arch
glinting in sunlight
welcome

Rebecca Jaffe

pot hole covered road
welcoming me
home

Madeline Curtin

familiar streets
all my routes
branch off of one

Charlize Pate

engine starting
heading home
boomerang

Victoria Stuart

pot hole covered road
welcoming me
home

engine starting
heading home
boomerang

pot hole covered road
welcoming me
home

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

same bed
same house
not my home

bottom quarter champion

same bed
same house
not my home

same bed
same house
not my home

open photo albums
sprawled across the room
spider web

through the door
my mom smiles
new paint.

Alexander Bergland

same bed
same house
not my home

Alexander Bergland

room full of books
I still haven’t read
I missed you all

Charlize Pate

open photo albums
sprawled across the room
spider web

Alexander Bergland

TOP half champion

same bed
same house
not my home

CHAMPION & Grand Chamption

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

BOTTOM half champion

hometown diner
the hashbrowns
not as good as I remember

Morgan Bode

crowded restaurant
I feel lucky to
have my family

Meghan Hayes

the hill i roll down
seems smaller than i remember
grass stains the same

John DeAngelo

I return home
the trees aren’t as green
as I remember

Madeline Wilson

hometown diner
the hashbrowns
not as good as I remember

the hill i roll down
seems smaller than i remember
grass stains the same

the hill i roll down
seems smaller than i remember
grass stains the same

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half Chamption

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

bottom quarter champion

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

a kiss on the nose
home is wherever
she is

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

Victoria Stuart

family weekend
I go for a walk
alone.

Madeline Curtin

a kiss on the nose
home is wherever
she is

Madeline Wilson

wrapped in warmth
for a second
Grandma’s hug

Jonathan Kuebler

clomp of hooves
a little girl smiles
as we parade by

Gillian Genardo

bang of drums
awake me
damned parade outside

Jonathan Kuebler

a jumbled parade
I call out instructions
to my brothers

Benjamin Kuxmann

band of brothers
to those who come back
it is their only home

John DeAngelo

bang of drums
awake me
damned parade outside

band of brothers
to those who come back
it is their only home

band of brothers
to those who come back
it is their only home

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

bottom quarter champion

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

my last soccer game
my father hugs me
as I cry

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

Joel Ochoa

high school gym
sweaty dancers
stop twerking

Joel Ochoa

August heat
the smell of football pads
and last goodbyes

John DeAngelo

my last soccer game
my father hugs me
as I cry

Michael Hoelting

TOP half champion

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

CHAMPIONChamption

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

BOTTOM half champion

I could have been
your homecoming queen
if only this      or that

Morgan Bode

little sister
you’re still a queen
in my heart

Joel Ochoa

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

Michael Hoelting

passing a familiar face
did you sit behind me
in chemistry?

Joel Ochoa

I could have been
your homecoming queen
if only this      or that

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half Chamption

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

bottom quarter champion

an old name
less visible
on the tree

music pulses in the air
I stand in the corner
watching him with somebody else

an old name
less visible
on the tree

music pulses in the air
I stand in the corner
watching him with somebody else

Jessi Kreder

a brief stare
from an ex-girlfriend
years too late

Benjamin Kuxmann

hidden in the oak
his knife etches
a beautiful goodbye

John DeAngelo

an old name
less visible
on the tree

Benjamin Kuxmann

arch
glinting in sunlight
welcome

Rebecca Jaffe

pot hole covered road
welcoming me
home

Madeline Curtin

familiar streets
all my routes
branch off of one

Charlize Pate

engine starting
heading home
boomerang

Victoria Stuart

through the door
my mom smiles
new paint.

Alexander Bergland

same bed
same house
not my home

Alexander Bergland

room full of books
I still haven’t read
I missed you all

Charlize Pate

open photo albums
sprawled across the room
spider web

Alexander Bergland

One of the reasons that I really liked this pairing of Haikus is that I think they both can and, in my mind, do convey the same meaning. Especially since they are written by the same person, I get a very similar vibe from these two haiku. I feel the change that this person is viewing and going through. It really strikes an emotional chord within myself. I really thought it was chilling in how this person was able to be so expressive in literally 8 words or less. John DeAngelo, Fall2019

same bed
same house
not my home

Alexander Bergland

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn’t here

Tori Stuart

I liked this pair in the matching contest Kukai because they both heavily focus on this feeling of nostalgia. Both of the speakers in these haiku are remembering the place they are currently in during a different time in their lives—most likely their childhood. Although they both have similar feelings, they are very different haiku. Alex’s haiku has a sense of nostalgia, but to me, it feels very sad. The speaker is nostalgic for their childhood, but is conscience that the room they are currently in will never feel the same as it once did. On the other hand, Tori’s haiku still deals with this sense of nostalgia, but it feels more contemplative and serene. I feel like the speaker realizes that things have changed—she’s grown up and moved out. But, coming home is almost like this pocket of childhood that she still has because the flowers still bloom the same. Overall, I thought both of these haiku were beautiful in both imagery and story. Gillian Genardo, Fall 2019

