Judge's Remarks:

Northeast Kyoto is famous for its philosopher’s path. It is lined with hundreds of cherry trees, so the path in this poem is presumably somewhere else, lined with maples. Wherever this path is, surely it must be autumn, with the leaves in brilliant shades of orange, yellow, and red. This poem’s last word is unexpected but carries all the buoyant wonder of autumn.

Judge's Remarks:

Not only are the sunflowers turning to face the sun, but the foster child is turning from formality to familiarity. We can imagine that the people now addressed by first names are adults (because other children would already be addressed by first names). This change suggests a growing comfort and perhaps even a sense of belonging. No wonder the sunflowers are turning.

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Judge's Remarks:

Some species of snowdrop flower in winter, bringing a white brightness to the dreariness of the darkest season. The middle line also suggests Kazuo Ishiguro’s, The Remains of the Day, a novel about loyalty and moral dilemma. What’s left of the day, and perhaps also the season and of life, becomes more optimistic because of the flower.

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Judge's Remarks:

Touches of humor can also occur in haiku (not just in senryu). Here a family’s smallest child can’t help but choose the largest pumpkin. Whether that pumpkin is purchased and taken home we cannot know, but for the moment we can join in the delight of such a selection.

Judge's Remarks:

Such abandon. What pleasure to discover a patch of wild raspberries and to eat them ravenously. It’s also pleasing that this is a shared moment, experienced not just by one person but at least two, going wild together.

Judge's Remarks:

If you’ve ever been in a gentle snowfall, looking up can feel exuberant, whether in the dark (but with enough light) or in the daytime. It can feel like you’re flying upwards. This poem suggests that feeling of rising into the snow falling from above, but with the realization that the poet is indeed still earthbound. In this way, aspiration is balanced with reality.

Judge's Remarks:

This poem’s first line shows us that we’re on an airplane. The second line presents realistic comfort against the stress of midair turbulence. And then the third line provides a twist—that this friend is not real but imaginary. This could be an adult as easily as we might picture a child. Although the held hand is imagined, the turbulence is real. But surely the comfort is also real.

Judge's Remarks:

Learning how to round up numbers is a common lesson in younger school grades. But no one is paying attention because of cherry blossoms outside the school window. They are beautiful and ephemeral, perhaps shimmering in a breeze. How could any student pay attention to their lesson? What each student may not yet realize is their own ephemerality. Perhaps the real lesson is the beauty of nature.

Judge's Remarks:

We may immediately wonder who made the boat. Surely the person who also witnesses the dragonfly alighting on their creation. That small boat serves as respite for the small dragonfly, surely just as making the paper boat is a kind of respite or joy for the person who made it. Perhaps both the person and the dragonfly are seeking calm in the face of challenge and change.