2013 Haiku Invitational Winners presented by
Top Winners
British Columbia
a crow’s nest—
the wind drops
white blossoms
Julie Emerson
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada
waiting for the blossoms
the birds are still
up the magician’s sleeve
Marco Fraticelli
Pointe-Claire, Quebec
United States
lighting a path
for the cherry blooms
first grade teacher
Robert Michael Drouilhet
Picayune, Mississippi
International
this side of winter
tuning the mandolin
to mountain cherry
Leah Ann Sullivan
Nagoya, Japan
Youth
a bird bath
under a tree
filled with cherry blossoms
Iris Liu, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
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The mission of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which is the largest of its kind in Canada, is to sustain and renew Vancouver’s cherry tree heritage while educating and actively engaging diverse communities in local arts and culture. With over 40,000 cherry trees generously gifted by Japan in the 1930’s, Vancouver has declared the months of March and April as a time to celebrate the fragile beauty of the iconic cherry blossom in poetry, art, music, design, film, dance, crafts, photography, and cuisine.
Linda Poole, the festival’s founder and organizer has surrounded herself with likeminded aficionados who have assisted in building the festival to its present size. The Haiku Invitational Contest is one strand in the web of her design that includes the Cherry Jam Downtown Concert, Blossom Bollywood Dance, Sakura Days Japan Fair at the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, the UBC Botanical Sites, Blossom Maps, Tree Talks and Walks, Plein-Air Painting Sites, the BC Blossom Watch Photo Contest and more.
As judge of the 2013 Haiku Invitational Contest, I was honoured to be entrusted with the work of so many poets across British Columbia, across Canada, across North America, across the globe. I read and re-read hundreds of poems trying to find just one to represent the different categories. This is a very challenging thing to do, for so many were in close competition. I am happy that the sakura awards and the honourable mentions are able to name the work of fine poets. Because the judging is blind — I, too, await the announcement of the authors—and revel in the connection of poems with poets.
It seems as though the cherry blossom haiku fall into two camps: the happy to be alive and noticing the blossoms camp, and, the blossoms are here and then they die so do we all camp. Something about the winners carried their haiku even higher than these two distinctions. Lighting the trail for the future of haiku (and humankind), birds waiting in the magician’s sleeve, petals in a birdbath, the wind dropping white petals, and tuning the mandolin to mountain cherry were images that were fresh, evocative, surprising. I loved the resonance and implications of these poems…the fusing of motion and stillness, the hallmark of excellent haiku. And such fine sensory images from sakura winners and honorable mentions, calling us to pay attention, once again, to this lovely spring phenomenon.
I would like to thank all of those who entered this year’s contest and encourage them to participate again, next year, not only in the Haiku Invitational, but the myriad of activities outlined in the gorgeous website of the festival: v1.vcbf.ca. I would encourage teachers to send student poems and to send some themselves. I am hoping that families might have haiku competitions around the dinner table, that teens might teach us all about blossoms and technology. Finally, I would like to thank all of those connected with the contest who provided clear outlines for judging; there is such a great amount of work behind the scenes in a contest of this size. Kobayashi Issa was correct: “there are no strangers under the cherry tree”.
Terry Ann Carter
Victoria, British Columbia
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(in alphabetical order)
British Columbia
Sakura Awards
oh weary traveller—
shrine lanterns light
cherry blossom petals
Cheryl Ashley
Nanaimo, British Columbia
jostling the hive
a swarm of
cherry petals
Sidney Bending
Victoria, British Columbia
spring’s rejuvenation
petals casting their shape
on my tattooed skin
Chris Clarke
North Vancouver, British Columbia
dappled sunlight,
serving cherry blossom tea
to her dollies
Ann Harreby
Coquitlam, British Columbia
one full year
in remission
cherry blossoms
Harvey Jenkins
Nanaimo, British Columbia
cherry trees
at the Cancer clinic
still, she smiles
Angelika Kolompar
Nanaimo, British Columbia
I woke up to snow
piled in drifts along the street—
just cherry blossoms.
Genevieve Michaels
Vancouver, British Columbia
when i come home from school
the petals cling to my boots—
fragile as skin
Genevieve Michaels
Vancouver, British Columbia
Laughing in the cherry blossoms
We make angels
In pink snow.
Jill Warner
Surrey, British Columbia
Honourable Mentions
cherry blossoms
thousand butterflies
in my heart
Michele Blanchet
North Vancouver, British Columbia
empty park bench—
cherry blossom petals
on the ground
Margaret Farquhar
Mission, British Columbia
awash in pinkness
a city unfolds its arms
in salutation
John Greenaway
Port Moody, British Columbia
double shift
cherry blossoms arrive
overnight
Harvey Jenkins
Nanaimo, British Columbia
the drone of bees
in the Cherry blossoms
reminds me of home
Stu MacDonald
Vancouver, British Columbia
through granite and gusts
blossom pink plum and cherry
among Garry Oak
Suzanne Moreau
Victoria, British Columbia
a veil of petalled branches
on Nitobe’s log bridge—
I dream the cool day
Jeff Nulty
Vancouver, British Columbia
one last goodbye—
a sprig of cherry blossoms
on auntie’s casket
Elehna de Sousa
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
cherry petals
I burn my lip
playing harmonica
Jessica Tremblay
Burnaby, British Columbia
a blanket spread
under the cherry blossoms
teens work their iphones
Naomi Wakan
Gabriola, British Columbia
Canada
Sakura Awards
third funeral this month
still
the cherry blossoms come
Marco Fraticelli
Pointe-Claire, Quebec
Prendre la route
des cerisiers en fleurs
vers la vieillesse
Liettte Janelle
Boucherville, Quebec
cherry petals
on my cheek
I turn the other
Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario
alone at dawn
amid cherry blossoms
a butterfly’s dream
Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario
Honourable Mentions
after rain
cherry blossom footprints
all through the house
Patricia Benedict
Calgary, Alberta
robin redbreast
sing open these tight buds
future cherry blossoms
Tamara De Domiicis
Burlington, Ontario
Jour du mariage
le cerisier porte
son chapeau fleuri
Liette Janelle
Boucherville, Quebec
United States
Sakura Awards
pink blossom
the bionic parts
of my breast
Roberta Beary
Bethesda, Maryland
cherry blossoms
holding on till it’s time
to go
Michael Henry Lee
Saint Augustine, Florida
falling
through the moon
cherry blossom
Gerald A. McBreen
Auburn, Washington
under a blanket
of cherry blossoms. . .
