2020 Haiku Invitational Winners presented by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.
Judged by Agnes Savich, Beth Skala, Gary Hotham

Top Winners

Vancouver

cherry blossoms fall—
the gentle quake
of baby kicks

Genevieve Wynand
Coquitlam, BC

British Columbia

cherry blossom
after cherry blossom
dawn’s slow light

Ulrike E. Narwani
North Saanich, BC

Canada

blossom wind
my sick wife holds my hand
tighter

Chen-ou Liu
Ajax, Ontario

United States

mixing concrete
a few petals
don’t hurt

Jeffrey Ferrara
Worcester, Massachusetts

International

petals in the wind
my girlfriend is never
where I expect her

Marcellin Dallaire-Beaumont
Brussels, Belgium

Youth

cherry petals
renewing the scarecrow’s
shabby coat

Andreea Buzuc, age 12
Botosani, Romania

Click here for commentary on winning poems & meet our winners!

All poems are listed in alphabetical order in each category.

Vancouver

Vancouver
Sakura Awards

self-isolation
cherry blossoms
a welcome distraction

Rita Ager
Coquitlam, BC

nuzzling
pink petals
her freckles in bloom

Vicki McCullough
Vancouver, BC

empty store shelves
the trees still filling
with blossoms

Jacquie Pearce
Burnaby, BC

Vancouver
Honourable Mentions

alone on the sidewalk
a name
in cherry blossoms

Peter Anderson
Vancouver, BC

cherry blossoms float
crow sits watching
tai chi

Judith Bowersox
Vancouver, BC

circling
the cherry trees
caution tape

Lysa Collins
White Rock, BC

life upended—
now time enough to note
morning’s new blooms

Carlie Condon
Vancouver, BC

Bees buzz
inside blossoms—
a foghorn moans

Lesley Donaldson
Vancouver, BC

behind the face mask
my smile is hidden
cherry blossoms

Johnny Lo
Richmond, BC

nearby laneways
previously undiscovered
cherry blossoms

David Randen
Coquitlam, BC

blossom confetti
when my wedding is allowed
mental note for next year

Chelsea Schneider
Vancouver, BC

cherry blossoms
stick to Joey’s fur . . .
a frosted pup-cake

Cheryl Slevin
Surrey, BC

cherry blossoms:
are they still cherry blossoms
if they bloom unseen?

Joan Tyldesley
Vancouver, BC

cherry blossoms
worn by
everyday heroes

D’Arcy Warner
Surrey, BC

children laughing
playing catch
with cherry blossoms

Jill Warner
Surrey, BC

British Columbia

British Columbia
Sakura Awards

entering the zoom room
cherry blossoms
braided into my hair

elehna de sousa
Salt Spring Island, BC

British Columbia
Honourable Mentions

social distancing . . .
on the street I’m touched
by falling blossoms

Dan Curtis
Victoria, BC

on the stoop
newspapers and petals
piling up

George Dueck
Sechelt, BC

first blossom
the pink of her blush
goes one shade darker

Anne Dunnett
Courtenay, BC

mono no aware
petals caught up
in our passing

Jim Roberts
Victoria, BC

into my room
the cherry blossoms drift
behind closed eyes

Susan Spooner
Victoria, BC

no witnesses, yet . . .
cherry blossoms must still drift
on my city streets

Susan Spooner
Victoria, BC

distancing
t o g e t h e r
under cherry trees

Magdalene van der Kamp
Sindey, BC

there you go
cherry trees
blushing again

Magdalene van der Kamp
Sidney, BC

Canada

Canada
Sakura Awards

missing you—
cherry blossoms opening
borders closing

Lori Austen
Kingston, Ontario

light rain . . .
a butterfly takes shelter
under the blossoms

Ellen Cooper
Montreal, Quebec

off my meds
cherry blossoms follow me
into dark spaces

Harvey Jenkins
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Kanzan cherry trees
the easy weight
of extra blossoms

Harvey Jenkins
Winnipeg, Manitoba

silencing me
a cherry blossom petal
caught in her hair

Josephine LoRe
Calgary, Alberta

Canada
Honourable Mentions

whirlwind
cherry blossoms
rise to their branches

Vera Constantineau
Copper Cliff, Ontario

pin cherry
white cloud burst
in a leafless forest

Bryan Cook
Orleans, Ontario

cherry blossoms!
the smile
behind her mask

Pamela Cooper
Montreal, Quebec

old eyes
wind carries cherry blossoms
to his window

Miriam Dunn
Nova Scotia

as her tiny fists
open and close
aroma of petals

Lin Geary
Paris, Ontario

defying
social distancing
cherry blossoms

Charlotte Hrenchuk
Whitehorse, Yukon

under cherry blossoms
only sparrows
grouping

Dorothy Mahoney
Windsor, Ontario

pandemic
the cherry blossoms
fall and fall

Joanne Morcom
Calgary, Alberta

sakura moon
how it sparkles
in his eyes

Veronika Zora Novak
Toronto, Ontario

cherry blossoms—
the slow pace
of the old dog

Luce Pelletier
Brossard, Quebec

pink wind
a cherry blossom disturbs
a tea leaves’ reading

Sandra St-Laurent
Whitehorse, Yukon

 

