2012 Haiku Invitational Winners
presented by
Top Winners
British Columbia
alone at the airport
a cherry blossom
on my suitcase
Marianne Baharustani
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
morning tai chi—
all the prams
slowly turning pink
Lin Geary
Paris, Ontario
United States
cherry petals falling
the pond’s oldest koi
slowly surfaces
Michele L. Harvey
Hamilton, New York
International
school for the blind
every fingertip sees
a different pink
David Terelinck
Pyrmont NSW, Australia
Youth
old cherry tree—
a spider weaves its cobweb
between two flowers
Cristina Ailoaei, age 14
Botosani, Romania
(Click here to see the judge’s comments on the top winning poems)
The sheer number of entries to this invitational is testament to the jubilation and spirit of shared delight that cherry blossom time inspires.
As an antipodean, enjoying the mid-winter gleam of emerging wattle, I would have hesitated to accept the privilege of judging this event, had I not been four times to Japan in cherry blossom time in the last several years, the most recent occasion being in April this year.
With so much said, and written, about blooming cherry trees, it is even more admirable that fine new poems continue to be written, fresh in content and expression.
Some poems immediately tug at the senses of the reader: others emerge more slowly but convince us of their reality, of being true to the moment, with clear imagery, or evocation of sound or other senses.
There is a place for humour. ‘@YVR Status Update …’ is such a poem, but I find it utterly convincing. Having seen whiteboards in hotel foyers that daily document the progression of the blossom front, and photos in newspapers that record the first nudge of buds on cherry trees, this poem recalls the near-hysteria, and anxiety, about whether the season will be a good one, or on time. In another wry take on our modern world, cherry blossoms are sent from an iPhone, contrasting with the joy of actually walking under them. The hunk in the construction yard sweeping blossoms presents another amusing, yet realistic image.
I journeyed through the Tohoku Region in November 2010, only months before the tsunami. I do not think this selection would be complete without a tribute to all those who lost their lives and those who mourn them, and the poem in the youth section beginning ‘draw a heart in the mud…’ does this aptly and with sensitive restraint. We mourn, too, but the presence of the blossom predicates hope and slow healing.
I would like to commend the organisers of the Invitational, who presented the poems for judging anonymously and clearly formatted, accompanied by clear guidelines. A great deal of work goes on behind the scenes when convening and presenting the results of a haiku celebration of this size.
I hope the poems selected for ‘Best of …’ and Sakura Awards, or which achieved an Honourable Mention, will rekindle, or convey, the joy of ohanami for those who read them. More importantly, I hope everyone who themselves penned a poem, or silently composed one in their mind, will recall the cherry blossoms of April 2012, and smile.
British Columbia
Sakura Awards (In Order of Merit)
missed the bus again.
cherry blossom petals
weightless in my hands.
Monica Wang
Burnaby, British Columbia
cherry blossom time
in Vancouver and Sendai.
will both celebrate?
Douglas Abel
Vancouver, British Columbia
soft-pedalling
along the avenue—
cherry blossoms
Mary Franklin
Vancouver, British Columbia
sent from
my iPhone—
cherry blossoms
Beth Skala
Nanaimo, British Columbia
blossoms bursting
each tree is a choir
singing to the sun
Oz Hershfield
Vancouver, British Columbia
cherry blossoms
she forgets she is seven
and bored
Harvey Jenkins
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Honourable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)
blind to the petals’ slow dance
I pull her closer
she watches the wind—
Jordan Ali
Surrey, British Columbia
community garden
new furrows full of
cherry petals
Sidney Bending
Victoria, British Columbia
morning commute
my wipers on low . . .
cherry blossom rain
Elehna De Sousa
Salt Spring, British Columbia
cherry blossoms pelt
windshields and pedestrians
take that Vancouver!
