It’s time to announce the winner of The Autumn Haiku Contest. Out of forty six haiku submitted from all over the world including USA, France, Ireland, Greece, Israel, Australia, Philippines, and India, the readers have voted for the winner, using the polls. The total of 472 votes have been cast, and in the final voting, 186 votes out of 258 went to this haiku by Raj Bose.
Letter from home
the smell of mother’s cooking
as I open it
Raji says, “I had written this haiku as a student in Massachusetts in the 1980’s. During the autumn season when I saw the leaves falling and weather getting cold, I began to miss my parents. Suddenly, at my doorstep I saw a letter among the red and yellow autumn leaves. I picked it up and before I read it I could smell my mom’s curry and I knew it was a letter from home.”
Raj has been composing poems since his childhood and began writing haiku when he was living in Odawara, Japan in the 1980’s. His poems have appeared in several editions of Newsweek (Japanese version), Mainichi Daily News, Asahi News and Ginyu in Japan, and Bottlerockets, Frogpond, A Hundred Gourds and NY Seikatsu magazines in the USA. He lives in Honolulu, Hawaii with his wife.
Congratulations to Raj! And thank you all for participating in the contest by submitting your haiku and casting your vote.