Haiku Contest
We are thrilled to announce the four winners of this year’s Haiku Contest! Each of the following poems was selected by judge and San Mateo Poet Laureate Emerita Aileen Cassinetto from among over 400 individual haiku poems submitted this year.
Finalists
Winner: First Place
spring gardens invite
nature's eager arrivals
your room is ready
- Mary Ingle-Steinberg
Winner: Second Place
flowering bonsai —
his fragrance
undiminished
- Dan C. Iulian
Winner: Under 18
Vermillion wings,
That bear the name of a queen,
Flutter, point skyward.
- Eloisa Lin
Winner: Filoli Ecopoetry Award
her orange petals
float beyond my imbalance
hover outside ink.
- Sharon Coleman
These evocative poems muse on the themes of migration and belonging – in gardens and the natural world, as well as in our own lives. We invite you to come visit Filoli during the month of May and experience them as they are displayed in the lush spring Garden! Our winning poems and six additional semi-finalists will be displayed throughout May in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Congratulations to our winners and thank you to each and every person that submitted their work!
Semi-finalists
ため息の 先の梢や 目に青し
My heavy sigh
drifting away toward the branches;
Bursting fresh green
- Kumiko Nishikawa
Migrating monarchs,
Gardens cradle wanderers
Each leaf whispers, “Stay.”
- Vidya Setlur
spring gardens invite
nature's eager arrivals
your room is ready
- Mary Ingle-Steinberg
poppies
her orange petals
float beyond my imbalance
hover outside ink.
- Sharon Coleman
Aromas of flowers fill the air
Islanders feast; the scent is home
- Nela Tafuna
my sister and I
in community garden
share humanity
- Adam Sadi
flowering bonsai —
his fragrance
undiminished
- Dan C. Iulian
First red-winged blackbird
Alights on new wildflowers
We're both curious
- David Jacobson
Vermillion wings,
That bear the name of a queen,
Flutter, point skyward.
- Eloisa Lin
qué alegría
caen más hojas que tinta
en mi cuaderno.
so joyful
leaves outweigh ink
in my notebook.
- Juan Pablo Tovar Ruiz