2026 (Not) in Love Haiku Challenge THIRD PLACE WINNER: “He was coked out of…” by Benjamin Burns
Frontier Poetry is excited to congratulate the THIRD PLACE winner of the 2026 (Not) in Love Haiku Challenge— Benjamin Burns’ with his poem “He was coked out of…”
Benjamin Burns’s haiku is exceptional for the way it implies story, complex characters, and relationships in the brevity of its form. Burns creates friction using contrasts. He juxtaposes harshness— a substance induced absence, a callously blunt observation— with the beauty of a rose-pink setting. Each element fuels an underlying romantic betrayal that remains with readers long past experiencing the final word.
Enjoy his poem below.
He was coked out of…
it,’ he says, then spits, beneath
a rose–pink sunset
Benjamin Burns
Benjamin Burns is a poet, sound artist, and performer who lives in Cork, Ireland. His poetry has been published in journals and anthologies, including: Hive Poetry Journal, Cork Words 2: An Anthology of Contemporary Cork Writing, and A Journey Called Home: poems and stories of the new Corkonians. He is a Co-Director of the poetry reading series Ó Bhéal go Béal.
