🍀Summer note Haiku Park│Grand Prize, Gold Prize, Silver Prize🎊 Congratulations!!🎊

Thank you for waiting. I will keep the introduction brief.

As announced previously, here are the
announcements and critiques for the Grand Prize, Gold Prize, and Silver Prize!
Yay ‹‹\(´ω` )/››‹‹\(´ω` )/››‹‹\(´ω` )/›› Yay

Please also take a look at the notes of those who composed the winning haiku✨
I will also introduce some articles that caught my eye🤗

...

👑Silver Prize👑

Belly-up cat's ribs, summer thistles
Sowaka Haruta

This expresses the adorableness of a cat with plenty of playfulness.
The word "ribs" is striking. It might be a cat that is not in the best of health. But the cat itself is carefree. After all, it is belly-up.

It is fine to interpret that the cat sleeping on its back with its belly exposed is in the imagination or in a memory here.

It is also possible that the author, Sowaka Haruta, was reminded of their beloved cat by the appearance of the seasonal word, summer thistle. The creative process does not matter here.
A belly-up cat is cute. When this little one wakes up, I want to play with it. I'll give it some food, too.

Whether the idea jumped from summer thistles to the cat's ribs, or from the cat's ribs to summer thistles, or even if the belly-up cat and the summer thistles were simply there in a real scene.
Applause for the brilliance of the resulting haiku.
A fun haiku. One should write that good things are good.

Furthermore, this work and another fine haiku by Sowaka could not be dropped in the final selection.
There was no choice but to award both an Excellence Prize and a Silver Prize.
This is a talent that should be praised by readers as well.
(✨Article of interest✨⤵︎ ︎)

👑Silver Prize👑

Chasing a swallowtail butterfly, chasing the cat
Yuzu

Fun haiku continue. This one is innocent and artless.
The image of the seasonal word, the swallowtail butterfly, fluttering away comes to mind. The image of the cat chasing it also comes to mind easily.
The simple words are easy to understand and convey well even to children. Being able to compose a haiku that is easy for readers to understand is a great strength. It can be called a model for haiku beginners.

The heart that composed it so pleasantly reaches the reader directly. The refrain of "chasing" stirs the reader's excitement. Refrains go well with butterflies.
I was reminded of mysterious cats and boys and girls running through fairy tales and picture books. Perhaps it is the swallowtail butterfly effect.

Both the cat and the person chasing are filled with a sense of happiness. The author, Yuzu, is enjoying haiku with a smile.
Because honest happiness is conveyed from the work, it makes many readers happy and comfortable as well.
(✨Article of interest✨⤵︎ ︎)

👑Silver Prize👑

Paw pads gently touching the summer beach
Hiro-o

Cute. lol
One can easily imagine why it is gentle.
The summer sandy beach is hot. The cat steps forward with its front paws cautiously while its curiosity is boiling over.
Where does it step from? Probably from the leisure sheet, the owner's resting place laid out on the beach.
In other words, this cat can be considered a house cat.

It makes me want to expand my imagination further.
Perhaps this cat was brought to the sea for the first time.
It might have a timid personality.
The owner might be a small child.
What kind of household does it usually live in?

The images expand endlessly.
Returning to the work itself again. Calming my thoughts and just reading the haiku. What resonates with the five senses?
The smell of the tide. The sound of the waves. The sunlight. The texture of the sand. The texture of the cat. The sound of it meowing. A happy world.
(✨Article of interest✨⤵︎ ︎)

👑Gold Prize👑

Lemon-colored sway in the cat's eyes, Grain-Sowing Season
Kohinomu

A peaceful haiku that makes one want to pray for the stability of the world.
I felt that this work beautifully controls the balance of the world of Kohinomu on this day.

Focusing on the cat's yellow eyes, it gives moisture to the upper and middle phrases. The eyes themselves shine but do not sway. Only the color of the eyes, the lemon color, swayed.
It is the color of this world reflected in the cat's eyes that swayed for a moment; the cat itself seems like a quiet sage whose existence is unshakable.

The seasonal word 'Grain-Sowing Season' and the exclamation 'kana' brightly support this calm figure of the cat.
Because it is the Grain-Sowing Season, a fruitful future is implied. Seeds of hope are sown in time with the swaying lemon color of this world.
(✨Interesting Article✨⤵︎ ︎)

👑Gold Prize👑

Empty cage after the adoption, a summer morning
Mero

There are neither cats nor dogs in this haiku.
Even so, it is obvious that it overflows with the spirit of animal welfare. It is a technical, classic modern haiku.
The sorrow of the upper and middle phrases, and the energy of the lower phrase's seasonal word 'summer morning' make for an exquisite combination. There are no verbs.
I can hear the author Mero's voice asking Apollo, 'Do you understand?' How could I not?

After the adoption procedures are all finished, the body heat and scent of the animal that was just handed over still remain in the empty cage.
The effect of the exclamation 'ya' after the cage is also outstanding.

What do people think about on this summer morning?
They must be wishing for the happiness of the child who has left their hands.
And then, they begin their day caring for those not yet adopted and accepting new strays that appear.
Not spring, not autumn, not winter, but a summer morning.
People sweat again to carry on life.
Perhaps there is no time to mourn this parting.(✨Interesting Article✨⤵︎ ︎)

👑Grand Gold Prize👑

A kitten beside a baby pulling itself up to stand
Shino

A 'midorigo' is a baby. Although not a seasonal word, it is a very beautiful word that carries a sense of holiness. It is filled with a sense of life as vibrant as fresh green leaves.
A small child just old enough to pull themselves up to stand. By the way, children up to about three years old can be called midorigo.

The life snuggling up to this child in this haiku is also small. It is still a helpless kitten.
From early spring, the love and births of stray cats increase.
Kittens are especially adorable among the seasonal words for spring creatures. House cats rely on people and snuggle up to them.

The reality of young lives, both human and feline, is precious.
Poetic heart and haiku skill grow precisely in peaceful daily life.
As a result of sketching with a gentle heart, the seasonal feelings of spring and summer have happily and smoothly settled side by side.
While it is a challenging work that makes one think about the possibilities of new haiku, it is a scene that warms the heart no matter who reads it.

The talent for goodness grows while giving and receiving love.
Like a kitten growing naturally, like fresh green leaves regenerating, I have a premonition that this talent will continue to grow naturally and healthily from here on out.
(✨Interesting Article✨⤵︎ ︎)

Thank you for the wonderful haiku!!

Love and Peace🍀

🐱The announcement and critique of the Excellence Awards are here⤵︎ ︎🐱

🐱Hajime Nakaoka's impression article. A must-read⤵︎ ︎

I will post the editor's note at a later date (~ ¯︶¯)~ Wandering

How about some haiku about spring birds, love, and cats too?❤