2021 Haiku Invitational Winners presented by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.
Judged by Chuck Brickley, Terri L. French, Claudia Radmore
Top Winners
| Vancouver
for lease Ann Harreby |
United States
letting the mask fall Chad Lee Robinson |
| British Columbia
keeping her secret… Susan Constable |
International
first blossoms— Rita Odeh |
| Canada
the foster child’s Charlotte Hrenchuk |
Youth
empty playground Sebastian Ciobica, Age 9 |
Click here for commentary on winning poems & meet our winners!
All poems are listed in alphabetical order in each category.
Vancouver | British Columbia | Canada | United States | International | Youth
Vancouver
Vancouver
Sakura Awards
Cherry blossoms
ready for another day
of paparazzi
Rita Ager
Coquitlam, BC
still
in her night-time braid
cherry blossoms
Ann Harreby
Coquitlam, Canada
somehow
cherry blossoms
go with everything
David Randen
Coquitlam, BC
rover on Mars—
my palms open
to pink petals
Julie Emerson
Vancouver, BC
my grandson’s first visit
partitioned by the window
cherry blossom
Johnny Lo
Richmond, BC
Vancouver
Honourable Mentions
after the chemo
making a wish
on cherry petals
Antoinette Cheung
Vancouver, BC
this year’s blossoms,
you are viewing from
above the sky
Rachel Enomoto
Burnaby, BC
falling blossoms
land lightly on the tents
of the homeless
Joan Tyldesley
Vancouver, BC
city park
the little boy
hugs a cherry tree
Lysa Collins
White Rock, BC
bending toward
the Shawarma truck’s warmth
first blossoms
Jacquie Pearce
Burnaby, BC
British Columbia
British Columbia
Sakura Awards
senior’s home
the carved cherry blossoms
on her cane
Terry Ann Carter
Victoria, BC
cherry blossoms
hanging on
every unspoken word
George Dueck
Sechelt, BC
rain delay
cherry petals
covering home plate
George Dueck
Sechelt, BC
waning snow
moonlight follows the bough
to the blossom
Lyle Rumpel
Victoria, BC
cherry blossom
one last spring
before I move again
Sheila Weaver
Sechelt, BC
British Columbia
Honourable Mentions
a soft breeze…
cherry petals flutter
into the hummingbird’s nest
elehna de sousa
Salt Spring Island, BC
sakura viewing—
my daughter chooses
her cherry blossom mask
elehna de sousa
Salt Spring Island, BC
Mona Lisa—
your falling-cherry-blossom
smile
Ulrike E. Narwani
North Saanich, BC
cherry petals drift
settle gently
tent city
Magdalene van der Kamp
Sidney, BC
Canada
Canada
Sakura Awards
cherry petals…
the chalk rainbow
fading
Pamela Cooper
Montreal, Quebec
confinement
the neighbour’s cherry tree
blooms for the first time
Huguette Ducharme
Saint-Pie, Quebec
hand in hand
we view cherry blossoms
one more time
Joanne Morcom
Calgary, Alberta
stillborn
snow laden
cherry petals
Veronika Zora Novak
Toronto, Ontario
gender reveal party
a cascading shower
of cherry blossoms
Marianne Paul
Kitchener, Ontario
cherry blossoms
the pink lightness
of all concerns
Luminita Suse
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
Honourable Mentions
pink petals
open then fall—
menopause
Tracey Anderson
Edmonton, Alberta
cherries in bloom—
barely visible
the setting sun
Ellen Cooper
Montreal, Quebec
hanami bento
savouring each
cherry petal
Michael Dudley
Stratford, Ontario
still shovelling snow
somewhere
cherry blossoms
Charlotte Hrenchuk
Whitehorse, Yukon
drifting blossoms
she sighs and lets go
of my hand…
Chen-ou- Liu
Ajax, Ontario
cherry blossoms
who notices
the new moon
Nancy Richards
Crapaud, Prince Edward Island
pink blossoms…
the temple dog
follows the monk
Susan Bonk Plumridge
London, Ontario
United States of America
United States of America
Sakura Awards
faded memories
sitting in our cherry tree
before I blossomed
Dana Clark-Millar
Bend, Oregon
cherry blossom rain
I fold her obituary
into a butterfly
Cherese Cobb
Maryville, Tennessee
budding blossoms
the conductor’s arms
begin their rise
June Rose Dowis
Shreveport, Los Angeles
the moon
playing second fiddle
cherry blossom
Susan Beth Furst
Fishersville, Virginia
the only stimulus
I need
cherry blossoms
Amy C Losak
Teaneck, New Jersey
pink petals
her tiny hands
unfurling
M. Shane Pruett
Salem, Oregon
no one
keeping their distance
