a pretty face
I wonder where she goes
on the weekends

Whitley Sapp

FOMO
tonight was the night
future husband?

Julia Peterson

night in
a couple watches
friends’ snapchat stories

Whitley Sapp

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

Mikaela Vuglar

a pretty face
I wonder where she goes
on the weekends

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

bottom quarter champion

so many moments wasted
trying to keep up
. . . with the crowd

so many moments wasted
trying to keep up
. . . with the crowd

the nook
if I stay here too long
they will forget me

left a party
but wondered if . . .
I was missing anything

Emily Reeves

so many moments wasted
trying to keep up
. . . with the crowd

Amanda Bivens

the nook
if I stay here too long
they will forget me

Connor Mendenhall

snapchat tapping
through everyone's adventures
instead of writing my essay

Ariya Hawkins

TOP half champion

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

CHAMPION

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

BOTTOM half champion

curls for the girls
staring at the mirror
do they notice me

Mason Bruce

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

Benjamin Woodcock

moving away
fear missing
my sister growing up

Daryann Birt

field trip
not too sick
i must go

Rene Sanchez

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

moving away
fear missing
my sister growing up

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

bottom quarter champion

your Friday plans
i watch behind
my phone screen

your Friday plans
i watch behind
my phone screen

long day
finally home
what are they up to?

your Friday plans
i watch behind
my phone screen

Mikaela Vuglar

saturday morning
empty gym
where is everyone?

Grace Ruddell

long day
finally home
what are they up to?

Evan Chastain

climbing a tree
to see what he's missing
Zacchaeus

Randy Brooks

a pretty face
I wonder where she goes
on the weekends

Whitley Sapp

FOMO
tonight was the night
future husband?

Julia Peterson

night in
a couple watches
friends’ snapchat stories

Whitley Sapp

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

Mikaela Vuglar

I really liked this haiku. I relate to this haiku and I think that is why I like it. I always have a fear of missing out on things. I am always the first one to show up when I'm going to be hanging out with my friends, and I am the last one to leave too. I want to get the most out of the time that I have with my friends because my friends mean a lot to me. I also tend to not go to events when it involves people that I do not know because I am severely shy. My shyness tends to take over and I end up not going to a lot of events. I later regret my decision because the events always seem like they will be fun, and I think that I missed out on something. When I don't go to events I get the feeling that I missed something really funny that will be an inside joke for those that were there to witness it, and as I get older, I think that I missed the chance to meet my possible future husband. The haiku makes you feel a bit nervous because it makes you feel like you missed out on a huge part of life. That feeling that you might have just missed major milestone is a scary feeling. I like things that I can relate to and that is why I like this haiku. Emily Reeves, Spring 2019

What is so interesting about this pairing is that both deal with relationships. One involves a couple that decides to stay in for the night, the other is about how the couple no longer is – maybe because effort like staying in for the night instead of partying wasn't made a point. Both of them have a severe case of FOMO. In the first one, the couple tries to do good for their relationship and just spend time together, but they're still too consumed by what other people are doing. The other haiku is a case of FOMO obviously because even though the person made the choice to get out of the relationship, they're still attached. Connor Mendenhall, Spring 2019

These were two of my favorite overall, the second one actually being my favorite of the FOMO haiku. Both don’t entirely fit the mold of the FOMO concept, but that’s part of why I like them. The first one seems happy at first, since they are a couple staying in for the night, but them both watching their friends’ stories, it makes it seem like they kind of wish they went out. The second gave me chills. I picture a couple where one side is giving all they got, but not receiving much in return. It’s not from lack of desire, but rather one is simply exhausted. The other person is obviously striving still, which probably makes the other wonder if their partner would be better off without them. Benjamin Woodcock, Spring 2019

From the beginning of our kukai tournament, I really enjoyed this "too tired to love" haiku in particular. I almost feel overwhelmed with how many different ways I could interpret it, but above all else, I think it’s because it was written incredibly well. My initial interpretation comes from the perspective of a divorced parent, and their children have been separated by the divorce. They are forced to watch both children grow up apart. The word separately makes me think the children never really interact or get to see one another for much longer than a simple passing. The children might be passed back and forth by the parents on weekends. This parent is simply exhausted, and likely depressed, from the divorce—so much so they are unable to feel love at this point in time. I think it definitely would impact their future love life, but it will also likely affect their relationship with their children. Jake Cihak, Spring 2019

a pretty face
I wonder where she goes
on the weekends

Whitley Sapp

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

Mikaela Vuglar

too tired to love
i watch
you blossom separately

Mikaela Vuglar

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

Benjamin Woodcock

When reading these next to each other I see the longing in the first one for the love from the pretty face. And in the second one I see someone who had fallen in love before but is tired of it coming back and not working together as a couple. Daryann Birt, Spring 2019