Mary Duffy
Vancouver, British Columbia
fewer blooms
on the windowsill this year
my bonsai cherry
Garry Eaton
Port Moody, British Columbia
somewhat tamed
by blossom time
the cherry’s wildness
Garry Eaton
Port Moody, British Columbia
Zoobi Doobi
cherry blossoms fall
on dancing umbrellas
Esta Mun
Richmond, British Columbia
@YVR Status Update:
cherry blossoms spotted
#collectivesighofrelief
Jackie Poon
Richmond, British Columbia
falling blossom
the boy waits
with open palms.
Yeddanapudi Radhika
Vancouver, British Columbia
blossoms scatter in the storm . . .
his withered hands catch
a cherry petal wish
Yilin Wang
Gibsons, British Columbia
Canada
Sakura Awards (In Order of Merit)
blossoms folded in new snow the paws of a spring hare
Patrick M. Pilarski
Edmonton, Alberta
untied shoes
in the cherry petals
a homeless man
Huguette Ducharme
Saint Pie, Québec
weeping cherry—
a petal lands
in my bento box
Pamela Cooper
Montreal, Québec
supermoon—
gathering cherry petals
in her light
Marilyn Potter
Toronto, Ontario
blossoms
opening, opening
each face
Terra Martin
Toronto, Ontario
Honourable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)
blowing at me
blowing past me
cherry blossoms
Peter Brady
Gatineau, Québec
cherry blossoms
at last the chance
to speak to her
Peter Brady
Gatineau, Québec
under the pink cloud
with my son
hanami time
Lyudmila Burdan
London, Ontario
falling—
on my wide-brimmed hat
cherry petals
Ellen Cooper
Montreal, Québec
where his name-tag was—
just a sprig
of cherry blossoms
Lin Geary
Paris, Ontario
cherry blossoms
against her pale cheek
April rain
Jean Jorgensen
Edmonton, Alberta
cherry blossoms fall . . .
ask first graders what they love
about yesterday
Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario
clutched
in the tiny fist
cherry blossoms
Terra Martin
Toronto, Ontario
new love blossoms . . .
within each cherry
a stone
Roland Packer
Hamilton, Ontario
United States
Sakura Awards (In Order of Merit)
construction site—
the hunk in the hard hat
sweeping blossoms
Carole MacRury
Point Roberts, Washington
cherry petals
gathered around the gravesite
reserved for me
Johnny Baranski
Vancouver, Washington
that fine line
between blossoms and fruit . . .
again crossing it
Angela Terry
Lake Forest Park, Washington
one more spin
around the old neighborhood
cherry blossom rain
Billie Dee
San Diego, California
mid-dream
the puppy’s tail stirring
cherry petals
Jennifer Met
Troy, Idaho
brief lives
today the cherry blossoms
seem more permanent
Rebecca Drouilhet
Picayune, Mississippi
Honourable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)
after the news
pink blossoms light
upon her scarf
Philip Allen
Hartland, Wisconsin
her memory
with every cherry petal
drifting away
Brett Brady
Pahoa, Hawaii
white cherry petals
filling the cracks of the stairs
to the cathedral.
Beate Conrad
Waterford, California
cherry blossoms . . .
the unfinished poem
in my pocket
Margaret Dornaus
Ozark, Arkansas
cherry blossoms . . .
the pregnancy test stick
turns pink
Terri French
Huntsville, Alabama
cherry grove—
the wordless touch
of a lover’s hand
Michelle L. Harvey
Hamilton, New York
remission
cherry blossoms
lighten the sky
Cara Holman
Portland, Oregon
cherry blossom petals
this quiet hour
before dawn
Cara Holman
Portland, Oregon
Earth Day . . .
the bees feasting on
cherry blossoms
Elena Naskova
Seattle, Washington
cherry blossoms
with my child
some of my childhood too
Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Washington
cherry blossoms
with my child
some of my childhood too
Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Washington
cherry blossoms
fall only once
first love
William Shehan
Chicago, Illinois
lengthening days . . .
a whisper of cherry blossoms
in the wind
Angela Terry
Lake Forest Park, Washington
a young boy
hidden in the cherry limbs . . .
