Comments on the Poems in Weekly Romanian Kukai no. 449

A few comments on the poems that were awarded prizes.

serving tea -
in the chipped cup
full moon

It is understandable that a custom is even more durable when the object used is older. A small chipped cup is preferred for its long-time fidelity and the stigma it wears from the harm it got while doing its job. The Japanese name for this uniformity and lack of symmetry combined with the mark of time is sabishia. After all, what is important is that, despite its chipping, the cup can reflect, as a wound, but equally faithfylly, the roundness of the moon.

a white butterfly
sitting on my chest -
I can barely breathe

No, this is not about a pressing weight. It is just the fear of not chasing him away. It is about mastering your emotion.


lullaby -
in the mother's rocking chair
a bouquet of poppies

Lullaby, a swing and a rocking chair. Are these not the same thing? Eloquent in their silence, the poppies sing a lullaby. Perhaps the same one as the mother does and that the son’s gesture recovers and pays it homage. The swinging is a kind of relief.


sun’s ascent -
bent towards the ground
the heavy spikes

    The tension is balanced. The spikes bend not just as a sign of homage to the sun but also as a sign that they cherish its gold.

scorching sun -
in the fountain’s bucket
the cool day

    The cool day and the scorching heat compensate for one another. And today they live in harmony.

orchards in flames -
everything started from
a ripe cherry

    The visual miracle proves to be one of the plants’ development. Of life that is not repressed.



fatigue -
on the floral dress
a live butterfly

We do not know if what is mentioned in the first part concerns the status of the artificial flowers, of the accidental fatigue of the butterfly or the temptation of the dress (for any observer that gives his philanderer’s attention).

deep water -
the whirl slowly absorbs
moonlight

    Allegorically speaking, the poem captures the meditation, the silent whirlwind of thoughts that slowly sip the moonlight and store it in deep inside the soul. The mirroring that steals from the depths.

only a brief respite -
over the scythes’ shine
grasshoppers’ jumps


The picture is wonderful. The respite of the workers unleashes the locusts. Which are there at the right place, just in front of the right mirror.

alone on the platform -
shaking off its flowers
a bitter cherry

What would loneliness be like without these almost reproving cues? The dismantled platform, the cherry tree in bloom with nobody to witness this, the bitterness of words.


a crippled man admiring
the arms of a tree -
it too has a stump!

    Empathy. Without discrimination and boundaries.

(Corneliu Traian Atanasiu)

Weekly Romanian Kukai no. 449

First Place – Valeria Tamaș

serving tea -
in the chipped cup
full moon

Second Place – Petru-Ioan Gârda

a white butterfly
sitting on my chest -
I can barely breathe

Third Place – Violeta Urdă

lullaby -
in the mother's rocking chair
a bouquet of poppies

Third Place – Argentina Stanciu

sun’s ascent -
bent towards the ground
the heavy spikes

Third Place – Elena Victoria Glodean

scorching sun -
in the fountain’s bucket
the cool day

Mention – Rodica Calotă

orchards in flames -
everything started from
a ripe cherry

Mention – Violeta Urdă

fatigue -
on the floral dress
a live butterfly

Mention – Iliescu Constantin

deep water -
the whirl slowly absorbs
moonlight

Mention – Elena Victoria Glodean

only a brief respite -
over the scythes’ shine
grasshoppers’ jumps

Mention – Ana Urma
alone on the platform -
shaking off its flowers
a bitter cherry

Mention – Vasilica Grigoraș

a crippled man admiring
the arms of a tree -
it too has a stump!

Bitter coffee

bitter coffee –
all newspapers
only about war


Cezar Florin Ciobica



This time I propose you a poem which is very simple to decipher, to understand, to feel. The coffee is naturally bitter. Some prefer to drink it unsweetened, others fix it with some sugar. Coffee, even the bitter one, is a habit for those who have time to enjoy it on a leisurely morning browsing through the newspapers. Pairing the two is a symbol of comfort, of life without hardships, worries and troubles. Whether or not it is part of our usual routine, we know this experience at least from novels and movies. It is part of what Luis Buñuel ironically called the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie.

