2008 Best Haiku
- 2008 Best Canadian Poem
a winter blizzard
I turn my calendar
to cherry blossoms
Toronto, Ontario - 2008 Best Youth Poem
evening prayer -
the cherry petals stick
to the paneKielce, Poland - 2008 Best B.C. Poem
late for work -
cherry petals
in my hairBurnaby, British Columbia - 2008 Best U.S. Poem
cherry blossoms
the baby’s hair too fineto hold a ribbonMarietta, Georgia - Best International Poemin clearing mistthe creaking of a heavy oar …cherry blossomsKyoto, Japan
2008 Sakura Award
For the dolls’ tea
small fingers gather
cherry blossom petals
Nanaimo, BC
a chessboard
abandoned in the park
cherry blossoms
Marion, Arkansas
Reminiscing . . .
as her walker wheels
gather cherry blossoms
North Vancouver, British Columbia
early shift
the roadsweeper’s cart
fêted with blossoms
Bristol, United Kingdom
the shared smiles
of passing strangers . . .
cherry blossoms
Tucson, Arizona
job interview—
through the office window
cherry blossoms
Houston, Texas
cherry blossom . . .
trembling with the weight
of its bee
San Diego, California
under the blossoms
business men
loosen their ties
Burnaby, British Columbia
my old cherry tree—
beneath its falling blossoms
his last resting place
Maberly, Ontario
cherry blossom rain . . .
I take the convertible
back to the showroom
Seabeck, Washington
cherry blossoms
pink
in the blind woman's hand
Tauranga, New Zealand
cherry petals
falling
into words
Varazdin, Croatia
first cherry blossoms—
creaking swings
in the twilight
Leers, France
the rest of the day---
cherry blossoms
to spare
Zwingenberg, Germany
senior's arm
rests against the branch
with no cherry blossoms
Edmonton, Alberta
wheeling herself
to the living room window . . .
cherry blossoms
Nacogdoches, Texas
blossoms
on a leafless bough—
the evening star
Tucker, Georgia
cherry blossoms—
our moonlit walk
becomes longer
Gornje Vrapche, Croatia
cherry buds
my daughter tries on her first
brassiere
Kielce, Poland
his children's names
forgotten . . . he asks about
cherry blossoms
Providence, Rhode Island
on the empty bench
where we last kissed
cherry blossoms
Peterborough, Ontario
cherry blossoms . . .
a child asks
if they are real
Nazareth, Israel
storm warning lifted
her car sheds
cherry petals
Nanaimo, British Columbia
stolen kiss
under the cherry tree her cheeks
the colour of petals
Nowy Dwor Mazowiecki, Poland
blossomy footpath—
difficult for the snail
to wend its way home
Dublin, Ireland
wash day
grandpa's pant cuffs
full of cherry petals
Seattle, Washington
tattoo booth
she inquires about
a cherry blossom
Ottawa, Ontario
cherry blossoms
collect at the base of the tree
her painted toes
Courtenay, British Columbia
alone
a cherry petal settles
in the other chair
Tacoma, Washington
calving season
cherry blossoms fly
from kicked-up heels
Elverta, California
neglected garden—
the slow drift of cherry petals
from my neighbor's tree
Batajnica, Serbia
2008 Honourable Mention Haiku
dusky full moon—
the shadows of cherry blossoms
across the path
Findlay, Ohio
petals drift
from the busker's flute
decorating his grey hair
Nanaimo, British Columbia
shaking off
cherry blossoms
the deaf dog
Washington, District of Columbia
branches of blossoms
fill the viewfinder
a child skips by
Surrey, British Columbia
cherry blossom
the bees read each petal
in detail
New Plymouth, New Zealand
cherry blossoms
a young girl dances
along the boulevard
Stony Chute, Australia
cherry blossoms
falling; we too
separate
Gatineau, Quebec
dappled shade
the toddler's fist spills
cherry petals
Nimbin, Australia
Fluttering down
through driving hailstones . . .
cherry blossoms.
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
wrinkled hands
reach to touch it –
cherry branch in bloom
Cambridge, Massachusettes
Mother's Day picnic
pitchers of pink lemonade
among the blossoms
Montreal, Quebec
Cherry blossoms—
Young lovers shake fallen
petals from their hair
Surrey, British Columbia
The white cane
caresses the low branches—
a smell of blossoms
Gullegem, Belgium
evening breezes
stir the cherry blossoms—
a newborn's sweet breath
Magrath, Alberta
On the old bench
two lovers illuminated by
the cherry blossoms
Bucharest, Romania
weeping cherry
my sandwich peppered
with pink petals
Plano, Texas
frog chorus—
half hidden in blossoms
a heron scans the pond
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
Carpet of blossoms—
my granddaughter in her pink dress
does a twirl
Vancouver, British Columbia
tea leaves—
a wandering blossom
begins to melt
Devon, England
tropical holiday
away from home
I dream of cherry blossoms
White Rock, British Columbia
raincoast garden
cherry petals land
on the seaweed mulch
Cortes Island, British Columbia
a blanket
under the cherry blossoms—
two freckled faces
Salmon Arm, British Columbia
after lovemaking
cherry blossoms
Pointe Claire, Quebec
Cherry blossoms!
The tax computation
falls onto the grass
Tuebingen, Germany
in a gust of petals
his old box camera
pink pink pink
Paris, Ontario
grumbling husband—
all over his car
sodden cherry blossoms
Coquitlam, British Columbia
Amidst the blossoms
I thought I saw
Her smile again
Vancouver, British Columbia
patio breeze
leaving the blossoms
fallen
Winchester, Virginia
Cherry blossoms
we wear
our party clothes
Belleair Bluffs, Florida
alone
after returning the ring
cherry blossom rain
Temple City, California
stairs covered
with cherry blossom petals . . .
piano music
Dublin, Ireland
reading Chekhov
with cherry blossoms blooming
in grandma’s garden
Moscow, Russia
cherry blossoms . . .
paper lanterns glow pink
under the stars
Eastport, Maine
cherry trees in bloom . . .
the cracked sidewalk
of the science museum
Bristol, Rhode Island
fine mist falling—
cherry blossoms stick
to the duck's back
Bellevue, Washington
date under a cherry—
the lovers leave with petals
still on their car
Zagreb, Croatia
cherry blossoms
a child's arms back and forth
to make a snow angel
Toronto, Ontario
cherry blossoms!
we remember
to exhale
Chappaqua, New York
poised
on a storm-drain grate—
cherry petal .
Vancouver, British Columbia
Behind cherry blossoms
Two blue tracksuits
A quick kiss
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
waking up at night
whiteness of cherry blossoms
is the only light
Plonsk, Poland
gentle breeze