I am from a town that�s name is Haiku spelled backwards. They have a Haiku contest every year and this year my dad won. This is an email from him:
I am pleased to announce that a haiku poem I entered into the "ukiahhaiku poetry Festival contest" was selected as the first place winner in the "best haiku about Ukiah" category. The judges were Jane Reichold, a haiku guru from Gualala, CA. and Jim Wilson, co-founder of Many Rivers Books and Tea, and who was formerly a Buddhist Chaplain at a New York prison for the criminally insane (it figures)...
I am honored that they selected mine. I was awarded with a gift certificate and a beautiful origami folded paper star embossed with my name as the first place winner in the adult category. The committee received over 1200 haiku entries.
The inspiration for my poem, was when I worked the 2000 Census, and felt overwhelmed while counting souls at the monastery which is named The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and located here in Ukiah:
one census taker
in the ukiah city
ten thousand buddhas