inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

Alexander Bergland

early riser
           I sit by the lake
and hear the sounds of sunrise

Elizabeth Napier

midnight songs
from shadowed corners . . .
crickets.

Elizabeth Napier

starfish in the dark
limbs constricting and
releasing

Morgan Bode

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

midnight songs
from shadowed corners . . .
crickets.

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

bottom quarter champion

morning rain
my reflection frowns
from a sidewalk puddle

morning rain
my reflection frowns
from a sidewalk puddle

quiet space
so hard to find
under stacks of work

morning rain
my reflection frowns
from a sidewalk puddle

Gillian Genardo

rain
sprinkling gently
I put on my boots

Jonathan Kuebler

quiet space
so hard to find
under stacks of work

Meghan Hayes

this quiet room
I eat
       my thoughts

Michael Hoelting

TOP half champion

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

CHAMPIONChamption

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

BOTTOM half champion

listen closely:
the creaks of the house
tell a story

Madeline Wilson

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

Madeline Wilson

thinking of you
anxiety fills my thoughts
roaring train horn

Jessi Kreder

soft lullaby
putting me to sleep
train horn blares

Jonathan Kuebler

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

thinking of you
anxiety fills my thoughts
roaring train horn

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half Chamption

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

bottom quarter champion

when I close my eyes
I see you
it’s only you

meditation—
the silence allows it all to
creep back in

when I close my eyes
I see you
it’s only you

meditation—
the silence allows it all to
creep back in

Madeline Wilson

finding it difficult
to make eye contact
even in the mirror

Morgan Bode

I used to dream
of a cuddle buddy
now i like my space

Rebecca Jaffe

when I close my eyes
I see you
it’s only you

Madeline Wilson

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

Alexander Bergland

early riser
           I sit by the lake
and hear the sounds of sunrise

Elizabeth Napier

midnight songs
from shadowed corners . . .
crickets.

Elizabeth Napier

starfish in the dark
limbs constricting and
releasing

Morgan Bode

I am always impressed by the emotions that can be evoked through a few words about natural things. I loved this pair of haiku because they carry with them such a feeling of peace and calmness. I am fortunate enough to be a part of a family that owns a lake house in the middle of nowhere, IL. Every weekend we wake up at dawn to watch the sunrise over the lake and sometimes we will walk the dogs down to the creek and just exist amongst mother nature’s beauty. These haiku, for me, speak of family; they speak of home. Madeline Wilson, Fall 2019

I like the descriptions of these two haiku together. They both describe the sounds of things in ways they would normally not be described. I love the description of the creek as singing. I have never thought of it that way before. And the sounds of sunrise, wow. At first, I was confused because I was like, “the sunrise is silent,” but then I got to thinking about it and the sounds of sunrise are birds chirping, the rustling of leaves in the breeze. I just loved these two together. Meghan Hayes, Fall 2019

There are so many things I like about this matched pair. Firstly, the depths of the shadowy night sky are compared to the dark depths of the ocean. Both are territories with nooks and crannies waiting to be explored, and most of both will never fully be mapped out, they contain multitudes of mysteries. Neither talk about the containers of their subjects, though, which is interesting since I can picture them anyway. Both haiku are so calm as well, they have a sense of relaxed darkness and ease at the end of a long day. Maddie Curtin, Fall 2019

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

Alexander Bergland

midnight songs
from shadowed corners . . .
crickets.

Elizabeth Napier

inhaling autumn air
deep               breaths
the creek sings

Alexander Bergland

morning rain
my reflection frowns
from a sidewalk puddle

Gillian Genardo

I thought this pair of haiku from Matching Contest was an absolutely beautiful pair. I think my favorite thing about this pair of haiku is that they both invoke the reader's sense of hearing. I love how both of these haiku compare sounds from nature to music. Alex's haiku refers to the creek's gurgle as a song and Lizzie's haiku refers to the chirping of crickets as a song. I think referring to music in these haiku really creates this sense of serenity in these haiku. Another thing that I like about this pair is that they are opposites. One finds the beauty in day and the other finds the beauty in night. Overall, there is incredibly beautiful imagery being used in both of these haiku. Gillian Genardo, Fall 2019

I really like the focus on nature in these two haikus. They both let haiku take over the readers thinking and lets them imagine the senses of the scene. They both let the reader hear the creek and the crickets, and they both allow the reader to see the dark room or autumn filled forest with a creek running through it. I especially like the spacing on the second line of the first haiku, because I feel like it guides the reader through their breathing, so they can clearly hear the creek. Jessi Kreder, Fall 2019

I liked these haiku being compared because they are both about natural occurrences but have a deeper emotional connection within them. Both haiku incorporate a type of body of water and personifies this in some way. The first haiku personifies the creek to sing and allows this to create a moment for the reader. The second haiku allows the puddle to create almost an out of body emotional response, as the reflection on the puddle is frowning, not the person looking at the puddle. Overall, I think each of these haiku uses water to create an emotional response within the reader. Tori Stuart, Fall 2019

