Bird Dog - Bryan Page

Bryan Page lives in the market town of Loughborough in Charnwood. He is an accomplished illustrator with a special interest in historical re-construction. It is a great pleasure to walk an area with him, and to hear him interpret the signs of human impact on the built and natural environment. It is magical to watch him 'raise the walls' and recreate the life and times of these places with the tip of a pencil! Now retired from teaching, Bryan devotes much of his time to his own projects. He is a regular collaborator with Charnwood Arts. The kukai images (without haiku) can be accessed by clicking here:

an'ya, from the US, acted as the judge of haiku in this section.

1st Place - Anibal Beça

In the dog eyes
I recompose this calm
that only him knows

I liked this haiku right away, even though, the word 'him' threw me off a bit. After inquiring about it however, I learned that my supposition was correct, and was informed that it was written by a non-English speaker, although, (I was not told who wrote it). Taking this fact into careful consideration, I chose this haiku for 1st place, and really must compliment its author, who has captured something here that I also saw in Bryan's painting, ie: the calm, yet intense way that the dog watches the little bird. The author of this haiku, has pointed out a possible camaraderie between species which most of the other haijin missed. Personally, I feel that to judge haiku without offering correction, (if and when I believe it's needed), would be not to learn, or to teach. Moreover, I don't want to suggest changing this haiku, because the way in which it is written, has kind of a 'zen' feel to it, rather I would only advise its author, to modify it slightly, like so: [AP]

In the dog's eyes
I recompose a calmness
that only he knows

2nd Place - Juanito Escareal

dog and sparrow --
from a distance, the cat
watches patiently

I am not positive that I see a 'cat' in exactly the same way the author did, although he/she must have noticed one, and includes three animals in this verse. With or without Bryan's most interesting painting, we, as readers, are skillfully shown everything that we need to know, while being left to ponder where 'said feline' is, and what it's really watching patiently for. [AP]

3rd Place - Gillena Cox

man's best friend ponders
a new pal sharing a meal
little bird

Although the structure of this poem could be considered, by some, a tad cumbersome or wordy, its content rings positive. It does not appear that the dog is about to pounce-on, attack or eat the bird; I believe that keeping an upbeat attitude, when composing haiku, is essentially important. [AP]