childhood memory
his silver heart
once held mine
Stefanie Davis
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
Adam Blakey
crack a smile
your crooked teeth
perfection
Courtney Gallup
missing teeth
the old woman’s
brush
Catherine Hixson
I liked how the pair made between these two haiku show a double meaning behind the word teeth, and how in the second one, you think the poem is about an old woman who is missing teeth but then you realize it's about her brush. I would make an edit in the second one and put "missing teeth/the old woman's/comb" just because I am not sure that teeth are associated with a brush as much as they are with a comb, but other than that I really like this pairing. Hailee
This is my favorite haiku matching pair because they both relate to teeth and smiling. The first one means to me that no matter how imperfect your smile is, it still can be perfection to someone. Or someone could think that your smile is perfection and fall in love with it. It is a reminder to always smile because you never know who could fall in love with it. The second one is that an old woman’s smile can still be perfect as she looks in the mirror and brushes her hair with her old brush. I like how they both relate to the beauty of a smile and the way that even if they’re broken or chipped they can still be loved. Katie
my missed flight
on the news-
World Trade Center
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
I chose to match these too because I feel as if they both have to deal with fate. The first one is pretty obvious. The person who missed the flight is still because of chance. Had they been there on time, they would have been on the flight and they might have not been alive still. Being in that situation would make you realize how fortunate you are and how much you should appreciate life. This is also very true in the second one because I read it as a grandma who just found a broken picture frame with a picture still in it after a tornado leveled her home, yet she still smiles because she realizes she has things in her life to be grateful for. I think that both of these haiku are taking tragic situations and being optimistic about the future and realizing the things that you do have to be thankful for. We all get too caught up in everything at some point in time and forget to recognize all that we have and be thankful, and it shouldn't take something awful to remind us to be appreciative, but sometimes it does. These haiku remind me to appreciate what I have and not take for granted all of the things that I have been blessed with. Lindsay
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
crack a smile
your crooked teeth
perfection
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
top quarter champion
TOP half Chamption
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
bottom quarter champion
fingers tracing
intricate lace designs—
mother’s wedding dress
the families stand
when she comes down the aisle
in great-grandma's dress
fingers tracing
intricate lace designs—
mother’s wedding dress
the families stand
when she comes down the aisle
in great-grandma's dress
Jessica Claussen
legendary wedding band
once worn by his mother
passes down to her
Courtney Gerk
it’s the big day
grandma’s locket
resting under my shirt
Moli Copple
fingers tracing
intricate lace designs—
mother’s wedding dress
Elise Scannell
This is a wonderful match—both refer to items being passed down through generations and marriages. Both of these encompass the aesthetic wabi incredibly well, as the locket and the wedding dress both have been used and loved, and through this have gained sentimental value. Both seem incredibly personal as well—in the first, grandma's locket is kept safe and close under the shirt. These are both great haiku with a sentimental and nostalgic feel. Wanda
the families stand
when she comes down the aisle
in great-grandma's dress
fingers tracing
intricate lace designs—
mother’s wedding dress
Even though this was not a pair to start with, they still could be considered a pair when they went up to battle for the bottom quarter champion of the top half. This was my favorite because the idea of both represented the aesthetic wabi pretty well. There is one that I liked A LOT better than the other one and was pretty happy when it won was the "fingers tracing..." haiku. I liked this one way more because in the first haiku, it just tells you that it's an old dress. The whole subject of the haiku is about the dress yet all it says about it is "in great-grandma's dress". The first two lines are obvious, so there is no need to put them there. However, on the other hand, the second haiku DESCRIBES the dress, and that is the whole point of wabi, I think; to describe WHY it is appreciated so much. So, in the second haiku, it is described as mother's wedding dress, which makes it special, but it also states that it has "intricate lace designs", which is awesome because then it shows that it is not just some wedding dress that mom picked off a hangar, but rather it makes it this dress that was specially made and carefully hand-crafted and the most perfect and beautiful wedding dress. That is why I love this haiku. Sendin
TOP half champion
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
CHAMPION
broken picture frame
from the storm
grandma still smiling
BOTTOM half champion
everyday
she slips on
her weathered boots
Merissa Marx
21st Century
grandma still grinds
the coffee beans
Sendin Bajric
broken locket—
my great grandmother
hidden inside
Megan Vail
grandmother’s name
scrawled inside
my Bible
Catherine Hixson
21st Century
grandma still grinds
the coffee beans
grandmother’s name
scrawled inside
my Bible
21st Century
grandma still grinds
the coffee beans
top quarter champion
BOTTOM half champion
yellow sticky note
my entire life
in scribbled font
bottom quarter champion
yellow sticky note
my entire life
in scribbled font
yellow sticky note
my entire life
in scribbled font
a ragged t-shirt
known as blanky
nestled between them
yellow sticky note
my entire life
in scribbled font
Lexie Huston
a secluded loft
where I would puff
Parliaments
Conner Kerrigan
a ragged t-shirt
known as blanky
nestled between them
Lindsay Quick
spring afternoon
my chipped nails
strumming the guitar
Wanda June
I like this pair because they are open ended, you don’t know exactly what the situation may be in either haiku. From one perspective, these haiku can have a chaotic feel to them, like neither of these people have their lives together. The person with their life on a sticky note is too busy to just live life, and passes the time going from one task to another; and the person with the cigarettes has to climb up in to this loft just to get time alone. On the other hand, maybe these haiku are related because they infer situations where life is under control. The sticky note person knows exactly where their life is headed—everything is organized; and the cigarette person is looking back on the days when he/she was a smoker (I’m inferring because of the word would). I also liked these two because they are different, both from the rest of the matched pairs and from each other. Two haikus that match almost exactly are not interesting to me, and I really like haiku that don’t spell everything out in an obvious way for the reader. Courtney Gallup
This was my favorite pair of haiku in class today. The first, I love because it really highlights the value of worn in and used objects. A little kid finds security in his "blanky", which in this case, is really not a blanky at all, but an old t-shirt. This gives it more value, though. The shirt might have been the kid's mom or dad's, giving it more meaning to the child. The second haiku, I like because it gives off a completely relaxed feeling. "Strumming the guitar" makes me feel that she is not practicing for a lesson, or recital. She is simply playing the guitar out of her pure joy of music. Both these haiku effectively portray the value of worn in objects. Courtney Gerk
yellow sticky note
my entire life
in scribbled font
grandmother’s name
scrawled inside
my Bible
A ragged t-shirt
Known as blanky
Nestled between them
baby's first steps
on the Fourth of July
stops the parade
I put these two together because they are both have an aspect of worn. The sticky note is old because there are a million tiny things written on it. The Bible is old because it once belonged to this person’s grandma. Both of them also have writing. When these two are put next to each other, the second one seems to be about the bible. It makes me think that the sticky note is everything this person needs remember that the Bible says. It probably has a lot of versus written on it. I like these two haiku together. I think they compliment each other well. Moli
I chose these two to be my favorite matched pair because of the youth and innocence in each. In the first I picture a crowded parade and a mom and dad take their son to see it. During the middle of the parade, the little boy takes his first steps into the parade. Although I don't picture the whole parade stopping, I picture then people around him stopping. The mom is quick to the rescue. She also feels proud and no longer cares about the parade, but about the milestone her son just accomplished. Then I picture the second haiku as if the family just came home from the Fourth of July festivities and the son is very tired. While watching a movie in mom and dad's bed, the son falls asleep with his blanky in hand. I really liked these two together as a pair because I picture the same young family in each, just enjoying each other and life's small moments. I picture the mom and dad being very proud parents. Jessica
Note: "baby's first steps" is from Matching Contest 5