I think it is interesting that both of these haiku are about people saddened by living in two different places, but both have different ways of translating that to the reader. In Alex’s haiku I thought the poem was more focused about being disheartened at not living in a place where he used to live. But I also got a certain amount of independence from the last line that makes me think he is sort of proud that he has his own home now. I really liked the use of the words house and home in very different contexts. In Tori’s poem I thought the subject was more depressed about not being at home. I think about how it is sad to imagine people’s lives going on at home and you’re no longer there to be a part of them on a daily basis. The flowers represented how people could grow and change without you being there to see it and be a part of them. I ended up voting for Alex’s haiku but this one really was a toss up. Jon Kuebler, Fall 2019

hometown diner
the hashbrowns
not as good as I remember

Morgan Bode

crowded restaurant
I feel lucky to
have my family

Meghan Hayes

the hill i roll down
seems smaller than i remember
grass stains the same

John DeAngelo

I return home
the trees aren’t as green
as I remember

Madeline Wilson

hometown diner
the hashbrowns
not as good as I remember

Morgan Bode

the hill I roll down
seems smaller than I remember
grass stains the same

John DeAngelo

the hill I roll down
seems smaller than I remember
grass stains the same

John DeAngelo

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn’t there

Victoria Stuart

I liked these two haiku being compared because of the similar nature that they have. Both haiku are discussing something in their hometown that isn’t as good as the author remembers. However, the first haiku does not reveal the “not as good” aspect until the third line. This haiku is more upsetting, as it ends after the author realizes the hash browns are not as good. The second haiku reveals the different feelings about the hill in the second line, but the haiku continues on to tell us that the author still rolled down the hill, and seemed to enjoy it. Overall, I like the two different views on something from your childhood not being as good as you remembered. Tori Stuart, Fall 2019

I really like these haiku together because they both have a nostalgic tone and leaves the reader feeling melancholy. They are both structured very similarly as well. The both began setting the scene and then finish the haiku with a letdown. They both given a sense of disappointment that everyone can relate to. Everyone has that one thing that they clearly remember being so amazing from their childhood and then they revisit it and it just isn’t the same or not as good. Jessi Kreder, Fall 2019

I really like these two haiku because they are both hills to me, and I love hills and mountains and anything tall. There was a hill by my house and next to the baseball diamond. Whenever it snowed, my brother and I would trudge through the woods and meet our friends at the top of the hill to go sledding, and it seemed so big. Going back, it is a very small hill, but sometimes in the winter I still sled there. The second haiku made me think of the hillside in my front yard where my mom always grows a ton of flowers. Pulling into our driveway in the spring or summer and seeing that hillside in blossom makes me feel like home, and reminds me that life still happens there even when I am gone. Alex Bergland, Fall 2019

This was my favorite matchup from matching contest #2. Both of these poems made me feel different things, but they both used such strong imagery and specific word choices that made this matchup my favorite. They were both very strong haikus that made me remember certain feelings I’ve had, especially about growing up. Going back to places I used to know like the back of my hand is super strange because I still know them, but they feel very different. Both of these poems capture that idea in their own unique way and that is why this was my favorite matchup of the whole contest. It was very hard to choose a favorite which told me that both of these haikus spoke to me which is saying a lot about how I felt about them. Joel Ochoa, Fall 2019

I like this pair because of the nature aspect. The world looks so different when you're a kid, and going back when you grow up is a little disappointing. I remember going back to this outdoor playground with the kids I nannied last summer and in my head, it was the most amazing place I had ever been to. When I got there, it was so much smaller than I remembered. I was so disappointed that it wasn't how I remembered it. These two together were so amazing. Meghan Hayes, Fall 2019

These two both filled my heart with bittersweet nostalgia. I also liked these two poems paired together because of a story that someone shared in class. They were talking about how they loved the flower haiku because their mother used to plant an entire side of a hill with flowers. So, when reading a poem about rolling down a hill, I had a vision of someone rolling through wildflowers. Lizzie Napier, Fall 2019

flowers bloomed
even when I
wasn't here

Victoria Stuart

family weekend
I go for a walk
alone.

