http://psh.org.pl/13th-pihc-2023-results/
First Prize
return
so much fruit
on the cherry tree
Wiesław Karliński, Poland
The first line of an old song from the Shaker religious community in America is "'Tis the gift to be simple." Simplicity is an essential element of haiku as well, and this verse beautifully illustrates that proposition. We are not told who is returning or to what, but we can assume it is a homecoming, perhaps of a soldier or a student. Whoever it may be is glad to be back and excited to see this dear place prospering, as expressed by the happy discovery that the familiar cherry tree is bearing so well. Even the poet's lineation — lines of 2, 3, and 5 syllables makes this haiku seem to swell with delight.
Second Prize
autumn garden
her loneliness
changes colour
Mohammad Azim Khan, Pakistan
As autumn descends, the landscape loses bright colors and takes on muted shades of orange and brown. Similarly, we're told, the human subject's inscape also changes color, but what seems to be implied in this haiku is that the quality of her loneliness does not change but remains constant.
Third Prize
graduation day
how small the world
through grandma's glasses
Christof Blumentrath, Germany
On first reading this haiku seemed to present an unflattering judgment about an older woman and her inability or disinclination to see the larger picture. Rereading it, however, I began to think that the situation was actually one in which poet was describing the woman's pride in her grandchild's accomplishments; that is, on this auspicious occasion the grandmother's focus was entirely on the graduate. Then again, it could have been the older lady who was graduating, and the poet is admiring her single-mindedness in accomplishing this goal so late in life. In either case, I was pleased by this revealing mini-portrait of the poet's grandmother.
10 Commendations (not ranked)
Although it was not intentional, I see that for honorable mention I selected several haiku that deal with "big picture" social and political issues, for example, climate change:
global warming –
migratory birds
stay home
Aljoša Vuković, Croatia
he resurgence in the 21st century of attrition warfare:
a hundred years on
Christmas again
in the trenches
Marjolein Rotsteeg, The Netherlands
And the various crises over refugees and displaced persons:
at a fence
leaves are piling up –
asylum center
Willy Callens, Belgium
This verse might be taken as an eerily contemporary remake of Buson's Blown from the west, / fallen leaves gather / in the east [trans. Robert Haas, The Essential Haiku].
Other honorable mentions have to do with more traditional haiku topics such as the weather. The first killing frost may well mark an absolute border between two seasons:
the first frost
ending and beginning
at the same time
Andrius Luneckas, Lithuania
Atmospheric changes may sometimes be auditory as well as temporal:
frost
a new sound
of the wind
Sława Sibiga, Poland
Seasonal changes can cause a poet to lose concentration. This happened, for example, to American poet Yu Chang: wildflowers / on both sides of the road / I miss the exit.
first snowfall
finding more reasons
not to write
M. R. Defibaugh, USA
and atmospheric changes may be auditory as well as temporal:
early spring
the garden and I
work on each other
Julie Schwerin, USA
The heart-rending implication of the following verse is amplified by the irony that red roses traditionally symbolize love, passion, and vitality:
Valentine's Day
a bunch of red roses
on the roadside cross
Sue Courtney, New Zealand
The meaning of the next haiku shifts drastically when one considers that "pot" can mean either the trap in which a crab is caught or the vessel in which it is cooked.
low tide...
a crab scuttles across the bottom
of the pot
Greg Schwartz, USA
For the last honorable mention I selected this breezy little haiku with its slightly erotic overtones:
summer dress
all the ways breeze
finds its way in
Vandana Parashar, India