Cherry blossoms . . . (a haiku)

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Mary Kendall

Golden Haiku Third Place Winner

In Washington, DC, the winners and runners up of the Golden Triangle Haiku Competition are displayed in individual signs on downtown streets. Mine placed third out of over 1,675 entries from 45 countries and 34 states, and the District of Columbia. This was quite a nice surprise for me. This year’s contest theme was “Spring in the City.”

Here is a press release giving background of this competition:

https://goldentriangledc.com/news/golden-triangle-in-washington-d-c-announces-2018-golden-haiku-winners/

Use this link to read all the haiku that are now on signs on Washington DC streets.

Click to access Golden-Haiku-2018-Signs.pdf

Photo by Theodor Horydcz, Tidal Basin with Cherry Blossoms, Washington, DC

Not mine, but this is an example of how all the haiku are displayed in the Farragut Square area of Washington, DC

Spent blossoms . . . (honorable mention)

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Mary Kendall

Sakura flower or cherry blossoms in Japan.

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
2017 Haiku Invitational Winners

USA
Honourable Mentions

spent blossoms—

the remission, too,

was unexpected

.
Mary Kendall
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

To view all the winners and honorable mentions, please click on this link to go to the official website:

http://www.vcbf.ca/haiku-invitational/winning-haiku/2017-winning-haiku

Note: The beautiful picture of cherry blossoms (above) is taken from the website, Flower Meaning (http://www.flowermeaning.com). Also, from this website:

What is the Sakura Flower?

While the Japanese called this flower the sakura, you likely know it as the cherry blossom instead. The blossom of the Japanese Cherry, also known as the Prunus serrulata, is technically the sakura flower. However, other varieties of blooming cherries are also grown in Japan and referred to with the same name. The cherry blossom became so popular in the Heian era of Japan’s history that the word for flower became synonymous with sakura. People have been picnicking under the blooming trees since 700 A.D., a tradition that continues today.

The beautiful and very short lived cherry blossoms symbolize the brevity of life. The kanji (above) is for Sakura or cherry blossom. I think the kanji is just as beautiful by itself as is a single cherry blossom.