Haiku Contest Winners
We are thrilled to announce the four winners of the 2022 Haiku Contest! Each of the following poems was selected by judge and San Mateo Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto from among over 800 individual haiku poems submitted this year.
First Place
Hummingbird on nest.
She sits with patience and care.
The garden holds her.
-Candice Ward
Second Place
wisteria
weighed down by froth
of too much joy
-Jenna Le
Best Under 18
I'm born as a seed
The wind carries my future
A new life begins
-Katherine Kelly
Ecopoetry Award
一滴の
波紋や花と
実となりて
Translation:
A drop of water
makes a ripple, and it ends
up as flowers and fruits
-Kumiko Nishikawa
Semi-finalists
Dewdrop, raindrop, pool—
in spring sun, water renews.
All drink from this cup.
-Heather Kinser
Dancing like petals,
the boy and butterfly played
games of garden tag
-Aaron Huang
The garden teaches
that each plant and person must
bloom at her own time
-Frances Freyberg
Soft petals in sun
So delicately glinting
Fragile roots of earth
-Cassandra Bousquet
A hawk circles high
Above the clock tower; red
Tulips face the sky.
-Rose Anna Higashi
the sweet morning rain
falls against the hibiscus.
the colors explode.
-Chloe Chou
We invite you to come visit Filoli during the month of May and experience these evocative poems as they are displayed in the lush spring Garden that inspired them!
Prizes
First Place: Filoli Household Plus Membership and Gift Basket
Second Place: Filoli Individual Plus Membership
Best Under 18: Filoli Household Membership
Filoli Ecopoetry Award: Filoli Household Membership
All ten semifinalists will have their poem printed and displayed throughout the garden during the month of May.
Poems submitted will be used by Filoli for promotional materials, and the winning poems may be published on our social media and marketing channels
AAPI Month
During the month of May, Filoli honors Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. Explore highlights from our bonsai collection and submit your best haikus inspired by Filoli’s spring Garden to our annual contest.