Below are the complete entries to the inaugural Gumboot Nation Haiku Throw-Down in all their glory. Some of the more ribald and non-Creek-related were excised, but I left Jane's limerick and Albert's verse in, for reasons. – Kelly Backs
1 & 2
Wherever gumboots
Sink in garden mud, right there’s
Your heart of the Creek
(2nd Place)
Deer fir cedar bear
Sunny mist on granite shore
Smiling Creekers’ home
Rik Jespersen
3.
Life is quite the hoot
Gallivanting through the Creek
Chewing gum to boot
Benjamin Goldenberg
4.
Freedom at the Pier
Bracing wind, wild waves
Dogs wag, walkers nod and smile
Judy McLarty
5.
Where Roberts Creek ends
the Gumboot Nation rises
from the Salish Sea
George Dueck
(3rd Place)
6.
A dream of sea blue
And a forest mountain life
In the Creek with you
John Gibbs
7&8
Sun-lit Slow Sunday
passing ravens add bass notes
to our harmony
Brave candlelit boats
finding their way through the waves
to the setting sun.
Alison Lindsy
9.
Goon saloon each night
Blow your brains out Bob on stool
Crowe Road beer delights
Lynne Morgan
10.
Rise On Beach Eagles!
Reach To Shoreline Cedars Rest
Evening’s Ebbtide Kiss
Jeanie Parker
11- 15
Loggers and hippies
Diesel and wood. Fresh and old.
Hold the line of love
Cascades of lichen
Dew soaked skunk cabbage and moss
I’m here forever.
Dogs eating starfish.
Sandy feet and grubby kids.
Stay gold pony boy.
Dances and parades...
The nights are longer with fire.
We miss the legion.
The beach is calling...
Every day, it whispers
Affairs of the sea.
Sophia's Jewels
16.
Wistful winter moon
The mandala lies faded
Sun will shine again
Colleen Keenan
17-19.
Once we played hacky
At the spot called Mandala
Now it's not the same
Without Avery
The Creek isn't savory
He is not Santa
There's a place I know
It was from some time ago
Now it is just so
Kris Hepburn
20.
What is a Creeker?
Draft dodger? Crystal healer?
A warm smile, come see
Vanessa Bargen
21.
Rain Boots Rain Boots were made for jumping in puddles,
not Sun Make Waves,
Water is Fun
JC Sigurdson
22.
Dancing in gumboots
through this garden full of slugs
where kale grows freely.
Alyssa Kennelly
23-25.
Summer beach embers
Blink gold in purple sunsets
Snow-melt puddles splash.
Yoga by the Sea
Lubricates these old bones
Spring teases my nose.
Old friends bump elbows
Social spacing at the Boot
Golden latte, please.
Barbara Raphael
26.
Freedom, Nature, Spirit and Friends.
Oh, those were the best of days.
Childhood lived in Roberts Creek.
Sharon Danroth
27.
There once was a gal who wrote limericks
She knew all the limerick tricks
They called for haiku
She said no that won’t do
In the Creek there’s still room for eccentrics
Jane Covernton
28.
My boots in the creek…
overflowing with water.
Where are the salmon?
John Davies
29.
People of the Creek
Remove your gumboots and swim
Year round joy for all
Chelsea Cotton
30.
Sun-kissed gems of red
Sought on leafy coastal paths
Huckleberry pie
Jean Husband
31.
So many stay in
Trees, Beaches, Mountains of Fun
Outside you go, run
JC Sigurdson
32.
Snow in the mountains
Swimmers bathe in the chilly seas
I want a hoodie
Jamie Swann
33.
escape the mad rush
live among gumboots and grins
friendly Roberts Creek
Roxanne Gregory
34.
Gumboots filled with hearts
Views of common unity
Community sings
Laurie O’Byrne
35.
after the sunset
the waitress wipes tabletops
stained Sauvignon red
David McMurray
36.
To the Creek I owe
The peace and joy in my soul
Henderson Beach waves
Micheline Walkey
37.
on lower road beach
sand sucking gumboots inwards
seagulls follow boats
Cheryl Ashley
38.
Fleeting dusk shadows,
wooden house still bathed in sunlight
Dreaming of Roberts Creek
Kamal
39.
mergansers diving
searching clear liquid for food
flying through water
Robert Wotton
40.
Waves lap us away
Plan picnics around tide charts
Sandbar days’ pass slow
Jennifer Chancellor
41.
Hidden Roberts Creek
gumboots and magic alike
where the wild things live.
Jocelyne Gregory
(First Place)
42.
Treasure, Roberts Creek
Her name, Johanna Trimble
Listen to her stories
Christine Martin
43.
Tree enthusiasts
Poetic expressionists
Gumboot nationals
Marion Jolicoeur
44-46
Heart full like the moon
Golden sunlight on the pier
Grateful once again
Gumboots in the creek
Tides changing now as always
Paint it as you like
Gumboots don't tell time
They do hold a lot of wine
Skunk cabbage delight
Dean Schutz
47.
I know of a place
The mandala marks the spot
Full of love for all
Jacqueline
48.
Kelly needs a Creeky verse,
But in haiku I can’t converse.
Creekers live in bush near shore,
Slightly slicker than before.
Culture of the Boot’s alive,
Pass a joint and give me five.
Albert Reeve
