giant sand castle
takes the beach
get back!

Emilio Tejada

beach day
the speckled salt
I carry with me

Benjamin Brawner

freshly made
baking in the sun
mud pies

Whitney Gray

concrete scratched hands
scuffy knees
driveway artshow

Whitney Gray

beach day
the speckled salt
I carry with me

concrete scratched hands
scuffy knees
driveway artshow

concrete scratched hands
scuffy knees
driveway artshow

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

bottom quarter champion

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

perfectly laid out blanket
the ant conquers
each small mountain

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

perfectly laid out blanket
the ant conquers
each small mountain

Erica Forbes

red and white checkered
pieces of time
the army of ants

Katherine Viviano

closed minivan doors
burst open
the kids run wild

Joseph Pegura

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

Joseph Pegura

TOP half champion

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

CHAMPION
 

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

BOTTOM half champion

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

Erica Forbes

too warm
we untangle our hands
from the new sun

Taryn Pepping

a single bead
rolls down my leg
I evaporate

Cori Grzenia

warm breeze
on an exposed thigh
life is sexier now

Genevieve Breitbach

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

warm breeze
on an exposed thigh
life is sexier now

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

bottom quarter champion

                                  the sun

              to feel
    my face
lift

long day in the sun
removing my socks
white feet

                                  the sun

              to feel
    my face
lift

long day in the sun
removing my socks
white feet

Michael Barber

the freckles I miss
appear on my face
pure joy

Corrin Littlefield

                                  the sun

              to feel
    my face
lift

Marah Kittelson

head facing the sun
I know
everything will be okay

Lauren Montesano

giant sand castle
takes the beach
get back!

beach day
the speckled salt
I carry with me

freshly made
baking in the sun
mud pies

concrete scratched hands
scuffy knees
driveway artshow

I like this match of haiku because they remind me of the beach. I like how both of them have the ability to describe the sand and how it is dealt with in both haiku. In the first haiku the sand is being used to build a castle which is normal thing to do at the beach if you are a kid. The second haiku is much more descriptive in that it describes the feeling of the person when the sand is held in their hand. It also describes what the sand appears to be in the sunlight. But going back to the first haiku, I notice that for some reason the castle is so big that it takes up all the space on the beach and that the last line warns us to get back. I don’t understand the last line because I don’t know if it has anything to do with the sand castle or if there is a shark in the water. Emilio

Sunshine and spring haiku make for a very pleasant group! I chose this pairing because of the unique perspective it has on childlike activities that we all still do on occasion though we may be "adults." They both bring around a strong sensory experience; the first haiku overflows with sensory words that make your skin crawl with the burn of leaning on the sidewalk too long, but ends with the overall stronger sense of satisfaction. The scuffy knees were so worth it! The second haiku has a nicely unexpected twist at the end, with the reader thinking, most likely, that the haiku is about warm bread or other pastry just out of the oven. I adore the imagery of "baking in the sun," how fantastically simple but out-of-the-box simultaneously. Both haiku twist nicely at the end into a more elementary, innocent, but equally important, story than might be suggested by the first couple of lines. By whipping out "mud pies" and "driveway artshow" in the final lines, respectively, the overall image shifts in the blink of an eye as the perspective changes and reminds us that it is the simple things that are most important. Genevieive

perfectly laid out blanket
the ant conquers
each small mountain

red and white checkered
pieces of time
the army of ants

closed minivan doors
burst open
the kids run wild

three ducks
waddle across the playground
just before recess

I like these two poems together, as they tell two different moments of the same type of energy. The kids burst out of the doors in the first one, full of excitement and fun; it’s an instantaneous peak of energy. In the second, the kids are just about to go outside, and you know when they see the ducks the same amount of energy will fly out of each kid as they run to pet the fuzzy creatures. Each poem describes different parts of the same energy. Taryn

This was my favorite match of those on the sheet by far. They were both just so cute and innocent with an overall pleasant feeling. I really appreciated the parallel between the kids running wild and the waddling ducks. Both of them are young and a bit odd, but both have very specific movements associated with them in the haiku. The haiku are also structured similarly, in which the focus is made in the first line and the action happens in the second. The second lines are also indicative of the action being played out. "Burst open" begins with a plosive b sound and ends quickly, just as quickly as the kids throw open the sliding door and pile out. The line about the ducks just continues on leisurely, just as ducks would waddle, playfully, but not rushed. Cori

sun tingling my skin
your soft touch
even warmer

too warm
we untangle our hands
from the new sun

a single bead
rolls down my leg
I evaporate

warm breeze
on an exposed thigh
life is sexier now

I thought that this was a great matching pair of haiku. They reminded me of the sticky, summer heat, and how badly you want to hold on to your special someone. But sometimes, it is just too hot! It made me think of laying in bed in the summertime and everything is hot and sweaty and you want to cuddle with your partner, but the heat just won’t allow it. So you settle with maybe touching your foot to theirs to try to keep in physical contact without the extra body heat! Whitney

