HAIKU SECTION
Judge: Simon Hanson, Australia
1st Place/Jeanette Stace Memorial Award:
Maori lullaby
resting on top of the Kauri pine
the pale moon
by Mircea Moldovan, Romania
Judge’s commentary:
On first reading I was moved, my response was visceral, I had to share it immediately with my wife and haven’t wavered for a moment since that this well deserves the Jeanette Stace Memorial Award. One mustn’t say too much—poetry speaks for itself; beautifully constructed in word and visual appearance. This poem’s centred format is done for very good reason—symmetrical like a great pine, an image to behold, crowned by the moon. As befitting a lullaby, the wording of this haiku is softly sounding when read aloud and more so when whispered—it reads very nicely whispered.
I have learnt that the Kauri pine is much revered in Maori culture. A native tree to Aotearoa, it is the subject of legend and myth, used in carvings and the construction of dwellings and because of its strength and natural resistance to seawater many canoes were made from a single Kauri trunk, some holding up to 180 warriors—amidst the softness there is great power here too. And I’ve learnt also that the moon holds a central place in the Maori calendar, the Maramataka, is a lunar calendar. These details are important for it shows that the subject of this haiku is well informed, known first-hand or well researched, more than just a pretty ornament. But an ornament it is too, lovely to look at, lovely to read, while containing depths of historical significance. On another level this haiku is energising by a symbol of some fascination—the image of the moon resting on top of the pine and its juxtaposition with the first line speaks deeply to our collective and ancient history—of fertility and of new life. My gratitude, thank you.
https://poetrysociety.org.nz/2021/07/26/2021-international-poetry-competition-results/
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