2016 Haiku Invitational Winners presented by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.
Vancouver
double cherry blossoms
I breathe in
the entire sky
Rachel Enomoto
Burnaby, British Columbia
British Columbia
first driver’s licence—
showing friends
the cherry blossoms
Beth Skala
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Canada
bowl of cherry pits
my grandson tries to guess
my age
Marianne Paul
Kitchener, Ontario
United States
soft pedaling
our differences
cherry blossoms
dl mattila
Oakton, Virginia
International
can’t stop grinning
at pink cherry blossoms
first grandchild
Jan Dobb
Canberra, Australia
Youth
Beneath the blossoms
hands swinging
letting go
Victoria Vieira, age 17
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Click here for commentary on winning poems & here to learn more about the winners
All poems are listed in alphabetical order in each category.
Vancouver
Sakura Awards
voices
fading in and out
cherry blossoms
Ann Harreby
Coquitlam, British Columbia
cherry petal
in an updraft—
Hanyu’s triple axel
Vicki McCullough
Vancouver, British Columbia
sunlit blossoms
he removes his daughter’s
training wheels
Jacqueline Pearce
Burnaby, British Columbia
late blooming cherry
we measure time
by the size of her belly
Carl Seguiban
Burnaby, British Columbia
Just my fingertips
on her rounded belly
cherry petals fluttering
Monica Wang
Burnaby, British Columbia
Vancouver
Honourable Mentions
Cherry blossom petals
Girlhood secrets
Whispered breathlessly
Karen Drexel
Richmond, British Columbia
cherry petals
dancing
the leaf blower’s tune
Garry Eaton
Port Moody, British Columbia
into the air
handfuls of pink petals . . .
my old husband!
Diana Kason
Vancouver, British Columbia
first blossom day
the sweet cherry
loud with warblers
Vicki McCullough
Vancouver, British Columbia
morning commute
cherry petals pass me
in the carpool lane
Jacqueline Pearce
Burnaby, British Columbia
home from the hospital
the cracks in the sidewalk
filled with cherry blossoms
Liz Ann Winkler
White Rock, British Columbia
British Columbia
Sakura Awards
early morning stroll . . .
puddle gazing
into cherry blossoms
Elehna De Sousa
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
without you
the cherry blossoms a memory
of cherry blossoms
Tom Drescher
Rossland, British Columbia
cherry petals
a bit of cheer
for the busker’s cup
Dan Curtis
Victoria, British Columbia
note by note
cherry
blossoms
Tom Drescher
Rossland, British Columbia
morning dew
a garden snail sports
a blossom
Nika
Victoria, British Columbia
British Columbia
Honourable Mentions
In the absolute silence
of morning
cherry blossom petals drift
Cheryl Ashley
Nanaimo, British Columbia
an improv
of falling petals
cherry blossom jazz
Dan Curtis
Victoria, British Columbia
paper boat parade . . .
a cargo of cherry petals
floating downstream
Elehna De Sousa
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
champagne on ice
waiting, waiting
cherry blossoms
George Dueck
Sechelt, British Columbia
NO RICE NO CONFETTI . . .
janitor sweeps up
cherry blossoms
Beth Skala
Nanaimo, British Columbia
her birthday
my graduation
our cherry tree blooms
Gregory Skala
Nanaimo, British Columbia
Canada
Sakura Awards
first baseball game
our grandson bats
at a cherry petal
Marilyn Potter
Toronto, Ontario
planting the garden . . .
the hammock fills
with cherry petals
Ellen Cooper
Montreal, Quebec
pink blossoms
in her white hair . . .
Mother’s birthday
Joanne Morcom
Calgary, Alberta
“cherry blossom”
in my borrowed tongue
lingering scent
Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario
Canada
Honourable Mentions
handmade paper—
a few cherry petals
into the mix
Pamela Cooper
Montreal, Quebec
no need
for my straw hat—
blossoming cherry
Pamela Cooper
Montreal, Quebec
a box of crayons
in shaded sunlight
cherry blossoms
Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario
one star
becomes a galaxy
cherry blossoms
Katherine Munro
Whitehorse, Yukon Territory
tail up!
petal
on the cat’s back
Christine Nelson
Edmonton, Alberta
wedding toast
petal
stuck to my nose
Christine Nelson
Edmonton, Alberta
we see
small birds in the nest
first cherry blossoms
Isabelle Neveu
Varennes, Quebec
baby boomers
every dried cherry was once
a blossom
Marianne Paul
Kitchener, Ontario
sakura
in the garden centre
we choose her name
Debbie Strange
Winnipeg, Manitoba
International
Sakura Awards
the struggle
to find meaning
last cherry blossom
Mel Goldberg
Ajijic, Mexico
for the first time
I don’t feel overweight
cherry blossoms
Engin Gülez
Ankara, Turkey
workday’s end
the shifting pink
of petals
Polona Oblak
Ljubljana, Slovenia
cherry festival
a toddler eats
petal after petal
Iliyana Stoyanova
St Albans, United Kingdom
her seventieth birthday
cherry leaves brighter
than before
Barbara Strang
Christchurch, New Zealand
International
Honourable Mentions
petals fall . . .
all her birthdays
come at once
Helen Buckingham
Wells, England
this side
for the sakuras . . .