This was my favorite pairing from our matching contest pertaining to FOMO. The common factor of both of these poems, beginning and ending. Both authors are seemingly at the party scene and end up alone, going unnoticed. The difference between the stories they tell is that the first author is not attempting to gain attention from their prospect lover. The second author is actively attempting to gain the attention of the one they have their eye on, but seemingly always go unnoticed. Another common factor is that they both end in the feeling of defeat. I enjoy how the first poem ends in light-hearted defeat, “blossom separately.” The interesting choice of pairing a dainty word like blossom with a painful word like separately when you do not want to be separate, leaves the reader with a feeling of accomplishment but also a feeling of hope.  Unlike the first poem, the second author leaves the audience with no glimmer of hope by uses the language “will never.” There is absolutely no possibility left for the reader to imagine a happy ending. Breana Bagley, Spring 2019

left a party
but wondered if . . .
I was missing anything

Emily Reeves

so many moments wasted
trying to keep up
. . . with the crowd

Amanda Bivens

the nook
if I stay here too long
they will forget me

Connor Mendenhall

snapchat tapping
through everyone's adventures
instead of writing my essay

Ariya Hawkins

a pretty face
I wonder where she goes
on the weekends

Whitley Sapp

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

Benjamin Woodcock

I enjoyed these haiku because both of them created a feeling of longing.  They also both are written by what appears to be a secret admirer.  In both haiku, the author hardly knows the subject they are writing about.  There is a surface level relationship between the two. Mikaela Vuglar, Spring 2019

night in
a couple watches
friends’ snapchat stories

Whitley Sapp

your Friday plans
i watch behind
my phone screen

Mikaela Vuglar

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

Benjamin Woodcock

moving away
fear missing
my sister growing up

Daryann Birt

I matched these two pair because of my feelings toward the first haiku. This was one that I had on my list making it into the final 4 of the tournament brackets. I liked this because of the simplicity behind it. I don’t have go out staying up till 2am waking up feeling like crap the next morning. I can hunker down light a fire and watch movies with my significant other. Living vicariously through your friends, I enjoy their night just as much as I enjoy my own. I find these two haiku lacking much tone and depth. There is no mystery behind these friday night haiku, it’s more of a feel-good vibe and I dig it. Mason Bruce, Spring 2019

I enjoyed both of these haikus, which made it difficult to choose. I sided with “sore mornings”, but by a slim amount. They both created a sad image, but in totally difficult areas. One focuses on a person trying to become something someone would want but knows it won’t happen. This brings feelings of sadness and sympathy for the one trying so hard. You almost start rooting for them to get the person they are trying to impress. The other on focuses on the sadness of siblings splitting up due to college and time. It related to me because I felt sad watching my family driving away. I felt sad and wondered what they were doing, which was weird because I used to not wonder that. They both did a great job striking the feelings in me and relatable experiences. This was my favorite match, and the winner of it was actually the one that one the whole thing. Evan Chastain, Spring 2019

curls for the girls
staring at the mirror
do they notice me

Mason Bruce

sore mornings
all for the one
who will never notice

Benjamin Woodcock

moving away
fear missing
my sister growing up

Daryann Birt

field trip
not too sick
i must go

Rene Sanchez

I enjoyed this haiku pairing because they both deal with the hurt that comes from being unnoticed. Initially when I read the first line of the “curls for the girls” haiku, I thought that the “curls” referred to someone's hair. As I was talking to Grace after class as we were leaving the room, she brought it to my attention that the “curls” in the first line likely refers to bicep curls. Perhaps there was a young guy at the gym looking in the mirror at the people around him to see if anyone has noticed him. Meanwhile, perhaps this is the same young guy (or a different person altogether) who is sore from working out so much only to impress a person that doesn't notice him. Both of these haiku have the word “notice” in the last line, perhaps to highlight the lack of acknowledgement they receive from the people that they admire. Ariya Hawkins, Spring 2019

This "sore mornings" haiku simply tugs on my heart strings for this person, but for two totally different reasons. It definitely is a shame the one they are after does not notice them, but even more so that their efforts to improve themselves for this person. However, I don’t think anyone should have to make drastic changes to their appearance in order to impress someone else. Obviously, this is an idealization because that is simply how our image-centered society works. With all of the advertisements implanting the idea in our head that we are not perfect unless… The truth of the matter is, if that one you’re after does not notice/accept you for who you are, then that relationship would not be founded in true, reciprocated feelings. So, I feel so bad for this person because they are working so hard to impress someone who simply doesn’t care about them to begin with, and that’s honestly kind of sad. Jake Cihak, Spring 2019

your Friday plans
i watch behind
my phone screen

Mikaela Vuglar

saturday morning
empty gym
where is everyone?

Grace Ruddell

long day
finally home
what are they up to?

Evan Chastain

climbing a tree
to see what he's missing
Zacchaeus

Randy Brooks