Magic of maples haiku competition

Winners announced!

During the month of March, we received hundreds of haiku entries from around the world, all based on the theme of the magic of maples. The judges have made their decision on each category, and the winners will form part of an outdoor exhibition during our autumn season (September – November), 2026. 

A huge thank you to all who entered, to the judges and also to our partners the British Haiku Society who were key to making this competition happen.

The winning poems, and their authors are listed below. Further judges commentary can be found here.

Under 18s

Young poet special prize: Antonia Chersan, Romania

red maples
prolonging
sunset

Over 18s

1st place:  Christine L. Villa, USA

a child lifts her skirt to catch falling leaves
crimson sunset

2nd place: Rupa Anand, India

fallen maple leaves
glistening with raindrops
autumn dusk

3rd place: Morgan Ophir, Australia

sketching
a maple leaf
redwing's song

Commendations:

maples turning…
the sweetest peach
I ever had

Tony Williams, Scotland

***

maple-lit river
     slow wakes
from oars

Keiko Izawa, Japan

***

maple branches
dusted with last night's snow…
the crow's tucked head

Janice Doppler, USA

***

fallen leaves
our dog jumps into a sea
of crimson

Debbie Strange, Canada

***

never falling
simply letting go
maple leaves

Jonathan Aylett, UK

Honourable Mentions:

bigleaf maple
     wavering shadow
          on trailing blackberries

Richard Tice, USA

***

the scent
of fallen maple leaves . . .
first day at school

Nicholas Klacsanzky, USA

***

fallen maple leaf
a few ants follow
the veins

Nicholas Klacsanzky, USA

***
a red maple leaf —
the bookmark from
an ancient autumn

Tomislav Maretić, Croatia