First, we, the Shiki team, want to say thank you to everyone who participated in the 4th Haiku Contest. We are very pleased with the number of participants ,119 people, and the quality of the entries.

noon
the egret shifts from stillness
to stillness

_________________
2nd Place

drawing the raven
into itself -
evening shadow

bill k.

____________________________
3rd Place

Desert waterhole --
a yellow finch dips its beak
in the puma track.

Dennis H. Dutton

______________________________
4th Place

August sunrise
fanning out over the courtyard
a peacock's tail

Jean King

_______________________
5th Place

calling
from balcony to balcony
caged birds

hilary tann

_________________
6th Place

Indian summer:
  woodpecker
    ratchets
      his way
        up a tree

Charles Trumbull

mountain hot springs -
a swirl of goose down
in the steam

Harold Bowes

red light--
a few seconds' worth
of robinsong

jim kacian

migrating birds
i am repairing the roof
of my old home

--dimitar

fading embers -
a nighthawk's call
deepens the quiet

Ferris Gilli

snowbound --
tracing wallpaper doves
with mamma's lipstick

--Roberta Beary

first light
a grouse stepping
around snow

paul m

nighthawk:
back and forth between
the first stars

Rob Krevitz

the wind
on my cheek
holds the kestrel

Hugh Waterhouse

call of a night bird--
illness
in a foreign bed

Ellen Compton

late autumn stillness:
the great blue heron glides
just above the reeds

ebj

migrating birds
slice the moon
- autumn chill

Harsangeet Kaur Bhullar

the raven sits
on the wall
dividing towns

Greta Jee

I breathe
the same air as
those sparrows.

Max Verhart

caged while we mend its wing--
the hawk withdraws
behind its eyes

jim kacian

with my every step
the raven moves
farther away

Greta Jee

hurried sparrow spills
plum blossoms onto the hair
of sleeping giesha

Steven D. Skowronski

following a bird
the eye teaches the heart
how to dance

Jane Reichhold

a cuckoo's song
an old man
cups his ear

bill lerz

not until
the geese are out of sight--
my next breath

makiko

the dam full
to the brim...
robin's song

Hugh Waterhouse

deep in the pines ~
a hawk yields the reddened snow
to noisy crows

Noor Singh Khasla

rereading her last letter -
a sparrow flits away
gripping a twig

Mark Alan Osterhaus

geese touching down--
shine of melting snow
on their wings

Kristen Deming

A silent night
Rustle of leaves, a squeak
A barn owl kills

karo

morning fog -
a raven crosses
with the light

Cindy Zackowitz

his grave
in the moonlight
a cuckoo's cry

bill lerz

young giesha unfolds
her fan and hides behind the
unfettered cuckoo

Steven D. Skowronski

dead baby bird
wings in grass
feet clutching sky

tom williams

plunging clouds -
the ibis
buries its beak

doris kasson

sparrow in the mist
fluffed to a fat ball
winter nears

~Francine Porad

taking turns
at the feeder perch
titmouse and autumn rain

Laura Young

the usual bird tracks
round the building formerly
known as KGB

Alasdair Paterson

summer swallows
in flight showing
the wind's shape

tom williams

dead sparrow
a leaf falls
and covers it

G Yamamoto

leaving it's name
the cuckoo disappears

bill lerz

dry riverbed -
the wagtail dips
into shadows

hilary tann

storm wave coming -
the motionless gaze
of 1000 gulls

Alexey Andreyev

evening shadows -
the old oak tree
alive with ravens

doris kasson

Jumping from nap brisk-paced cat
caught paper crane yet in air--
       My first origami.

Saulius Veinsreideris

    mulysa ym evoba
emihc ylruoh eht stiawa emit
     !@#$%^&*?ookcuc

daniel ariaratnam

wild geese -
the pain in her shoulders
gone

Harold Bowes

granddaughter standing
on one leg; tall and graceful
like a flamingo

Penelope Sargent

long, slow curve--
again we drive beneath
the vee of geese

makiko

October wind
claiming one more piece
of the robin's home

Kelly Donlan

blanket of fog
covering silent rice fields
snowy egrets

wz

the airport traffic
slows to a crawl;
geese winging south

Joseph Kirschner

while the pouring rain
falls a sparrow arranges
It's ruffled feathers

CoKa

sandpiper tracks
trace edges of broken waves
and shallow sky

Don Wharram

crow rising
higher and higher, finally
becoming light

Kristen Deming

telephone wire
chorus of sparrows --
arguing program

Elaine Cleveland

all the cuckoos sing -
Maitreya
opens his eyes

Hortensia Anderson

after the storm
a half of the starling's house
on a half of the tree

Valerie Lacroix

unseen
the owl shares this night
with me

bill klontz

Northbound crows above
Mournful cries for souls long gone
Ring through dusk chilled air

