Haiku 2007

2007 Best Canadian Poem

street hockey
young boys shoot cherry petals
into the net

Terry Ann Carter
Ottawa, Ontario

2007 Best U.S. Poem

cherry blossoms
in every upturned face
a child’s eyes

Karen Cesar
Tucson, Arizona

2007 Best International Poem

cherry blossoms
just a little piece
of blue sky

Grzegorz Sionkowski
Torun, Poland

2007 Best Youth Poem

glistening on
the field’s dew
cherry blossom light

Candis Rooker (15)
Vermilion,Ohio

the way she sings
when no one is listening—
cherry blossom dusk

Susan Antolin
Walnut Creek, California

stolen kiss
the whisper
of cherry blossoms

Susan Constable
Nanoose Bay, British Columbia

cherry blossom
his HIV test
negative

Amitava Dasgupta
Houston, Texas

starlight
above the outhouse
first blossoms

elehna de sousa
Salt Spring Island, British Columbia

just for a moment
under the cherry blossom
she looks much younger

Julie Downsbrough
Burnaby, British Columbia

sakura . . .
the taste of chilled wine
from a clay cup

Lorin Ford
Brunswick, Australia

the wiggle
of a bee’s behind—
cherry blossom

Laryalee Fraser
Salmon Arm, British Columbia

an old white cat
climbs up the cherry tree
moonlit blossoms

Barry Goodmann
Hackensack, New Jersey

cherry petals
a child adds a handful
to the busker’s cap

Christopher Herold
Port Townsend, Washington

first date
his face the color
of the cherry blossom

Maria Kowal
Bierun, Poland

the beaver’s tail
strikes bright water—
cherry blossoms

Peggy Lyles
Tucker, Georgia

cherry petals
pressed against the window
the cat’s pink nose

Autumn Moon
Tucson, Arizona

seeking a poem—
I open my book and find
a cherry blossom

Lorene Oikawa
Surrey, British Columbia

scent of cherry blossom
the tree moves
ever so faintly

Patricia Prime
Auckland, New Zealand

Cherry petal shower—
the kindergarten children
turn their palms up.

Zhanna P. Rader
Athens, Georgia

cherry blossoms—
with my daughter in my arms
I am weightless

Andrew Riutta
Traverse City, Michigan

silence between us . . .
cherry petals
in flight

Natalia Rudychev
Des Plaines, Illinois

sunset
blossom on the cherry tree
grows pinker

Katrina Shepherd
Dunblane, Scotland

memorial garden
your perfume
among the weeping cherries

Sandra Simpson
Tauranga, New Zealand

the sky fades—
through the blossoming cherries
first stars

Bogdanka Stojanovski
Novi Sad, Serbia

pink receiving blankets
stacked in the corner
budding cherry

Angela Terry
Lake Forest Park, Washington

blossom-viewing
the father awaits news
of his firstborn

Tony A. Thompson
Lufkin, Texas

blossoms . . .
a lover’s whisper fades
into fragrance

Marilyn Appl Walker
Madison, Georgia

I shed my sweater
buds on the cherry tree
opening

Quendryth Young
Alstonville, Australia

holding hands
by the creek—
cherry blossoms bloom

Laura Bodde (16)
Vermilion, Ohio

glistening on
the field’s dew
cherry blossom light

Candis Rooker (15)
Vermilion, Ohio

shooting stars—
I have found cherry blossoms
again

Chris Scott (15)
Vermilion, Ohio