Yes, you read that right: Finally finally FINALLY here are the results of my 4th haiku contest which was.... 2 months ago.

Cue title graphic.

I know, life gets in the way. I have talked with some of you on Discord (before I went MIA from it a few weeks ago) and other places and everyone is being very nice, politely telling me it's ok that I'm so late, and kindly making excuses for me: life gets in the way, family first, and so on.

All this is true. Life does get in the way. Family does come before hobby or work. But I still feel really bad about being so late with the results. I make no excuses for it; I messed up and as a result I made you wonderful folks wait for several extra weeks. I apologize for that. I also apologize to @isleofwrite. I accepted their kind donation of 10 SBD for the contest rewards and then sat on that money for a much longer time than was agreed upon. It's just sitting in my Steemit wallet so I haven't benefited from it in any way, but still... they didn't donate it for me to sit on it. Once again, everyone, I'm sorry.

m(_ _)m

(that is a Japanese emoji of someone bowing head to floor in apology, btw)

With that out of the way, let's get on with the winner announcements.

(Imagine there is a drum roll.)

Special mention

My good friend @geekorner always has one of his non-entries for me. How can I not mention this wonderful ku:

The sun shines,
and the cats sleep.
Short pants galore.

First honorable mention

@puppetmaster1111

The spring air conceals
the warm shadows
of my breath

My comment: I like the structure here. The warm shadows of my breath. What a delightful image.

Second honorable mention

@alheath

ice melts
droplets of water
on petals

My comment: A perfect snapshot in the shasei style. This is a fantastic haiku.

3rd place

@tinypaleokitchen

More snow
covers green shoots:
not quite spring

My comment: Mother nature is a tricky one, isn't she? Every year I am fooled! This haiku expressed that perfectly

2nd place

@bex-dk

Green shoots
amidst the dead leaves
signal longer days.

My comment: Two of the most welcome sights every spring: the new life, and the promise of longer days

1st Place

@viking-ventures

Spring is here!
The sun warms the earth
Ha!
Snow!

My comment: Another about being fooled. I love the unconventional usage of 4 lines here.

Congratulations!

Everyone, thank you so much for entering the contest. I really enjoyed reading all of your entries. You all did a fantastic job and I hope you keep up with your haiku practice.

So what's next for this contest? I would like to carry on and have another one, but I think I shouldn't do that until I can promise a little more consistency. @vdux has offered to co-host a haiku contest with me so that idea is floating around. At any rate, until I get a better grip on things, he sponsors a haiku contest that is more regular than mine, so be sure to follow him. And watch this space. I will announce another one sometime, so stay tuned.

Thank you all and keep writing haiku!

	David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time.