cherry blossoms
Rich Schilling
Webster Groves, Missouri
United States of America
Honourable Mentions
sweeping the sidewalks
he fills his pocket
with cherry blossoms
Kathryn Bold
Coto de Caza, California
blossom scent
the blind girl sticks out
her tongue
Billie Dee
Las Cruces, New Mexico
child’s tea party
a sakura petal
in every cup
Rebecca Drouilhet
Picayune, Mississippi
one long year later
the cherry blossoms open
like nothing happened
Mariya Gusev
Arlington, Virginia
winter cherries
the long wait
for a vaccine
Bruce H. Feingold
Berkeley, California
new moon
you left before
the first blossom fell
Frank Hooven
Morrisville, Pennsylvania
cherry blossoms fall
we continue to count
how many we have lost
T. M. Hudenburg
Lewes, Delaware
layover
we talk about the cherry buds
and infinity
Vicki Miko
Costa Mesa, California
the baby
we wish we could have
scattered petals
Lori A Minor
Warren, Ohio
backyard cherry tree
he ties his wife’s pink head scarf
around a bare branch
Julie Schwerin
Greendale, Wisconsin
hanami
seated in the stroller
a chihuahua
John Zhang
Itta Bena, Mississippi
cherry blossoms
we pick up what remains
of our marriage
Grix
Middletown, Delaware
International
International
Sakura Award
cherry blossoms
I still believe
in pinky promises
Cezar Ciobica
Botoșani, Romania
cherry buds
she repeats silently
how to tell him
Henryk Czempiel
Strzelce Opolskie, Poland
fallen petals
the road sweeper
dithers
Nikola Duretic
Zagreb, Croatia
Canon in D
the steady measures
of petal fall
Marietta McGregor
Canberra, Australia
petal by petal
the old cherry tree
sheds the light
Mark Miller
Shoalhaven Heads, Australia
softer
through the sakura
full moon
Srinivas S
Chennai, India
the person
you would have become…
cherry blossom
Tony Williams
Glasgow United Kingdom
blooming cherries
a school excursion
to Auschwitz
Ernest Wit
Warsaw, Poland
International
Honourable Mentions
behind barbed wire
showered with cherry petals
—a refugee
Nikola Duretic
Zagreb, Croatia
blooming cherries
my daughter writes her first
love song
Nadejda Kostadinova
Sofia, Bulgaria
cherry blossoms
heavy with raindrops…
widowhood
Natalia Kuznetsova
Moscow, Russia
cherry blossoms
the children playing
hide and seek
Vibeke Laier
Randers, Denmark
full moon
a cherry blossom
on the sunroof
Gregory Piko
Canberra, Australia
sakura moon
the time he takes
to forget me
Richa Sharma
Ghaziabad, India
cherry blossoms…
handfuls of petals
in the beggar’s hand
Ali Znaidi
Redeyef, Tunisia
Youth
Youth
Sakura Awards
a crane swoops
from side to side
blossoms drift
Aveline Forsyth, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
at the park
cherry blossoms
blowing over the goalpost.
Annabel Kelly, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
I sneeze twice
but can’t look away
cherry blossoms
Ella McLaren-Kennedy, Age 11
Vancouver, Canada
new hammock
a spider web stops the fall
of cherry petals
Anamaria Olaru, Age 13
Botoșani, Romania
dark stormy night
cherry blossoms in the wind
leading my way home
Lucy Penney, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
Youth
Honourable Mentions
gust of wind
cherry petals
mask my teddy bear
Sebastian Ciobica, Age 9
Botoşani, Romania
A fawn
with his coat of cherry blossoms
wanders under the full moon
Tom Dennis, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
early morning
I follow the blossoms
to the mosque
Chole Evans, Age 11
Christchurch, New Zealand
in a dark street
a white kitten
plays with cherry blossoms
Olivia Fry, Age 10
Christchurch, New Zealand
morning
blossoms walk me
to school
Isabelle Harrison, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
After a concert
blossoms blow
into a clear lake
William Johnson, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
early morning
cherry blossoms
first at the temple
Celina Kuang, Age 9
Christchurch, New Zealand
After prayers
cherry blossoms skim
the temple pond
Henry Palmer, Age 8
Christchurch, New Zealand
birdbath
cherry blossom rain
speckling the moon
Karina Panainte, Age 13
Botoşani, Romania
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