The bitterness of the coffee is an agreeable one as long as the stories are more or less harmless. But when you mix the coffee only with news about the war, the habit is missed. The bitter coffee is no longer compensated by the sentimentality of the news. The bourgeois habit is undermined and compromised without anyone intending this, by the human pain and sorrow. And especially by a certain panic.

The words, as shown, are accompanied by an aura of connotations. And, the more their joining is brief, the more vibrant prove their centrifugal tendencies to evoke urgently the most varied contexts.

(Corneliu Traian Atanasiu)

Romanian Monthly Kukai June 2016

 Theme: using the word "pollen"

Special Prize


funeral under the lime tree –
retouched by pollen
the decorations

Doina Bogdan Wurm


Everything takes on a special aura under the linden tree in bloom. The funeral coincides with the vital unleashing of nature. And, ironically, the deserved decorations acquired in life are satirized by the continous falling pollen, which slowly overwhelms them. Vanitas vanitatum. (Corneliu Traian Atanasiu)

First place

after the storm -
golden with pollen
the puddle in the road

Valer G. Pop


Second Place

pollen on the eyelashes
thighs and hair -
butterflies in the stomach

Vali Iancu


Third Place

origami flower –
searching for its pollen
thirsty butterflies

Ana Urma



funeral under the lime tree -
retouched by pollen
the decorations

Doina Bogdan Wurm


Fourth Place

pollen over the photos -
the black and white wedding ring
golden again

Cristina Pârvu


Fifth Place

moon getting smaller –
all the pollen shaken off
into the old lake

Gabriel Iordan Dorobanţu


on the last road -
the pollen smoothing
his wrinkles

Florin Florian


Sixth Place

intoxicating smell –
the pollen goes into the hive
staggering all the way

Grigore Chitul



the wind through the willows -
the pollen in the catkins
making the sight look golden

Argentina Stanciu

Weekly Romanian Kukai no. 448

First Place – Lucreția Horvath

singing owl -
I check once again
the perfusions

Second Place – Violeta Urdă

on the windowsill a basket
with bitter cherries -
convalescence

Third Place – Petru-Ioan Gârda

sunset in the mountains –
the waterfall still carrying
the light in the depths

Mention – Luminița Ignea

pausing from cutting the grass -
the bottle quickly passes
from hand to hand

Mention – Mariana Tanasă

children in a circle -
drawn on the asphalt
mother’s heart
 
Mention – Valeria Tamaș

wedding in the neighbourhood -
overnight all plum trees
dressed in white

Mention – Cezar-Florin Ciobîcă

golden wedding -
on the white heads
traces of pollen

Mention – Ana Drobot

bitter cherries –
from what had been once
yellow letters

Weekly Romanian Kukai no. 445

First Place – Argentina Stanciu

honorable guests -
in grandma’s chamber
imperial lilies

Second Place – Cezar-Florin Ciobîcă

propped up in the scythe -
the skylark’s song
shakes the dew

Second Place – Elena Victoria Glodean

the old man’s walking stick -
our Lady’s flowers
support the fence

Third Place – Petru-Ioan Gârda

summer heat -
the Muslim refugees
in the shadow of the cross

Mention – Argentina Stanciu

almost nighttime -
left shining
the dandelions

Mention – Cezar-Florin Ciobîcă

Ascension -
the ivy climbs
on the mausoleum

Mention – Lucreția Horvath

no one on the bench -
a leaf covering
memories

Mention – Petru-Ioan Gârda

war theater -
the lindens’ explosion
postpones the attack

Mention – Violeta Urdă

winds of change -
only the tin rooster
revolves in the emptiness

Mention – Dan Norea

crying next to the coffin
his former lovew -
it leaves him cold