her headstone
Nancy Nitrio
Orangevale, California
her hand in mine
the cherry blossoms
on both sides of the street
Stephen A. Peters
Bellingham, Washington
one child
out of single file
stray blossom
Michelle Schaefer
Bothell, Washington
the due date
circled in pink
new blossom
Michelle Schaefer
Bothell, Washington
cherry blossom petals
on my fedora brim
so dapper, so spring
P.L. Wick
Empire, Colorado
Honourable Mentions
spring breeze. . .
the scent of cherry
tobacco pipe smoke
Johnny Baranski
Vancouver, Washington
unfolding my mind. . .
the origami
of spring kanzashi
Julie Cain
Sturgis, Mississippi
sipping saki
under the sakura tree. . .
a haiku blossoms
Andrea Dietrich
Pleasant Grove, Utah
family picnic
under the cherry tree
one more than last year
Nan Dozier
Shreveport, Louisiana
earth day
the knell
of cherry blossoms
Donna Fleischer
Bloomfield, Connecticut
morning jog
cherry blossoms
shape the wind
Tom Painting
Atlanta, Georgia
playing together
on the swings—cherry blossoms
and wind
Julie Warther
Dover, Ohio
taking off
my pink bloomers too
cherry blossoms
Kathabela Wilson
Pasadena, California
International
Sakura Awards
blossoming cherry—
old mosque courtyard
and a stone catafalque
Smajil Durmisevic
Zenica, Federation of Bosna and Herzegovina
cherry blossom. . .
the baby—powder scent
of her skin
Jo Mclnerney
Boolarra, Australia
breaking light—
the pale vibrato
of cherry blossoms
Mark Miller
Shoalhaven Heads, New South Wales
homeless child—
painting a cherry tree
on the bomber
Rita Odeh
Nazareth, Israel
alzheimer—
she hasn’t forgotten
the cherry blossoms
Minh-Triêt Pham
Paris, France
cherry blossom
the shape
of their kiss
Andre Surridge
Hamilton, New Zealand
just for today
the blossom that was
never mine
Hansha Teki
Wellington, New Zealand
forgetting
we’ll soon have to part—
cherry blossoms
Sasa Vazic
Batajinica, Serbia
spring fever . . .
the cherry tree blooming
elsewhere
Sasa Vazic
Batajinica, Serbia
Honourable Mentions
stepping back
cherry petals
on the abandoned farm
Owen Bullock
Katikati, Bay of Plenty
widow’s birthday—
no one but the wind bringing
bitter cherry flowers
Lavana Kray
Iasi, Romania
cherry blossoms—
the scent bridging
the long river
Pravat Kumar Padhy
Vadodara, India
finally Spring
the old Sakura in the backyard
in full bloom
Kristjaan Pannemam
Lelystad, The Netherlands
weeping cherry
tiny coffin lowered
into soft ground
Nicky Phillips
Near Stevenage, England
as a sweet memory
the cherry blossoms
hold the snowfall.
Eliza Taddei
Montpellier, France
so this
is how it will end—
cherry blossom
Alan Taylor
Worcester, United Kingdom
Youth
Sakura Awards
my friend in the hospital
I give her
a branch of cherry blossoms
Courtney Cheung, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
pink in the sunset
pink of the cherry blossom—
together as one
Garett Hessels, age unknown
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Sakura Sakura
eternally
blooms our frailness
Holly Liu, age 14
Vancouver, British Columbia
all cherry petals fell off
she belongs
to another man
Gabriel Sawicki, age unknown
Wroclaw, Poland
a breath of warm wind,
blossoms spiral downwards
far sweeter than rain
Elizabeth Szalajko, age 17
Maple Ridge, British Columbia
Grandma is dying
she lays still then she sees
cherry blossoms fall
Richard Wong, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia
sakura
glide in the early morning
—sound of peace
Jennifer Wu, age 11,
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Honourable Mentions
the wind swirled in the sky
and made a pink tornado
I danced inside
Caitlin Ambrose, age 9
Vancouver, British Columbia
first blossom of the year falls
pink-
in a sea of green
Kristie Chan, age 13
Vancouver, British Columbia
recess, and tag
running with petals on my face
precious pearls of pink
Erin Chong, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
the cherry blossoms
fall from the umbrella
like a waterfall of pink
Lauren Fotheringham, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia
it was cold and grey
when the cherry blossoms came
falling like spring rain
Jasper Nidoy, age 16
Vancouver, British Columbia
beat down from bully
physical and verbal
while cherry blossoms fall
Richard Wong, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia
a single blossom
clings to the cherry tree
hope is here
Jenifer Wu, age 11
Coquitlam, British Columbia
the frappuccino
with cherry blossoms in it
sat in my cold hands
Andrew Yang, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
cherry blossoms
like many beautiful girls
dancing on the street
Eric Yang, age 15
Vancouver, British Columbia