Camera Roll 23: A Kernel of Truth about My Winning Haiku

 23 words about a photo screenshot on my phone camera roll poetry series


I'm popping with excitement that my haiku was just chosen among 20 winners of the annual Haiku Hike poetry contest in Tucson, Arizona! 

I lived in the Old Pueblo from 2010 to 2017 and have many fond memories of this Sonoran Desert community - especially its support for the Arts! 

I am especially proud because this year's competition was stiff! 

Look at these numbers:

My poem is Haiku' #2 on Stone Avenue.

Here's the pop-out with address of my poem.

So if find yourself in Downtown Tucson (between now and June 1, 2023) and want to multitask your poetry reading with your hiking - check it out!

And if you do, can you take a selfie with my poem?  Seeing YOU and my words together would be better (and much less expensive*) than me seeing the sign myself.

*because, you know, airfare and all...

Click HERE to read all of the 2023 winners (plus, the previous 3 years' winners).

And at the top of that webpage there is a "Email Sign Up" tab so YOU can stay informed to enter next year's Haiku Hike contest - and win!

Then POP over to Imagine the Possibilities where Rose is hosting Poetry Friday!

39 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I'm glad there was a positive poetic ending to an unfortunate series of events!

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    1. Thanks, Molly! A time when "write what you know" really paid off. :)

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  2. Ha ha! That's fantastic, Bridget. Your comedy is now world wide--well it always was but now it's on a hike!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! What better way to hike than with some haiku. :)

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  3. Congrats 🎉 Bridget on your haiku! You turned a painful experience into a delightful “blooming” one, love your “bloom” too, and whoa what numbers!

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    1. Thank you, Michelle! Popcorn is a seed of many uses. ;)

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  4. Bridget, ouch! implant surgery is often an unexpected, long stretch from beginning to end, not to mention it being an expensive ordeal. Of course you would make light of the incident and be honored in the Haiku Hike. I loved seeing your name and poem 2nd on the list. Congratulations, my friend! Your topic was real and the wording right in line with springtime.

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    1. Thank you, Carol! Luckily the implant surgery happened a while ago but the bills have been paid and the pain was memorable enough to inspire a poem. I appreciate your kind words. :)

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  5. Congratulations, Bridget. Hooray for blooming lemonade out of lemons!

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    1. Thank you, Buffy! I'm happy to report that I have not gotten lemonade or lemons stuck in my gums/teeth resulting in hefty dental bills, so there's that. #winningagain :)

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  6. Congratulations!!! Glad there was an upside to your dental "adventure." ~ Jama

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    1. Thanks, Jama! I always try to learn from (and make a joke out of) my 'adventures'. Life lesson #3,750,982: don't eat popcorn.

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  7. Wow! That IS a lot of competition--how wonderful for you, Bridget! All that expense and pain, but here's a silver lining!

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    1. Thanks, Laura. I'm so glad that this contest has grown into a global event.

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  8. Congratulations, Bridget! But sorry for the painful ordeal. As Laura said, your poem is a silver lining.

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    1. Thanks, Rose! In this case the silver lining was tooth colored. ;)

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  9. Congratulations on the win! You put quite a lot of story into that little poem... I enjoyed reading it! :)

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    1. Thanks, Sarah! Distilling an experience into 17 syllables was a fun challenge.

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  10. Congratulations! Wishing it was not such an 'expensive' one to write (me imagining) but it's terrific that you won! Also wishing I could get to Tucson to see it. I love visiting there and the desert!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! Yep, it was an expensive lesson to learn to not eat popcorn. I miss Tucson and the desert as well. :)

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  11. Congratulations, Bridget! What an experience, and what a haiku about it. If I get to Tucson, I will definitely take a photo with your haiku! :)

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    1. Thank you, Denise! I would love it if you are able to scoot over and hike the haiku trail...and see your face! :)

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  12. Huge congratulations on having your haiku chosen! Alas, I do not plan to go to Tucson anytime soon, but I can write a haiku or two... maybe even while I'm hiking!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, haiku writing while hiking would be a brilliant skill. :)

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  13. Congratulations, Bridget! Sorry for the dental challenge, but what a way to turn it into something literary. :0) Lots of folks will enjoy (and some might unconsciously rub their jaw...) - Way to go!

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    1. Thanks, Robyn! This jaw rubbing experience is very relatable (unfortunately).

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  14. Wow! Congratulations! Not quite the seed planting one would expect, but you made...lemonade? no...POPCORN from the situation!

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    1. Thanks, Mary Lee! I'm not much of a gardener so the fact that I got anything to grow is a miracle. I really need to pick a less painful planting bed to cultivate my poems though. ;)

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  15. Congratulations! So cool! I'd love to go on a haiku hike. I love that they do this.

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    1. Thank you, Marcie! Yes, Tucson is great about supporting the Arts and artists. The UA Poetry Center is a jewel in the desert. :)

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  16. How fabulous--I wish you the opportunity to "see" it in lots of ways over the next months! I'm thinking of gums a lot bc my son will have 4 wisdom teeth pulled on his spring break next week!

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    1. Thanks, Heidi! I hope I can see it along with a happy friend's face, too. Sending your son lots of fast, easy, and pain-free juju for his upcoming extractions. :)

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  17. Bridget, this is SO cool! It was fun to see the longer version of your poem alongside the haiku. Did anyone send you a photo of your poem on the hike trail yet?

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    1. Thanks, Laura! Writing 23 words about a haiku was a fun additional challenge. No photos so far...but I'm hoping. :)

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  18. Bridget, congrats! How are the poems displayed? How long will they remain? I was downtown in some of those spots only two weekends ago (Tucson Festival of Books)! Would love to see it in person!

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    1. Thanks! The screenshot of the poem above is the actual sign that the contest organizers sent me. The signs just went up last Monday 20 March and will stay up until 1 June. If you do go back, please take a photo. :)

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  19. Congratulations, Bridget! I love both versions of this inspiration/poem.

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  20. Oh my goodness, TWO poems from a horrific (IMO) experience! That's amazing!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment! :)