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.