open my locker
a note falls out
a secret admirer
Allie Bonk
•*••••
I can remember placing notes in a girl’s locker as a young man and watching them open them with great anticipation. Words like I like you and do you like me come to mind. I would stand there waiting for some sign of affirmation. Eventually she would either look up form the note and scan the room looking to make eye contact with me, or she would ball the paper up to throw it away which would be a clear sign of rejection. My heart would be in my throat as I watched and waited. Ron Bond, January 2021
first date
I text my friend
I’m in love
Jenny Tullis
••••
sleepover—
freshly painted nails
cup my face
we stay up all night
Mira Burens
•
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
Mira Burens
••••• ••
I love this haiku. I have several piercings and I remember my mother telling me as a teenager that I will never get a job with holes in my face. I still have them and still love them, but can’t wear them at work and don’t get to wear them often. Ashley Galloway, January 2021
open my locker
a note falls out
a secret admirer
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
top quarter champion
TOP half Chamption
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
bottom quarter champion
the boys of fall
kings of the school
no one knows sacrifice
high above the
water’s edge
. . . jump
the boys of fall
kings of the school
no one knows sacrifice
high above the
water’s edge
. . . jump
Ashley Galloway
••*••
racing with friends . . .
a dare?
mid-air regret
Eli Hartsfield
•••
the boys of fall
kings of the school
no one knows sacrifice
Eli Hartsfield
••••• •
life changing injury . . .
is life worth it?
the fight continues
Eli Hartsfield
••
I liked this pair primarily of their uses of ellipses; it helps you stop and really take in a line before moving on to the next line or ending the haiku. I also liked how both poems in this pair gave me the slight feeling you get before you go down a roller coaster, since both of them include a part where the reader is in the air. I thought that was a good mood for two haiku poems to give off; best friends should always push you out of your comfort zone and help you have new experiences. Caitlin Marshall, January 2021
TOP half champion
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
CHAMPION
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
BOTTOM half champion
a line stretched to Mars
the only porta potty
at this festival
Sarah Obert
••••• •
only loved me
on the porch
drink in hand
Jenny Tullis
•*•
Friday night
mall claw machine
stands no chance
Jenny Tullis
••••• •
This haiku takes me back to when Hickory Point Mall had an arcade. I remember seeing the claw machine and acting as if it was a challenge. I remember saving back enough money to go get Garcia’s pizza after. Ashley Galloway, January 2021
As a kid I loved going to the arcade and playing video games. I would beg my father on Friday nights to give me money and drop me off to hang out with my friends. I often thought on the way that I would conquer all those who would oppose me due to my superior talent. In truth I didn’t care if I won or lost the video contests because it was the fun of being with my friends that was most important to me. Ron Bond, January 2021
yellow boots
long legs
bouncing while she talks
Jenny Tullis
•••
a line stretched to Mars
the only porta potty
at this festival
Friday night
mall claw machine
stands no chance
Friday night
mall claw machine
stands no chance
top quarter champion
BOTTOM half champion
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
bottom quarter champion
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
memories with old friends
swarm
in just one car ride
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
memories with old friends
swarm
in just one car ride
Sarah Obert
•••••*
the water splashes
onto my back
fireworks go off
Allie Bonk
••••
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
Caitlin Marshall
••*•••
starry sky
interrupted
by a puff of smoke
Caitlin Marshall
••••
I see two beautiful outdoor scenes. Whenever I say goodbye to a good friend, I always become emotional. It’s so hard to say goodbye, and not know when you’ll get to spend time with that person again. I love the way that nature is disrupted by manmade things, such as the ring of the belltower in the first, and the smoke that I picture comes from a train in the second. In both, there is the element of time passing. It’s a lovely, bittersweet feeling. Sarah Obert, January 2021
memories with old friends
swarm
in just one car ride
Sarah Obert
in the distance
the belltower rings
goodbye, friend
Caitlin Marshall
piercing our noses
we pretend not to be
afraid of the future
Mira Burens
starry sky
interrupted
by a puff of smoke
Caitlin Marshall
This is another haiku match that I think the components “fulfill” each other. A description could be the first haiku is the line of thinking when one sees or recognizes that bell tower off in distance, as one is in the car, and all of a sudden the memories start pouring in. Both portray a sort of “longing” for friends and incorporate a memory aspect. The first haiku is centered around a landscape fixture while the second is centered around an action, but both incorporate strong feelings of reminisce and nostalgia. This is especially true with the first, as a “belltower” insights feelings of times past in today’s modern world. Each haiku takes a different approach to expressing the same sentiment: The first is more about the environment and features “dialogue”, while the second is an ongoing process in a familiar scenario, all the while suddenly giving the feeling of memories buzzing about in the second line, rather than a gradual process like in the first. They complement each other by doing something the other did not! Sam Thornburg, January 2021
Reading this belltower friend haiku brought back memories o my favorite pet. I had raised him from a puppy and had 12 good years with him until he developed cancer. My wife and I felt the that we should put him to sleep without telling the girls first. As we arrived at the shelter, I found myself unable to enter and my wife went in and came out to get him from me she found me crying. She then reentered the shelter and asked someone to take him in. When the children arrived home that day the belltower struck the hour that we would have to tell them what had taken place. This moment of truth was hard for my family, but we said our goodbyes to him silently. Ron Bond, January 2021
These two haiku speak to growing up in a very specific and personal way. I see two friends, who go way back watching the other and themselves grow up and become different people than they thought they would. They never thought they would be the type to pierce their nose or smoke, but here they are, all those years later smoking cigarettes with pierced noses. Their late-night conversations now illuminated by the glow of cigarettes instead of stars, talking about feelings they never thought they’d have. When they were young, they would always talk about how excited they were to be old, but now that they’ve grown up, they don’t know where to go with their lives. Mira Burens, January 2021