HAIKUsutradhar : 15th May 2026

A FRIDAY FEATURE

Host: Gauri Dixit Mentor: Kanjini Devi

Prompter for May : Padma Priya

OUR MISSION

1. To provide a new poetry workshop each Friday, along with a prompt.

2. To select haiku, senryu, and haiga each month for the journal, haikuKATHA. Each issue will select poems that were posted in this forum from the 1st of the previous month to the 30th or 31st of the previous month.

FEEDBACK GUIDELINES ( Included as a guideline, please do not be constrained by these while proving feedback )

Let the feedback be specific and constructive. Don’t be vague. Here are some helpful lines you could use to give feedback.

What is working for me :

1. The seasonal reference is good.

2. The image is very clear.

3. I love the internal rhythm.

4. When read aloud, the poem flows well.

5. The 'cut' which is so important in haiku is effectively done here.

6. I like the format ...it's short,long, short. Nice

7. I love the indent you have given

Points that aren't working for me:

1. The image is abstract

2. The lines are long.

3. Some words are redundant and can be safely removed.

4. The lightness of haiku isn't here.

5. Abstract words take away the haiku's charm

6. There is no 'cut' (kire) in this haiku.

7. There are two kigo (seasonal words) in this ku.

8. This is reading more like free verse.

9. This ku is reading as three separate lines. There is no connect.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

1. Post a maximum of two verses per week, from Friday to Friday, numbered 1 & 2. Post only one haiku in a day, in 24 hours.

2. Only post unpublished verses --- nothing that has appeared in peer-reviewed or edited journals, anthologies, your webpage, social media, etc.

3. Only post original verses.

4. For each poem you post, comment on one other person’s poem.

5. Do not post a variety of drafts, along with a request for readers to choose which they like most. Only one poem is to appear in each original post.

6. Post each revision, if you have any, above the original. The top version will be your submission to haikuKATHA. Do not delete the original post.

7. Do not submit found poetry or split sequences.

8. Do not post photos, except for haiga.

9. haikuKATHA will only consider haiga that showcase original artwork or photos. Post details re: the source of the visual image. If you team up with an artist or photographer, make sure that it’s their original work and that they are not restricted by other publications to share it. We won't be responsible for any copyright issues.

10. Put your name, followed by your country, below each poem, even after revisions.

11. Notification about all selected poems for each issue will be posted on CELEBRATION -on 10th of each month.

Poems that do not follow the guidelines may be deleted.

Founder/Managing Editor of haikuKATHA Monthly Journal: Kala Ramesh

Associate Editors: Ashish Narain Firdaus Parvez Priti Aisola Sanjuktaa Asopa Shalini Pattabiraman Suraja Menon Roychowdhury Vandana Parashar

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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT                                                                  

6th February 2026:

The majority of poets at Triveni Haikai India do want feedback. Instead of making them all write "Feedback welcome," why not ask the minority to write "No feedback, thank you"?

That way, the minority's wish would be much more noticeable, and the majority would be saved the slight inconvenience of having to write "Feedback welcome" on every single post.  

Please follow this suggestion.

This excellent suggestion came from Lev Hart, and I thank him from the bottom of my heart.

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PROMPT:

15th May

Padma Priya

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Week 3

kite festival — 

our tangled strings 

refusing to part 

Sandip Chauhan

(haikuKATHA Issue 52 - February 2026)

This is a lovely poem by Sandip Chauhan.

The opening line starts with a festive spirit. The em-dash at the end of the first line provides enough time and space, helping the reader to draw from his/her 'funded experience' to experience the spirit of festivity.

The second line is intriguing. The narrator says that the strings are tangled. Is the narrator suggesting friction or togetherness between two people with this image? The third line brings a resolution. Each word in this line is chosen with care and consideration. The words 'refusing to part' in this line could infer a positive connotation, and the cyclic celebratory mode of the first and third lines makes it rich. A beautiful story in a few words.

However, is the third line leading to more questions? When the kite strings are tangled, it may lead one string to cut off the other. If that happens, each kite takes its own direction. What can we infer by the third line in this context? The words 'tangled' and 'refusing to part' create ambiguity and open the space for multiple interpretations in this haiku. A powerful haiku indeed!

Prompt: Write a haiku with a simple image that intrigues and asks the readers to look into it deeply.

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Looking forward to reading your haiku. Poems outside the prompt can also be posted.

Write on! Gauri