The 25th HIA Haiku Contest Prize Winners
Haiku in Overseas
Prize Winners, selected by Toshio Kimura
| busker’s song coins rattle in a minor key | David Josephsohn (U.S.A.) |
On street corners and in parks on holidays, you may see street performances, such as music and acrobatics. There should be an empty can at the feet of the performers: the audience is expected to throw coins into it along with applause. Their songs would be uplifting tunes in major keys. However, this haiku tells us that the coins thrown into the can sound ‘minor’. Many street performers can be licensed, and even though they are authorized, the amount of money thrown might be small. The other side of the singing smile is implied.
| talking to roses when she gets angry thorns grow faster | Sebastian Chrobak (Poland) |
We often see people are speaking to their pets, such as dogs and cats. When they talk to plants, they must be particularly fond of flowers. And some people say that plants grow better when they are exposed to good music. This poet seems to sense a rose that is carefully nurtured seem to understand how people feel — if people are irritated, the rose would respond with its thorns.
Honorable Mentions, selected by Toshio Kimura
| summer’s end the silence between embers and moonset | Lev Hart (CANADA) |
| rainy summer barely visible the cemetery angels | Lyudmila Hristova (Bulgaria) |
| river-smoothed stone the part of me still here | Kat Lehmann (U.S.A.) |
| the garden path a trace of puddles leads to autumn | Marjolein Rotsteeg (Netherlands) |
Prize Winners, selected by David Burleigh
| war zone the dandelions advance on both sides | Eduard Tara (Romania) |
This is a concise and witty observation, about the indifference of the natural world to war,as well as the lessons and the hope that if offers.
| cherry blossoms throwing caution to the wind | Kevin Valentine (U.S.A.) |
The cherry is in full bloom and about to scatter, carried on the breeze to who knows where. There is freedom and joy in this humorous expression.
Honorable Mentions, selected by David Burleigh
| Spring wind… children reel in the sunset with their kites | Keith A. Simmonds (France) |
| a hawk cries the salt farmer starts to rake the sky | Ken Sawitri (Indonesia) |
| our old park bench so quickly the yellow leaves fill the empty space | Urszula / Marciniak (Poland) |
| supermoon all my walls look small | Engin Gülez (Türkiye) |