commuting
Mary Gunn
Dublin, Ireland
fallen petals—
the bride tip toes
across the aisle
Arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India
loneliness—
the scent of cherry blossoms
fills the silence
Marek Kozubek
Bangkok, Thailand
out of the dust
of a stone quarry
cherry blossoms
Gerard Krebs
Helsinki, Finland
one by one filling
with sunlight,
wet cherry blossoms
Anatoly Kudryavitsky
Dublin, Ireland
fifty years on—
a spray of cherry blossom
at her bedside
Natalia Kuznetsova
Moscow, Russia
en plein air
she adds cherry blossom pink
to her palette
Vanessa Proctor
Sydney, Australia
pink petals
on the service dog’s nose . . .
city park
Maria Steyn
Johannesburg, South Africa
picnicking
under the cherry blossom
nonagenarian
Andre Surridge
Hamilton, New Zealand
sakura festival
even the wind
wears pink
Maria Tomczak
Opole, Poland
cherry blossoms
appear and disappear:
white headlights
Tanvi Velankar
Sydney, Australia
USA
Sakura Awards
cherry blossoms
I lift the cover
off the birdcage
Carole MacRury
Point Roberts, Washington
rightsizing
the universe
drifting cherry blossoms
Gary Hotham
Scaggsville, Maryland
cherry blossoms
dreams beneath
the baby’s eyelids
Agnes Eva Savich
Austin, Texas
cherry blossoms—
rows of ruffles
on her princess dress
Carol Judkins
Carlsbad, California
USA
Honourable Mentions
black coffee—
a sparrow sipping
cherry nectar
Elaine Andre
Tacoma, Washington
scant pulse . . .
the pink petal drift
of his birth
Jan Benson
Fort Worth, Texas
cherry blossoms
my pregnant daughter tracing
the baby’s head
Marjorie Buettner
Chisago City, Minnesota
spring picnic
braiding cherry blossoms
into our hair
Susan Burch
Hagerstown, Maryland
cherry blossoms . . .
a soft breeze carries
grandma’s song
Sandip Chauhan
Great Falls, Virginia
over my shoes
under my shoes
cherry petals
Vijay Joshi
Monroe, New Jersey
leaning on me
Mom talks about Dad
first blossoms
Gregory Longenecker
Pasadena, California
cherry blossom blizzard
petals reshape
my shadow
Joyce Lorenson
Greene, Rhode Island
tentative steps
cherry blossoms fill
the empty wheelchair
Ann Magyar
Brighton, Massachusetts
hopscotch path
cherry blossoms
fill a void
Susan Mallernee
Dover, Ohio
al fresco
in the curve of her spoon
a cherry blossom
Susan Mallernee
Dover, Ohio
transitioning . . .
she whispers her new name
to the cherry petals
Tanya McDonald
Woodinville, Washington
the cadence
of the professor’s voice
cherry blossoms
Agnes Eva Savich
Austin, Texas
the cement handprint
that I’ve outgrown
yesterday’s cherry blossoms
Michelle Schaefer
Bothell, Washington
retirement party
longer day’s light
through new petals
Valorie Broadhurst Woerdehoff
Dubuque, Iowa
Youth
Sakura Awards
blowing through the temple
blossoms dance to the music
of silence
Pieta Bayley, age 10
Christchurch, New Zealand
pink blossoms flutter to the ground
cancer has come and gone
freedom
Nathan Cheng, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
When everything
seems unlucky
a cherry blossom lands in my hand
Abbey Hollingsworth, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
bird song . . .
cherry petals
dam the stream
Sarah Sakura Welch, age 10
Sammamish, Washington
Petals fall
like confetti
as we win a championship
Chloe Yip, age 13
Vancouver, British Columbia
Youth
Honourable Mentions
Blossoms Drift away
Blanketing the riverside
Snow in mountains
Paige-Rose Barrington, age 13
Christchurch, New Zealand
On the swing
Away from the world
Silky pink petals stuck in her hair
Stephanie Berringer, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
soft spring winds
leave a picture of blossoms
on the temple floor
Paige Bowman, age 12
Christchurch, New Zealand
childhood home—
on the cradle in the yard
cherry petals
Nadin Ghileschi, age 14
Botosani, Romania
all alone
a wisp of wind
a single cherry blossom
Sophia Hambleton, age 11
Vancouver, British Columbia
Me
in the tree
reading with blossoms
Zakariya Hasan, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
Pink rain
Fluttered down
Onto cupped hands
Jade Holness, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
My mind
ancient monsters
calmed by newborn blossoms
Bubble Jatuweerapong, age 12
Vancouver, British Columbia
Cherry blossoms falling
Like shooting stars
Time to make a wish
Kevin Lim, age 13
Vancouver, British Columbia
Sakura petals
Fall like snowflakes
Waltzing on my French horn case
Holly Liu, age 17
Vancouver, British Columbia
first light
in the spider’s web
cherry blossom
Ghileschi Nadin-Mihaela, age 14
Botosani, Romania
the long road ahead
blossoms falling around me
so little time
Sophie Oldham, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
At the river
the cherry blossom lantern
helps me find home.
William Sherborne, age 8
Christchurch, New Zealand
writer’s block—
cherry petals
tapping at the window
Sarah Sakura Welch, age 10
Sammamish, Washington
day break
her face lights up
a cherry blossom opens
Amy Wells, age 15
Dunsandel, New Zealand
One girl alone
Looks up to see
Friends dressed in pink
Jordan Wyder, age 10
Vancouver, British Columbia