I had a very tough time deciding my favorite haiku between these two. I really liked the spacing between deep breaths. It slowed the whole poem down and made it very peaceful and easy to read and understand. The creek singing is also a wonderful line of imagery. The second haiku just gave me this uneasy feeling. It felt as if the person was depressed and didn’t want to start their day, especially with the rain outside. I know when I am outside in the morning and it is raining, I just want to go back inside and sleep until it stops. I ended up choosing the second poem because I thought the imagery and feeling I got from it was slightly more intense than the first poem, but they are both excellent. Jon Kuebler, Fall 2019

morning rain
my reflection frowns
from a sidewalk puddle

Gillian Genardo

rain
sprinkling gently
I put on my boots

Jonathan Kuebler

quiet space
so hard to find
under stacks of work

Meghan Hayes

this quiet room
I eat
       my thoughts

Michael Hoelting

I like this pair together because, even though they are so similar, the emotional response that I get from each is so different. The haiku about The frowning reflection makes me sad about the rain and long for the sun. The haiku about putting on boots, on the other hand, makes me feel excited for the rain. I now have the gear to go jump in puddles! Lizzie Napier, Fall 2019

This haiku just gets better the more and more times I read it and that truly interests me. First off, I love the image of eating one’s thoughts. It is not an action, even a figurative one, that people even think of so deciphering what that means is interesting. Additionally, I love having this idea of a quiet room and having the haiku filled with so much empty space compounds that idea of quietness. I interpreted the meaning of the poem itself to be of a person that needs time to think over different parts of their life. We eat for nourishment and enjoyment, so I feel as though eating one’s thoughts will allow the person to have some clearer insight into whatever it is they are going through. Benjamin Kuxmann, Fall 2019

listen closely:
the creaks of the house
tell a story

Madeline Wilson

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

Madeline Wilson

floorboards creak in new ways
a stranger
in my own home

Madeline Wilson

thinking of you
anxiety fills my thoughts
roaring train horn

Jessi Kreder

I feel that these poems both go hand in hand. I didn't like the floorboards poem until we talked about it in class and discussed the meaning. I have been in a similar situation where there is new footsteps or footsteps that just don't belong in the house in the house. It makes you feel like you are the stranger even though you live there. I also love the idea of a house telling a story. Each diver in the wall or crack in the floors came from somewhere. Thinking about the stories of each of these just makes me happy because they probably were memories made by others. Cassie Reed, Fall 2019

This is an awesome pairing because the first haiku tells a story of how we all know the creaks in our own home, and each creak means something different. We recognize the different creaks and just by that short sound we can tell who is in the house and where they are. It's familiarity with our home and when we go back to visit we listen closer to the stories the creaks tell, and is a buildup to the second haiku, which, me, is putting myself as the stranger. I don't recognize all the creaks so well anymore; I have forgotten where to step so no sound is made. Alex Bergland, Fall 2019

These two haikus were the ones that hit home the most for me, so this matchup was really hard to choose a favorite. I identify with both of them so heavily which is why it was so hard and also my favorite matchup. In the first one, I completely understood what the author meant because I feel that exact same way when I go home now. It is such a strange feeling because I feel like I no longer belong in the home I spent almost my whole life in, and I thought this haiku captured that very well. The second one felt so truthful because this is what happens to me almost every single night. There are so many thoughts that run through my head due to my anxiety and it especially escalates when I think about other people. I think this might be more of a romantic poem, but I read it more like they were worried about another person and I can identify with that very well. I always am worrying if the people I love around me and back home are doing ok, and it fills my thoughts all the time. I just really liked both of these poems and the feelings they both brought up, and that is why it was my favorite matchup from contest #3. Joel Ochoa, Fall 2019

soft lullaby
putting me to sleep
train horn blares

Jonathan Kuebler

meditation—
the silence allows it all to
creep back in

Madeline Wilson

finding it difficult
to make eye contact
even in the mirror

Morgan Bode

I used to dream
of a cuddle buddy
now i like my space

Rebecca Jaffe

when I close my eyes
I see you
it’s only you

Madeline Wilson

What I really enjoy about this pair is very similar to what I liked about my last choice. I love that these both convey a very similar feeling. However these two are done by different people as opposed to my last response. This pairing is one of my personal favorites because they both hit home an idea that I really love. The idea that it is sometimes just as hard to be alone as it is to be with other people. Sometimes we like to think that a lot of people need to just be alone with their thoughts to be happy and/or get better but sometimes people forget that that can be just as toxic. John DeAngelo, Fall2019

Both of these haiku feel angry to me. Not in a burning, vengeful way, but they make me feel a quiet anger for the feelings which may have inspired the authors. I get the sense that the subjects of these poems were wronged in some way, hurt by romance, and now comforted only by their loneliness. The first haiku gives the audience a clear idea of the emotion and situation. There is a resolve there to enjoy being alone, in spite of past desires for love and affection. The second gives me a sense of relief, that memories of someone lost are slowly fading and everything will be alright with time. Morgan Bode, Fall 2019

This poem makes me sad to think about my own life because of the insecurities that I have about myself. Some days I hate my body so much I always think I am never strong enough or never skinny enough and it makes me sad. I do not know if this is what the author is talking about but that is the vibe I get, and it is terribly sad. On the positive side these feelings make me work harder to be stronger and to be better, so I do not have those feelings. Michael Hoelting, Fall 2019