United States of America

United States of America
Sakura Awards

dark shadow
on the cherry blossoms
corvids

Suraja Roychowdhury
Lexington, Massachusetts

making their way
into the live news report . . .
cherry blossoms

Julie Warther
Dover, Ohio

United States of America
Honourable Mentions

even
from six feet away . . .
cherry blossoms

Stewart C Baker
Dallas, Oregon

children’s laughter
an avalanche of
pink petals

Meik Blöttenberger
Hanover, Pennsylvania

battlefield . . .
doves nest among the fallen
cherry blossoms

Ed Bremson
Raleigh, North Carolina

Cherry blossoms
the half life
of moonlight

Erin Castaldi
Mays Landing, New Jersey

first cherry blossoms
a child’s breath
on the windowpane

Kari Davidson
Granville, Ohio

drifting cherry petals
for a moment
we let down our masks

Kari Davidson
Granville, Ohio

at the end of the cherry branch
a blossom
and a child’s nose

Seren Fargo
Bellingham, Washington

cherry blossoms
I add a little rouge
to my daughter’s cheeks

Tia Haynes
Lakewood, Ohio

cherry blossoms
boarding canoes
at the water’s edge

Carol Judkins
Carlsbad, California

blossom shade
the softened faces
of the seniors’ group

Carole A MacRury
Point Roberts, Washington

in blossom light . . .
the tai chi class
moves as one

Carole A MacRury
Point Roberts, Washington

viral spring
spreading screen to screen
cherry blossoms

Holli Rainwater
Fresno, Ohio

all that’s left
of the moonlight
cherry blossoms

Rich Schilling
Webster Groves, Missouri

last light
in the neighborhood
cherry blossoms

Rich Schilling
Webster Groves, Missouri

cherry blossoms regardless

Judt Shrode
Tacoma, Washington

 

International

International
Sakura Award

park concert
blossoms hover over
the wind section

Marion Clarke
Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland

cherry blossoms
mother’s baby steps
holding my hand

Madhuri Pillai
Melbourne, Australia

International
Honourable Mentions

shaken blossom and the radar sweep of donkeys’ ears

Sheila K. Barksdale
Gotherington, England

a gun salute
how silently cherry tree
sheds petals

Marta Chocilowska
Warsaw, Poland

Under the blossoms
my birthday cake with cherries
from a tin.

Willy Cuvelier
Gullegem, Belgie

frozen blossoms
she doesn’t remember
the word cherry

Marie Derley
Ath, Belgium

Chopin softly
from the apartment above
cherry blossom breeze

Virginia von Hahn
Paris, France

in bucket list
to view sakura with mom
unticked

Su Wai Hlaing
Victoria, Australia

a longing gaze
following cherry blossoms
on her summer dress

Mercy Ikuri
Narok, Kenya

blossoming cherry
time refuses to move
on my father’s watch

Nina Kovacic
Zagreb, Croatia

slipped into pockets
of a sun-dried shirt
cherry petals

Marietta McGregor
Canberra, Australia

Easter parade
in the flurries of kimonos
so many blossoms

Mark Miller
Shoalhaven Heads, Australia

under the tree . . .
cherry petals alike
up and down

Dejan Pavlinovic
Pula, Croatia

blossoms
on the breeze
besame mucho

Gregory Piko
Canberra, Australia

back from the picnic
unpacking
cherry blossoms

Rob Scott
Melbourne, Australia

miscarriage
the stroller fills with
blossoms

Shloka Shankar
Bangalore, India

letting him go—
last batch of cherry blossoms
shrinking

Diksha Sharma
Delhi, India

eye candy
in spring morning rain . . .
cherry blossoms

Dinesh Shihantha De Silva
Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

ghost town . . .
sakura blossoms
flutter in the breeze

Iliyana Stoyanova
St. Albans, United Kingdom

demolition site
the blossoms hug
an old school

Alan Summers
Chippenham, England

from isolation
joy in the petal’d roof
of my parked car

Barbara A. Taylor
Mountain Top, Australia

No flower
in the cherry tree –
even the house is empty

Maria Tirenescu
Cugir, Romania

falling petals
he finds his mother
behind the rain

Xenia Tran
Narin, Scotland, United Kingdom

a snail
carries his shell
and a cherry petal

Mila Vukmirovic
Beograd, Serbia

 

Youth

Youth
Sakura Awards

cherry blossom rain
trying on for the first time
my mom’s wedding dress

Anca-Iuliana Chermaneanu, age 14
Botosani, Romania

cherry petals
floating on the wind
first dance lesson

Giulia Iacob, age 11
Botosani, Romania

Youth
Honourable Mentions

A sunlit day for a picnic
Our cherry blossom blanket

Mia Douglas, age 11
Christchurch, New Zealand

Over the Cherry Blossoms
A Crane gliding home

Chloe Drinkwater, age 10
Christchurch, New Zealand

cherry blossoms
a different fragrance
to every word

Praniti Gulyani, age 16
New Delhi, India

cherry blossoms
watching the mist
change color

Praniti Gulyani, age 16
New Delhi, India

cherry petals
jumping quietly
among koi fish

Maria Maiovski, age 12
Botosani, Romania

cherry petals
flying everywhere
filling up my drawing book

Emily Nguyen, age 10
Vancouver, Canada

Stars linger past sunrise
I wait
under cherry blossoms

Avery Reischer-Craft, age 14
North Vancouver, Canada

confined at home
waving at the cherry tree
outside the window

Ciobica Seby, age 8
Botosani, Romania

by the pond
a frog dives
into cherry blossoms

Chloe Sha, age 7
Christchurch, New Zealand

What is Hanami
Picnics under cherry trees?
Virtual walk on screen?

Alex Wan, age 16
North Bethesda, Maryland

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