By Martin Sercombe
The competition for the perfect haiku was the talk of the town. Many famous poets had been invited to contribute their finest work to the competition, and each one had risen to the challenge.
The day of the competition was a beautiful one, with the sun shining bright and the air filled with anticipation. The poets gathered on stage, ready to read their haikus to the rapt audience.
First Basho read his famous work:
an ancient pond
a frog jumps in
the splash of water
The audience sighed in admiration, knowing that this was one of the greatest haikus ever written.
Next was Buson, who read:
winter solitude
in a world of one colour
the sound of wind
The audience was transfixed by the haunting beauty of Buson's words.
One by one, the poets read their haikus. There was Issa, who wrote:
a winter’s day
the faint sun casts
the shadow of a crow
and Yosa, who wrote:
summer night
even the stars
are whispering to each other
Hokusai added:
amidst the stillness
a single leaf falls gently
autumn’s last goodbye
and Kyoshi read:
in the cherry bloom
a butterfly flutters
nature’s sweetest kiss
After all the haikus had been read, the judges retired to deliberate. They carefully considered each one, taking into account the form, the imagery, and the emotion. They finally decided that all the poems were of equal beauty, and gave out the prizes accordingly.
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