I really enjoyed this pair together. When the sun finally comes back and is nice and warm after winter, I always become overcome with joy. Comparing the touch of sun with a person's touch makes me feel as if the two people are very close to each other. Reading this haiku warmed my heart and made me think about all the times I spent at the park with my grandmother. The second haiku pairs nicely with this because when I was a little boy I would always hold my grandma's hands when we walked because they were really soft hands. This paired haiku reminded me of family and how they need to be appreciated more. Tyler

I enjoyed this match because it is like the same metaphor but used backwards in the second haiku. It is like the first one is the beginning of a blooming relationship and the second is the ending of a once great one. The incorporation of the sun within all of it is a wonderful addition. It makes me feel happy even if the ending is sad, because the season that is associated with it is a warm, inviting one. katherine

Both haiku reference the warmth that another's skin brings. Although, the first wants to enhance and bring the warmth of the soft touch even closer whereas the second references the warm being too much. They both embody a similar feeling but one is more separate and less romantic. Both haiku are structured well and in a way that allows the reader to understand and flow through the poem. Grace

I like these two haiku together because they illustrate two different perspectives on similar situations. For example, I don't mind summer when it behaves itself by resting at about 75 degrees. If it gets much hotter than that, or God forbid, I feel one single sweat droplet touching me, I give up on the season entirely and hide in the air conditioning for the rest of the day. That being said, I identify with the first of this pair on a spiritual level, especially the dramatics of the last line. However, most of the world is more positive about the summer than I am, and the second haiku sums up that lighthearted spirit very well. I love the positive sentiment that when the subject of the haiku feels sexy, then therefore everything around her is sexy too. I also thought it was interesting how "sexier" doesn't really have a sexual connotation to it. When in the phrase "life is sexier," it sounds lighthearted, fun, flirty, and summer-y, which is perfect for this set. Natalie

This haiku is very appealing to me. I really enjoy how I can almost feel the person touching me. I can imagine the sun on my skin and the tingling sensation that it creates. Then I can imagine someone's soft touch on me that is only warmer because it is a very welcoming touch. The word "warmer" makes this haiku better because if a word like colder was used, it would make the touch seem not very welcomed at all. Michael

long day in the sun
removing my socks
white feet

the freckles I miss
appear on my face
pure joy

                                  the sun               to feel
    my face
lift

head facing the sun
I know
everything will be okay

I like this haiku pair from the matching haiku because it shows how the impact of the sun can affect people in different ways. One person, has white feet now because their legs are a lot tanner or even burnt. However, the other person is not talking about being burnt or tan, but instead referencing their freckles. I know my complexion has way more freckles than it did a month ago, but another person could hardly tell that I am tan. Just my being in the sun causes my freckles to come out, whereas when other people enter the dangerous ways of the sun, they become burnt. Erica

Even though the second haiku in this pair is mine, I enjoyed this match in the contest the most. What I like about the first haiku is the sense of the sun rising through it, while the second one is describing what happens when the sun does rise. When I think of spring, I think of the sun, because it has been gone for such a long time and it is finally emerging. The sun really makes me happy, so I enjoy when the sun goes up and is on me. That is why I wrote the second one in this pair, because every time I walk to class with the sun out, I close my eyes and feel like I am surrounded in warmth, like everything is going to be okay. Lauren

long day in the sun
removing my socks
white feet

warm breeze
on an exposed thigh
life is sexier now

beach day
the speckled salt
I carry with me

concrete scratched hands
scuffy knees
driveway artshow

I put these two haiku together because they remind me of the beginning of summer. After my first tennis match of the season in the hot sun, I get a long sock tan line that reaches up to my mid-calf and I get self-conscious for the rest of the summer about it. I can try to not wear socks while at the pool, but the efforts are futile and as my tennis matches continue, the tan line becomes more noticeable. The second haiku reminds me of when I realize the seasons are changing from winter to spring and I am able to wear shorts for the first time. A cool breeze will hit my leg while the sun beats on my face and I cannot help but smile

I think these haiku work really well together. They both have such vivid imagery. The first, I can feel the layer of salt that always ends up on you after a day at the ocean. It's always fun, to be sure, but coming home is a relief, because I can wash away the salt that has become like a second skin. The second haiku has so many sensory details - I can feel the hot pavement off the driveway, the little stones that have lodged into my hands and knees, the dustiness of the chalk, and and the sun beating down. These two together really exemplify the sensory images of summer. Marah