Mark Moskvitch

rising moon
brightens the black mountain -
an owl's call

Paul MacNeil

Slipping on the ice
Water swirling just below
A confused duck

karo

six Canada geese
glide onto the pond -
six silver circles

Richmond D. Williams

crows in flight
from each ebony beak
the sun's glint

Lori Laliberte-Carey

smell of coffee -
crisscrosing the night shadows
shapes of swallows

Rita Mazur

hawk
midair pause-
cold front

R. W. Richardson {c 11-23-98}

winter pasture
on the bull's back
a magpie

Dennis H. Dutton

one little feather
is all the redbreast left me
before flying south

emile molhuysen

dark and rainy day
sparrow huddles in my eave
throat throbbing with song

Hazel

november rain
turning hard bread to sponge --
the broken-billed goose

copyright 11/23/1998 by Wendy C. Bialek

first swallow
behind the wet pane
crying girl's smile

Alexey Andreyev

high above the clouds
solitary bird flies on
it searches for peace

kumo no ue
tori ichi-wa tonde
sagashitsutsu

Kathleen P.Decker

morning clouds -
a hawk follows the wind
through bare trees

Paul MacNeil

fox stares up stubborn
into the bare apple tree
three magpies glare down

Julian

newly tarred roof-
until dawn the cries
of a caught crow

Neca Stoller

fallen leaves -
sound of the bamboo broom ceases
amidst the chorus of birds

Kimiyo Tanaka

through the bird cage
the green eyes
of a hungry cat

Paul David Mena

The eagle's image
taking the flapping fish deep
into the water

Horst Ludwig

town dump -
flock of gulls whorling
with scraps of paper

Tim Happel

balanced
in a squall of leaves
hunting kestrel

Alasdair Paterson

all chattering stops
the whole flock rises as one
ordinary starlings

Julian

woodpecker
tapping away at
my eardrum

Kelly Donlan

windowless office --
the broken lock
of the parakeet's cage

--Roberta Beary

first snow
the piercing eye
of a crow

paul m

an offering left
for the god of the way--
raven takes it

makiko

sundown again -
a snowflake disappears
into the raven's wing

M. Saver

in the pool
after the hurricane--
wild ducks

jim kacian

splash dive-
the pelican surfaces
from its shadow

Carolyne Rohrig

Shy bird,
as I come closer -
you're gone.

Max Verhart

winter morning-
the crooked shadow
of the dead wren

Neca Stoller

Silent forest -
the twilight flickers
with departing birds

Margarita Drozdoff

133.
fragile white feathers
carpet the grass --
egrets are preening

Betty Kaplan

blending blueness
of river to sky
the mallard's flight

Jean King

country store--
a gaggle of concrete geese
aproned, bonneted

S. R. Spanyer

speckled pebbles beckon
from the shoreline
a plover's cry

hilary tann

The bird is flying
Higher and higher he goes
then he hits his head

UncleBob

fire-red robin
playing on the snowy sill
my room grows warmer

Grace Mathew

spring moon -
under the eaves
the swallow's nest

Rob Krevitz

undulating whisper-
the shadow of owl wings
across a moonlit lawn

Carolyne Rohrig

for just a few days
the songbird and the snow goose
will sing together

Michael Shea

no rain, no thunder
but I still hear clapping:
a flock of pigeons!

Matthew Rotando

flying elbow-high
the ibis flock rejoins itself
ahead of me

Laura Young

just off the highway
two cranes -
dancing

Rob Krevitz

thirteen blackbirds
gather on moonlit snow
to discuss poetry

Matthew Rotando

cherry-scented breeze
grandfather's lark stops singing
both of them fall quiet

Grace Mathew

autumn rain
in his old climbing tree
a mourning dove calls

Joann Klontz

ignoring drizzle
the crow wading through wet grass
immaculate black

Ted M. Zachwieja

no birds in sight
the singing
trees

Kristen Deming

206.
even after the rains
there is still a sadness
in the cuckoo's call

krish

from the bare treetops
blackbirds
expose the fox

Paul David Mena

songbirds--
waking in a strange bed
at first light

Kylan Jones-Huffman

white lilies -
the cuckoo singing
and the moon

Hortensia Anderson

Splashes sparkling -
the rain puddle vibrates
with bathing sparrows

Margarita Drozdoff

without a map -
the buzzard's mewing
never far away

Matt Morden

mechanical noise
over the water
seagulls appear

Valerie Lacroix

water ouzel
his song sounds above
the rush of the stream

Alex Benedict

a flash of lightning
dark crows bring silent thunder
soon there will be rain

Aaron Milstead

Hi, little blackbird!
You just came by to have
a look at my feet?

Max Verhart

Frozen owl do not fear
My crackling fire is enough
For the both of us

K. Sarikhani

Tough old Mr. Duck
sitting on my lap
stale popcorn shared for a price

Mary Sadr

sliding down the sky
a fingernail moon:
an owl hoots

Sue

the great blue heron
quietly on the edge of
possibility . . .

PatriciaJMachmiller

a pair of sandhill cranes
settling on the marsh
first flakes of snow

Mark Alan Osterhaus

seven geese
sunset glances off
the leader's wing

Joann Klontz

far from home
a redtail hawk --
. . . forgiving my father

--Roberta Beary

under thin ice
a cardinal turns bright
the garden pond

Neca Stoller

out of deep shade
a mallard climbing onto
a stone midstream

Harold Bowes

clatter--
turnstones at the edge
of the tide pool

Alex Benedict

picking at the grass
I cut yesterday
- small sparrow

Harsangeet Kaur Bhullar

end of summer--
the night heron's harsh lament
at the twilight hour

June Hopper Hymas

a stilling breeze--
one braid of twilight in the wake
    of the wild goose

S. R. Spanyer

snowdrift
behind greenhouse glass
a honeybird

marius geerts

snowy owl perched
over our conversation
asking questions

Dani DeCaro

weathered barn
tiny bones gleam
in owl droppings

Dennis H. Dutton

woman in heels
the ducks
scatter

Hugh Waterhouse

the open wall
of a Spanish church wedding ~
bird song joins the hymns

Timothy Collinson

between church
bell's chimes
pigeons settle

R. W. Richardson {c 11-23-98}

new moon evening
the swan's neck rises
out of the lake

Joann Klontz