Uchechukwu Onyedikam
Uchechukwu Onyedikam is a poet whose work graces Petals of Haiku: An Anthology, an Amazon best-seller now permanently displayed in the Treasure House of Rinsen-ji Temple, Japan, a revered institution with over 500 years of history. Had 8 works screened at the global HaikuLife Haiku Film Festival 2025, by The Haiku Foundation. Nominated for Best of the Net, Pushcart Prize, and Touchstone Award.
Christina Chin
Christina Chin is a painter, haiku poet, and author of Japanese short form poetry books. Her book “First Day of the Rest” has achieved #1 Top New Release, #2 Best Seller in Haiku and Japanese Poetry, and #21 in Nature categories. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2025 three times, Red Moon Anthology 2023, Touchstone Award 2024 & 2020 and for Best of the Net in 2023. Chin has been honoured as a four-time top 100 recipient in the mDAC Summit Contests, with her works displayed at the Palo Alto Art Center, California. She is the sole haiku contributor for Randall Vemer’s “MusArt” book, published by ArtReach in Portland, Oregon, and has two haiga showcases in THF Haiga Galleries. Her accolades include first prizes at the 34th Annual Cherry Blossom Sakura Festival 2020 Haiku Contest, the 8th Setouchi Matsuyama 2019 Photohaiku Contest, and two awards from City Soka Saitama’s 2020 haiku contests. Her work appears in numerous prestigious journals, multilingual publications, and anthologies, including Japan’s esteemed monthly Haikukai Magazine.
My Mother Told Me
plucking
convolvulus greens
along the perimeter
fence
with the fingers
striking
the keys
with desired pitch
kora
children bang
empty buckets
tins and sticks
The Sinner’s Night
twenty one
candles
and a jasmine
garland perfume
thin wired strings
of viola
a harmonic note
bowing
a notched sound
the groom ties
a thread around
the bride's neck
impspired 