Signs with spring-centric haiku poems appear in Downtown D.C.

For the fifth year in a row, the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) has celebrated spring by placing signs with haikus throughout Washington, D.C.’s Downtown neighborhood. To choose what haikus to present, there was a poetry contest with 1,675 entries from 45 countries and 34 states, including the District. The theme this year was “Spring in the City.” There are approximately 250 signs showcasing the haikus throughout the neighborhood.

Each participant was able to submit a maximum of three haikus with submissions accepted through February 2. A group of “haiku experts” were the judges, including Abigail Friedman, author of “The Haiku Apprentice,” John Stevenson, managing editor of The Heron’s Nest, and Kit Pancoast Nagamura, columnist for The Japan Times.

See below for the list of first through third place winners as well as the D.C. winner:

First Place

the twitch

of a cat’s ears

pring drizzle

— Debbi Antebi

(London, England)

Second Place

a basketball spins

on the edge of the hoop

spring equinox

— Garry Eaton

(Vancouver, Canada)

Third Place

cherry blossoms

migrating from there

to here

— Mary Kendall

(Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

D.C. Winner

always

one step ahead

sidewalk sparrow

— Elizabeth Steinglass

(Washington, D.C.)

For a full list of all of the honorable mentions, head to the Golden Triangle BID website here.

• Golden Haiku: 2018 Award Winners! [Golden Triangle Business Improvement District]

• Golden Haiku contest will bring poetry to Downtown D.C.’s streets [Curbed DC]