Last week’s grand final will live long in the memory. It stood out from all others because it stood for something else. Something more than just a game of footy. The whole afternoon seemed to shine a light on everything it means to be human. The game, the result, and the aftermath, cut through to us in a way no other grand final has. It felt different. It made us feel different. It made us feel.
The game also marked the 5th running of the AFL Grand Final Haiku Kukai (and, thankfully, the first one without Hawthorn) with haiku poets calling in from all points of Australia and the globe to call the game in haiku. And just like the game itself, the haiku commentary had some unexpected moments;
Kennedy starring
I think of Lee Harvey
Oswald
Myron Lysenko
As well as some prophetic ones, like this from Lucy Stewart, the depth of which no-one could have foreseen;
first light
the city wakes
to live a dream
But not everyone can stop for the grand final, and many poets were calling in on their travels, including Nathan Curnow,
driving Adelaide to Melb
missing the game
half-time: Bordertown
Many haiku poets, however, were watching and could not take their eyes off the game, deftly mixing their impressions with a nod to their immediate surrounds, both urban and natural. What follows is a snapshot of the nearly 200 poems that came in over the course of the day. For Bulldog fans, this is a chance to relive the game in a way that they probably haven’t done before. Once more, with feeling.
Rob Scott (aka Haiku Bob)
underdogs wait
lush september grass
they made the cut
Ian Gostelow
Winter is over
Red sun through white clouds blue sky
Rises in the west
Dave Dreimann
first Grand Final –
the baby kicks
for the first time
Rob Scott
Dressed-up Doggies’ houses
Will they look so gaudy
On Sunday?
Derek Begg
Barking mad –
sons of the west
see red and white
Nadine Hartnett
Dawn breaks
white line awaits
Siren song
Ian Luke
first light
the city wakes
to live a dream
Lucy Stewart
Country cafe
Morning TV through tired eyes
Eddie yabbers on
Derek Begg
damp morning—
a bulldog chases a swan
into the duck pond
Myron Lysenko
The chooks scoop water into their beaks
Footscray’s in the final
Jackie McConnell
the softest rain
Footscray scarf hanging on the balcony
Jackie McConnell
record breaking rains
the dams full on grand final day
swans glide in
Ian Gostelow
buying pies
in the supermarket
push in the back
Myron Lysenko
pre-game warm up the hot dogs
Tash Adams
In the Members, upper crust
Meanwhile, I bite
the remains of my pie
Michael Potter
The cynic inside
says today is more about
money than football
Ron Barton
Kick Tackle Kick
Kick Kick Punch Kick
Made it inside the gate!
Michael Potter
The microphone waits
for a poet’s final call
Dennis Cometti
David Dreimann
worried
wherever I go –
Grand Final day
Rob Scott
Cloudy but calm
the old man holds back
a quiet tear
Nadine Hartnett
Haloed ground
Hallowed ground
Soon to be harrowed
Michael Potter
banh mi shop with ‘woof woof’ poster
Footscray
still a daggy real place
Maurice Mcnamara
still
the underdog
first quarter
Jade Pisani
spring clouds –
how the roar of the crowd
clings to everything
Rob Scott
Hoping to convert
Canadian bar
Only two people here
Sean M. Whelan
statistics
she writes five haiku
in the first quarter
Myron Lysenko
he scores with the banana
practiced since he was eight
in the grand final
Ian Gostelow
bontempelli
libratore
johannson lin jong
australian rules
David Crosbie
harmony
a cat and three magpies sing
with the dogs
Nadine Hartnett
branch full
of forsythia blossoms
tight contest
Myron Lysenko
Red white and blue
own the second quarter
magnolias rise
Jade Pisani
Buddy on one leg
Josh Kennedy grows
another
Rob Scott
Kennedy starring
I think of Lee Harvey
Oswald
Myron Lysenko
Target the leather
Dispose of the courtesy
Can’t hear for screaming
Della Absalom
Grand Final Day
the girl turns the tv room
into a cubby house
Jade Pisani
driving Adelaide to Melb
missing the game
half-time: Bordertown
Nathan Curnow
screaming crowd
party pies still
in the freezer
Jade Pisani
hot ball –
no time to get out
a haiku
Rob Scott
one goal the difference
that moment when going to the loo
is second
Jade Pisani
at Pink Lake –
Tom Boyd is ‘becoming
a man’
Nathan Curnow
Grand Final traffic
Great time to nip across town
for tea with a friend
Naomi Tooby
Picken flies
once was a Seagull
is he top Dog now?
Derek Begg
swirling petals –
Picken soars
and falls to the ground
Rob Scott
Catching my breath
Wishing the lead would be
More than two kicks
Derek Begg
four minutes to go
the bounce of the crowd
in slow motion
Jade Pisani
spring mist –
the last goal barely seen
through tears
Rob Scott
final siren
fallen magnolias
all over the ground
Myron Lysenko
Grand final dusk –
the sharp contrast
between winning and losing
Rob Scott
Boys don’t cry
I am glad Robert Smith
was wrong
Michael Robinson
drought breaks –
not worried now
about dying
Rob Scott
tears
from winners and losers
falling petals
Myron Lysenko
morning after
the dog whimpering next door
an hour ahead
Ian Gostelow
Morning gusts
The coloured streamers
Already fading
Derek Begg
About rob scott
Rob Scott (aka Haiku Bob) is a peripatetic haiku poet who calls Victoria Park home. He writes haiku in between teaching whisky and drinking English, or something like that.
Wonderful stuff, what a sample. The collection must be of a very high standard. So many to like but I single these out – they got me:
Target the leather
Dispose of the courtesy
Can’t hear for screaming
by Della Absalom
four minutes to go
the bounce of the crowd
in slow motion
by Jade Pisani
Well done one and all!