English?!?!?!"

Leaves blow on the ground
Many in brown, orange and yellow
Putting them in piles

The poet comments, "Do I get cash for this"

No, just great fame and glory.

Bones writes 12/03/98

The poet comments, "You said any language, right?"

Iye Matsu-san writes 12/03/98

sweeping Ginko leaves
moonlight touches Kuan-Yin's hair
school secretary

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/03/98

Art Paul Schlosser writes 12/03/98

The poet comments, "http://members.theglobe.com/MynameIsART/default.html"

Uma writes 12/03/98

Lesley G writes 12/02/98

The poet comments,
"I'm 13 and we're doing this type of poems at school so I thought I'd submit mine and see how I do."

Iye Matsu-San writes 12/02/98

neanderthal child
longs for the hunts of summer
breaks school rules again

Hilary Reichert writes 12/02/98

The submitter comments, "Hilary is a student in my creative writing class here in central Nebraska."

Amanda Becker writes 12/02/98

The submitter comments, "Another of my creative writing class members. Thanks for the website.
Don Richmond/Elm Creek High School/Elm Creek, NE"

Obviously, Mr. Richmond is doing something right!

CAVAC KOLOK (Doctor Bungalow) writes 12/01/98

The poet comments, "Long time no been here and have missed y'all Intend to make more frequent visits"

SHUZTA- COVEECHI !
grandfather was warning to me
never be silent

The poet comments, "It's now six decades since the nazi atrocities! "

Yvonne Cabalona writes 12/01/98

The poet comments, "Weather had been stormy all day. What a treat to be driving home from work and see that little sliver of sunshine. "

Elyse Neiman writes 12/01/98