The Martin Lucas Haiku Award is conducted each year by the Presence Haiku Journal. The Award honours the memory of respected English haiku poet, Martin Lucas.

Entries for the 2025 Award closed in January 2026, with the results announced a couple of months later. I was delighted to learn the competition judge, Thomas Powell, selected the following haiku of mine among the Highly Commended entries:

bedridden
I take a long walk
in the sunshine

The mind can take us to familiar places that might be temporarily, or permanently, out of reach due to an injury or illness. Indeed, the mind can take us to places that are impossible to visit in real life, or to places that are pure fantasy. In his commentary, Thomas noted that ‘the imagination can be a powerful tool when physical freedom isn’t readily available’.

You can read more poems from the 2025 and earlier editions of the Martin Lucas Haiku Award here.

As it happens, two haiku that I wrote during the 2024 Haiku Down Under Conference have now been recognised in competitions. The ‘bedridden’ haiku was written during the conference, as was the following haiku:

dinner for two
the stars in the sky
grow brighter

which received an Honourable Mention from Michael Dylan Welch in the 6th Morioka International Haiku Contest.

The theme for the 2024 Haiku Down Under conference was ‘A Sensory Journey’ and the various presentations and workshops provided wonderful ideas and stimulus for writing. You can read more about the conference here and here.