first dinner
already I'm tired
of siblings

Nick Chivers

I smile
as he messes my hair
my so-called brother

Lindsay Scully

spring break!
Mom stocks
the kitchen

Kersten Haile

kitchen full of
laughter—
school is forgotten

Brett Coffman

first dinner
already I'm tired
of siblings

kitchen full of
laughter—
school is forgotten

top quarter champion

first dinner
already I'm tired
of siblings

top half champion

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

bottom quarter champion

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

mom asks
do I have any laundry?
my smile widens

the pet fish
don’t even pretend
to care I am home

Matt Chmiel

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

Matt Chmiel

at a stop light
me and my mother
talk about work

Brett Coffman

mom asks
do I have any laundry?
my smile widens

Alyssa Thompson

top half champion

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always
 

champion

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

bottom half champion

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again
 

playing with make-up
in prom dresses
we are 13 again

Lindsay Scully

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

Brett Coffman

biking
I swerve to avoid
the horse droppings

Matt Chmiel

tiny town—
kingdom
of the daffodil

Andy Jones

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

tiny town—
kingdom
of the daffodil

top quarter champion

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

bottom half champion

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

bottom quarter champion

new spark
with an old friend
as dusk turns to dawn

sunshine peeks
through the window
time pauses

new spark
with an old friend
as dusk turns to dawn

sunshine peeks
through the window
time pauses

Kersten Haile

sunny day
finally the news
comes my way

Jason Chmiel

new spark
with an old friend
as dusk turns to dawn

Lindsay Scully

no cracker jack hoax
the ring on her finger
FINALLY!

Matt Chmiel

new spark
with an old friend
as dusk turns to dawn

no cracker jack hoax
the ring on her finger
FINALLY!

new spark
with an old friend
as dusk turns to dawn

sunshine peeks
through the window
time pauses

I really like these two haiku as a pair. Both of them bring a sense of the new to the old. I like the idea of there being something unexpected in the seemingly predictable and monotonous factors of life. For me there is also a story that this pair tells. What the old friends are finding, or rather, are finally recognizing that there is something in their relationship that goes beyond friendship—they love each other. I imagine that the two have been friends since childhood, and when they would play as kids perhaps the young boy would jokingly pop open a cracker jack box and propose to her with the plastic sticky ring on the inside. Now that they are grown up that playful relationship has sprouted and now a cracker jack box will not do—this time its for real. He opens the ring box and a new spark, a new chapter, a new friendship, and a new life begins for the both of them! —Kersten

I enjoyed how these two haiku seemed to tell a story of a boy and girl, who had grown up together as best friends. They knew everything about each other and did everything together. Their mothers always claimed that they would get married one day, and the two youngsters would roll their eyes and make gagging noises. However, when the time came for the two friends to finally go their separate ways, to colleges across the country, their mothers would prove to be right, as usual. The first summer break back from college, they both came home as very different people, but their friendship remained as strong as ever. There was something different about their relationship that became harder and harder to ignore as the summer wore on. They finally admitted to themselves that they were more than just friends, they were in love. They began dating and it lasted all through college. Their bond was so strong that the miles between them did not matter. Finally, one day they were reminiscing about a time when the young man had given the young woman a ring from a cracker jack box and they had an entire wedding ceremony right in the backyard! They even roped in his younger brother to be the priest and her little sister got to play the flower girl, sprinkling dandelions over the green grass. As the couple laughed about their childish antics, the young man pulls out a cracker jack box. She looks inside, and finds a ring—not a plastic one either! He got down on one knee and asked his best friend to be his bride as well. Alyssa

This pair made me think of a girl and guy who grew up together as children. And when they were kids they pretended that they were married and the boy gave the girl a cracker jack box ring. And later after years of being together when they were older the boy asked the girl if she would marry him and he had a real ring this time. They just seemed to flow together really well. Pat

This was my favorite pair from matching contest seven. The first haiku is adorable. It makes me picture two people who have been best friends for a long time, but have been apart because of college or something. When they finally are reunited the feelings between them are stronger than ever. They finally realize that the feeling is mutual as the sun peeks over the horizon. They are so happy to be with each other that time seems to stand still. Jessica

first dinner
already I’m tired
of siblings

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

tiny town--
kingdom
of the daffodil

This haiku to me, seems to symbolize the reality of students returning home from college life for the first time in since Christmas break. Students have this idea that they’re going to go home and everything going to be relaxing and fun. When in reality, their siblings are energetic to the point of being annoying. Then when they go to play with their dog, they realize how bad it smells. It takes them time to readjust to the smell of their once favorite pet. I can say (luckily) that I haven’t experienced any of these symptoms, because I commute to school. So for me, spring break was like an extended weekend. Brett

These two are rather whimsical, nostalgic, and simply magical together. Swingsets sometimes seem like time transports really. The feeling of going through the air and falling back down can entrance anyone at any age. When I was younger (and I imagine now if I went back to the playground), I loved jumping out of swings; I'm still obsessed with free fall. Though that feeling of being made into a child again takes one back into the past and thinking of all the games one used to play and all the worlds one made in their imagination as a child. The magical world that only they and their friends could enter and had made their town their kingdom. Very sweet and nostalgic. Aubrie

playing with make-up
in prom dresses
we are 13 again

in the park
the swing
makes me a child again

first dinner
already I’m tired
of siblings

spring break!
Mom stocks
the kitchen

I really like this pair because they both bring me back to my childhood. I still like to play “dress-up” with my friends while trying on dresses in malls and I love to go swing in parks. The pair works so well together because it makes me imagine myself, a 19 year old girl, feeling like I’m really young again. They are things that I love to do just to bring back memories of my past. They are also just simply still fun to me. Erin

I thought this pair was really good at recreating the wonder of childhood. Every kid dressed up as something and played on the swings. I can really relate to wanting to do that, to go back to childhood and enjoy the freedom. Andy

I like this pair of haiku because they remind me of the excitement of coming home and then realizing that living away from home is so much better. I like the excitement of the second one. I think it captures the comfort of home with parents providing for you. It captures the first few hours of being home and realizing how much you missed home while you were away. I really love the first one because it captures the reality and majority of being home- fights with siblings don’t change. The first one signals an end to the first few hours of bliss that you experienced when you first came home. After that, the novelty wears off and your siblings begin to pick fights with you. Lindsay

my teacup shih-tzu
smells just as bad
as always

mom asks
do I have any laundry?
my smile widens

biking
I swerve to avoid
the horse droppings

first dinner
already I'm tired
of siblings

I like this pair because they are two smelly things that are a part of home. I see the person fanaticizing that when they come home the dog will smell fresh and clean, but reality hits and the dog still smells. In the second poem, the mom fanaticizes that her child will bring home clean laundry so that she won’t have to do it. When the child comes home, reality hits and the kid has three months of laundry to do. Elise

I liked this pair because I think this shows the let down of vacation/holiday breaks to return to home sweet home. It just has the annoying little quirks that you love when you're gone and hate when you're there. Michelle