1st Place

one book left
in the little free library
plum blossoms

Ann Magyar

Brighton, Massachusetts

Judge's Remarks:

The neighborhood where I live has a little free library where you can help yourself to any book that grabs your fancy and leave books as well. This practice brightens and connects the community, providing a way to see books that you might not otherwise know about. But what sets this poem apart is the juxtaposition of the first two lines with plum blossoms. Just as the blossoms seem to come and go quickly, so too do the books. Spring has also brought neighbors out of their houses, so no wonder there is just one book left—for now.

2nd Place

 

cherry petals…

I leave my sorrows

in the breeze

Daniela Misso

San Gemini, Italy

Judge's Remarks:

How does this happen? Whatever sorrows one might have amid the challenges of life—an illness, a lost pet, a dying loved one—they can be momentarily lost when one sees beauty in the world. As these cherry petals drift in the breeze, they take the poet’s sorrows with them. A key word here, though, is “leave.” Those sorrows aren’t just taken. Rather, the poet chooses to leave those sorrows behind. This is an active choice, not passive, and suggests a brighter future with diminished sadness.

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3rd Place
 

origami

folding silently

into myself

Jay Friedenberg

Sleepy Hollow, New York

Judge's Remarks:

The contemplative and exacting pastime of folding origami brings us to silence, not just in concentration but in devotion and attention. Paper-folding can be both an escape from ourselves and into ourselves. Writing and reading haiku can do this too. As poet Mary Oliver once said, “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

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Adult Honorable Mentions
 

cherry blossoms…

the seasons

between us

Daisy Sclater

Ditchling, England

Judge's Remarks:

​At the ephemeral moment of seeing cherry blossoms, perhaps falling in the breeze, the poet here may well be thinking about a loved one—the years and even physical distance between them. This haiku suggests loss, yet also respect and honor. It’s perhaps not so much about difference but about timing. An older person, implied in this poem, was once young themselves. The blossoms will fall, and some of the tree’s seeds will become new trees to bloom in the future.

Adult Honorable Mentions

wisteria blooms
the young girl rings
her bike bell

John Pappas

Brighton, Massachusetts

Judge's Remarks:

How beautiful, to see wisteria in full bloom. No wonder the young girl rings her bike bell in an act of joyful participation with the beauty around her. The Italian actress Eleanora Duse once said, “If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”

Adult Honorable Mentions

dandelion fluff
the strange coincidence
of being alive

Stefanie Bucifal

Konstanz, Germany

Judge's Remarks:

In a way, every person alive has won a huge lottery—to be alive at all. That we are born when others have never existed is perhaps chance rather than coincidence, but this poem asks us to consider coincidence. If we blow on dandelion fluff, where will the seeds go? Will any of them survive and grow? Chance governs each seed’s survival, just as unknown factors may affect our own existence. But coincidence brings different chances together.

Youth Honorable Mentions

garden snails 
on each fallen leaf 
an autograph
 

Luca Bobeica

Botosani, Romania

Judge's Remarks:

​These have been busy snails, adding traces of their existence to the fallen leaves. We can’t see the snails anymore, and soon those fallen leaves will disappear too. Which leads us to wonder—in the ongoing march of time, where have each of us left our mark?

Youth Honorable Mentions

moving day
a support group
of rag dolls  

Iasmina Butnarescu

Botosani, Romania

Judge's Remarks:

​This is a youth poem, but it could easily have been written by an adult. Regardless of our age, moving can be stressful, and we could all do with a support group to help us through its challenges. That this support group is one of rag dolls is a reminder of how stressful moving can be on children and teenagers.

Youth Honorable Mentions

sand castle
horseshoe crabs heading
for the ramparts

Gian-Luca Niculcea

Botosani, Romania

Judge's Remarks:

This castle is under siege! And this seems to be perfectly fine with the poet, or perhaps unavoidable. It’s easy to imagine a long summer day, and as the sunlight wanes, surely the tide will turn and take the sandcastle. But first, horseshoe crabs will have their go. We all come from dust and return to dust—or sand. This is a poem of acceptance, and of close observation.