weights in his hands
music blaring
sweat drips

Kimberly Dial (5)

wind rushing through hair
pedaling faster
outrunning the airplane

wind on my bare chest
green grass
finally okay with me

Sean James (4)

Me working out and taking laps on the track with no shirt on. It feels good because you feel the cool breeze blowing through your body and when you down working out you can just take a water break and cool off for just sitting here. Elijah

citrus bliss
across the table
you missed a spot

Datoria Parker (4)

passing notes
under watchful eyes
carries excitement

stars are bright tonight
running
making friends with pain

one shaded bubble
dull lead pencils
a mind full of answers

marrying me in the afternoon
snow flurries
believing in love

aisle after aisle
choice after choice
chips and beer 

Vance Martinez (8)

back on the elliptical
sweat and cry
they gave up on me

tea party with dad
his moon shines
& I’ve got the juice

Datoria Parker (3)

storm is brewing
I stand
and face the wind

Bailey Welch (8)

I really enjoy this haiku because I think I can relate to the “storms” that come my way but I still stand strong. I am a true believer of faith and I know that my only way through life is through believing in God. For me to have faith I have to be strong minded and “face the wind”. Tori

I really like this haiku because it makes me think of how I overcame my fear of storms after surviving a tornado. I would literally stand outside when a storm was forming and stand out there for as long as I possibly could. I did this little by little and eventually, I overcame my fear of storms, and came to appreciate witnessing a storm. Sean

I like the defiance that is brought into the poem with the phrase “and face the wind.” It is kind of like the phrase “face the music.” Being able to bear the consequences or your fear of something is, to me, extremely brave and courageous. It wasn’t until two years ago that I was able to own up to my mistakes and accept the effects of my actions. Danni

two straws
one chocolate vanilla shake

Marissa Holloway (9)

I really liked this poem because of the intimate scene it creates. I feel like there was a compromise pertaining to the flavor, one wanted vanilla and the other chocolate. I get the idea of a couple on a date in a cozy dinner on a cool summers night snuggled against each other in a booth near the back. Danni

rowdy fans screams fade into the background
just her
and the ball

Marissa Holloway (3)

scent of freshly baked cookies
mother and daughter
one ices one adds sprinkles

Marissa Holloway (7)

caramelized surface — steams 
mountains in the backdrop

Vance Martinez (3)

staring contest
slowly the pain leaves her eyes

Marissa Holloway (4)

Me and my cousin use to have a staring contest to see who will keep they eyes open the longest. After a while playing, your eyes started to hurt and you just want to blink for one second. Elijah

closed eyes
clenched fist
prayer

Marissa Holloway (5)

This is a very passionate haiku that uses pretty strong language. It reminds me of someone going through a hard time and losing themselves in a powerful conversation with God. I love the intensity of it and the idea of trusting his path he has set for you and longing for his direction. Bailey

I really enjoyed many of Marissa’s haiku’s today but this one seemed to touch me the most because I pray often. I love the wording that she used, a “clenched fist” to show a strong emotion. I feel that any moment of prayer is a serious thing and often I feel the need to pray just because I feel the need to. Tori

I really like this haiku because it reminds me of the many prayers I have prayed in angst. So, I have prayed many a prayer with eyes closed and clenched fists. What I like about this is that it puts me back in those moments and reminds me that those prayers never fell on deaf ears. I haven’t always received the answer I wanted or expected, but I’ve always been supported and gotten what I need. Sean

haiku books spread out
kids in bed
laptop

a warm lap
infinite head scratches
home

perched on my cushion
hum of the furnace 
an itch on my face

the muted color on the walls
a history
I’ll never know

Sabrina LeBlanc (5)

This one is interesting because she describes the passage of time so well. The “muted” color is excellent as it paints in our heads a once clean and vibrant wall, now worn by time and with that we can never trust know what it “was” in the past. It is clever that the past was able to be brought up and described in the present moment. Vance

flood gates open
Kleenex
love stinks     sometimes

Sean James (5)

Even though this Haiku is sad you can still feel the hope with the space before sometimes. Sometimes makes you believe that not always love stinks. That sometimes love is great. You still feel the hope. Kim

I bow to the buddha
the kitchen is a mess 
I bow to it 

Vance Martinez (3)

two poles holding up a net
home away
from home

the swimming hole
everyone gathers
but I observe

Danielle Morgan (3)

a cold stream
trail of tears
streak my face

floorboards creak
we sneak back in
from the night

Bailey Welch (5)

in the hospital bed
she closes her journal
for the final time

Bailey Welch (6)

I imagine a hospital setting with a young mother sitting up in the bed. For some reason, I feel she is dying from cancer. She is sitting in the hospital bed with a knitted hat on. The women has a small frame, young in age, and she has lost her hair. I picture her family lining the halls, and her small children playing in the waiting room. The women trying to find the words to say to her children on their graduation day, wedding day, about love and life. Kim

just like a hero
his little girl has never
seen him up close

Marissa Holloway (7)

This is one of my favorites so far. It reminds me of a little girl whose father didn’t stick around and in her head she has made him into some type of hero, even though he’s probably not a great guy. The same way other heroes are created, a story in someone’s head. You never actually see them up close; they are just what you make of them. This is a very heartfelt haiku describing the coping mechanism of a little girl who doesn’t know her father. Bailey

bitterly cold
out of nowhere
deer in the headlights

Kimberly Dial (3)

a glow of an apple
across the room
its bite reveals an author

she cries at night
in her bed
alone

windshield misty
dark of night
long road home

Kimberly Dial (3)

glass screen door
little girl's handprint still waits

Marissa Holloway (5)

bedroom curtains open
the smell of cinnamon rolls
fill the air

book finished
nightlight on
door slowly closes

Marissa Holloway (4)

This has great choice of words, and structure. It is clear that the milkshake symbolizes some kind of compromise between two people, with one preferring chocolate and the other preferring vanilla. I also noticed that it only has two lines, possibly because of the two flavors and the two people involved in the scene? Vance

tiny tennis shoes
on the swing set
laughter

Kimberly Dial (4)

silent phone on the bed
stretch
need a hand to hold

outside on a porch
the grey shoes
long for their owner

college ruled Spiral notebook
pink pen
my heart explodes

Sean James (2)

the pin gleams
forgotten under
the moonlight

ear buds in my ears
same song
different day

Sean James (7)

Before a basketball ball game I listen to one specific song before I get on the court because it motivates me on how I play. Its always that one Song that I cannot stp listening too because the beat and the lyrics touched. Elijah