Madeline Curtin

a kiss on the nose
home is wherever
she is

Madeline Wilson

wrapped in warmth
for a second
Grandma’s hug

Jonathan Kuebler

I really resonate with this poem because I know how that feels especially during homecoming weekend. I do not necessarily feel that this poem is talking of a onetime occurrence I feel the author goes through this weekly and sometimes there is calmness to being alone but sometimes it is the worst. When it is the worst is when you are most sad and need someone to talk to but have no one around. It sucks when those feelings come around, but you always have to fight through them and be stronger each time. Michael Hoelting, Fall 2019

This haiku makes me think of my dad when our family goes to visit my mom’s parents and all of her siblings. My mother has four brothers and a sister who are all very vocal about their opinions and have strong personalities which can be overwhelming for someone on the outside. At most of the family gatherings that I can remember, my father has always grabbed our dog and walked through the acres of woods surrounding my grandfather’s house on his own. This is a subtle detail, but I appreciate how the author of this haiku put a period at the end of the haiku. It makes the idea of going for a walk a definitive, almost as if a person asked to accompany the person on the walk but was shot down. Benjamin Kuxmann, Fall 2019

I really loved this matchup in the matching contest. I felt like these really just went hand and hand with each other. I feel that I can relate to both of these. My grandma and I are very close and for me home is where she is. I can feel the warmth of her arms around me and her kissing me on the nose. I can hear her voice asking me how school is or when I am going to be coming home from school so that she can see me. These poems just made me feel very warm, safe, and happy. Cassie Reed, Fall 2019

clomp of hooves
a little girl smiles
as we parade by

Gillian Genardo

bang of drums
awake me
damned parade outside

Jonathan Kuebler

a jumbled parade
I call out instructions
to my brothers

Benjamin Kuxmann

band of brothers
to those who come back
it is their only home

John DeAngelo

halftime show
watching from the sideline
still could play that cadence

Joel Ochoa

high school gym
sweaty dancers
stop twerking

Joel Ochoa

August heat
the smell of football pads
and last goodbyes

John DeAngelo

my last soccer game
my father hugs me
as I cry

Michael Hoelting

I could have been
your homecoming queen
if only this      or that

Morgan Bode

little sister
you’re still a queen
in my heart

Joel Ochoa

thinking of you
I remember
chemistry

Michael Hoelting

passing a familiar face
did you sit behind me
in chemistry?

Joel Ochoa

music pulses in the air
I stand in the corner
watching him with somebody else

Jessi Kreder

a brief stare
from an ex-girlfriend
years too late

Benjamin Kuxmann

hidden in the oak
his knife etches
a beautiful goodbye

John DeAngelo

an old name
less visible
on the tree

Benjamin Kuxmann

I enjoy these two haiku together because after going home and re-reading them alone, they seem more private and almost stream-of-consciousness than most of the haiku we have read in class. They read like diary entries to me, and I like the effect that they have. They also have the two sides of the same story effect which as a class we have frequently observed in our matching contests. It feels as though the two speakers in these poems saw each other at the same party, and reflected on their love and dislike for each other, without having to actually interact. I also like the adjectives used in these haiku. The word “pulses” indicates to me that although it is loud, the speaker has lost the ability to focus on anything other than her feelings for “him,” in the way that romantic media often portrays all other things become secondary in intensity to the one we love. The phrase “brief stare” also captures my attention because it’s essentially an oxymoron. Though the look she gave him may have been brief, it still had the intensity of a stare for the speaker in that haiku. Morgan Bode, Fall 2019

I am a hopeless romantic, so the concept of carving pieces of our love story into something as solid, consistent, and safe as a tree has always been something that I have romanticized. As a person, I struggle to enjoy many things in the moment because I often think about the temporary nature of everything. This concept of having tangible proof of our love forever and always despite the changes comforts me. No matter what happens, the reality of that love exists in that carving. This is what originally drew me to these haiku. However, I stuck around after reading them as a pair. I cannot help but see a lifetime in between these two moments. What happened to the love that took out the initial knife? Are they looking back on the carving, or is there someone else looking at what they once had left? Madeline Wilson, Fall 2019