blossom shower
Marilyn Appl Walker
Madison, Georgia
International
Sakura Awards (In Order of Merit)
a crow
always a crow—
weeping cherry
Margaret Beverland
Katikati, New Zealand
late spring,
this cherry blossom tree
one flower from darkness
Glen Fletcher
Maldon, Australia
first year of her death
bees pollinate the blossoms
on a broken branch
Ernest Wit
Warsaw, Poland
canal bank . . .
each cherry tree touching
its neighbor
Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland
first hanami
coaxing the spring child
to smile
Chung Hoo Tiong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
tread gently
upon these cherry blossoms
last year’s lie beneath
Quendryth Young
Alstonville, Australia
hanami
a last year’s leaf
makes lace
Sheila Windsor
Worcester, England
Honourable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)
even
on a dented beer can
cherry blossoms
Sanjuktaa Asopa
Belgaum, India
twirling
in the street vent’s heat
cherry blossom
Margaret Beverland
Katikati, New Zealand
after picnic
the o-bento filled
with cherry blossoms
Claudia Brefeld
Bochum, Germany
many temptations,
over a cherry blossom
a young bee buzzing
Adam Chmielnicki
Sosnowiec, Poland
cherry blossoms
after thousands of haiku
still beautiful
Frank Dietrich
Düsseldorf, Germany
cherry blossom
bonsai – wonder
how to prune it.
Cathy Keal
Bristol, United Kingdom
their branches almost touching . . .
glass-house cherry tree
and the one outside
Anatoly Kudryavitsky
Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
new ice cream shop
cherry petals enter
with every customer
Maria Kowal-Tomczak
Opole, Poland
cherry blossoms—
a basketful of
rice dumplings
Doris Plitzko
Stein, Germany
ocean of pink—
a blackbird’s yellow beak
among the blossoms
Gabriel Rosenstock
Co. Dublin, Ireland
playful wind—
a cherry petal
in the popcorn
Vania Stefanova
Sliven, Bulgaria
earthquake anniversary
kids are building a house
on a cherry tree.
Turgay Uceren
Mugla, Turkey
moving day
still in bud
weeping cherry
Yukiko Yamada
Osaka, Japan
Youth
Sakura Awards (In Order of Merit)
draw a heart in the mud
you fill it with tears . . .
top it with a blossom
Salisa Jatuweerapong, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
under a tree
struggling with my homework—
a blossom falls on me
Jerry Xu, age 9
Vancouver, British Columbia
pink sailboats
lost in the rapids…
young hands craft more.
Emma Upsdell-Reddekopp, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
in the lunchbox
are some rice, pork, a plum,
and a cherry blossom
Courtney Cheung, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia
ch er ry bl os so ms
sc at ter
on the picnic
Travis Kung, age 10
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Honourable Mentions (In Alphabetical Order)
cherry blossoms
all in a nice, neat row
getting blown apart
Rohin Ahluwalia, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
recess, and tag
running with petals on my face
precious pearls of pink
Erin Chong, age 10
>Vancouver, British Columbia
blossoms are creamy.
it feels much like a wedding.
do you think it does?
Kai Hamilton, age 7
New Westminster, British Columbia
the show is> about to start—
cherry blossoms wither . . .
just like my voice
Adin Kwok, age 13
Vancouver, British Columbia
up high in a tree
petals flying all around.
let me watch them fall.
Alexa Panusa, age 7
New Westminster, British Columbia
eating a sandwich
I look up to see
cherry blossoms
Mana Salehiparast, age 10
Coquitlam, British Columbia
even a cherry blossom
can puncture—
the darkest force.
Andrew Sze, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
ohanami
kin gather
cherished memories
Jennifer Wu, age 10
Coquitlam, British Columbia
one year ago
one country away I stood waiting—
cherry blossoms
Sherry Zhou, age 14
Palo Alto, California
clicking on the sidewalk—
pick up mud with pink petals.
her stilettos
Grace Zhu, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia