my winter body
and my summer body
two different people

Samuel Miller

•

we speak the same language
but I still can't
understand you

Brittany Walsh

•••

Honestly I can relate to this one because sometimes when I talk to my friends, unfortunately they cannot understand what I just said. I try the best I can to make sense but sometimes no sense comes out at all. Sometimes I do not know if English was my first language but this haiku I interpreted in a humorous way, but it could be in a romantic way. Olivia

broken old dock
the only place . . .
I find peace

Caitlyn Latshaw

•••••

I enjoy this haiku because it brings me back home. There are a lot of lakes where I'm from, and I'm very close to the ocean. I connect because I find the water very calming, and I would often sit on a dock when I just wanted to think. There is an old broken dock near my grandma's house that was nice to be on because it was covered by trees and got tons of shade. The water is crystal clear and I visit it even to this day! Kyle K.

telling everyone
“i'm getting my summer body ready”
   . . . But i didn't say which summer

Yunek Moore

•

tilted street sign
     angry officer
          straight enough

counting down
days left of college
—I'll do it next week

Kyle McMahon

•

saving the worms
from the driveway—
drowning them

Caitlyn Latshaw

•

midnight run
golf course sprinklers
showering under the moonlight

Nicholas Kemp

••••• •••••

I really enjoyed this haiku because I use to do this when I was in high school with the cross country team I was on. The cross country that I was on, was the best thing that I have been a part of and we were little teenagers who had fun running. There was a golf course near our high school and ironically, one of our home meets was on this course. We would run in our sports bras, (the time when I could run in a sports bra), during the night time. I loved having running adventures with our cross country team and I thought this haiku was quite enchanting. Olivia

countdown on the calendar
smaller and smaller
there's still finals week

silly adventures
class in the morning
oh well

Andrea Burns

••••

I like this haiku because it reminds me of my college years. I find peace in adventures, even if that's just riding around at night in a new part of town, or traveling on the weekend. My freshman year my best friend in Decatur was a townie and I had a 9 am course, no matter how much work I still had to do or how early I knew I would need to get up to do my work, I still went on these adventures with my friend. It made me happy and it was nice to experience this with someone else, because most times I did it by myself. My silly adventures outweighed my missing sleep. Dub

selfies in public
how much better
i look with dog ears

Olivia Gonzalez

•

kicking pebbles across the concrete
I pretend to
play soccer

Brittany Walsh

•

midnight drive
my past
in the rearview mirror

Emily Chudzik

••••• •

I also liked this one because of how it relates to me.  There are times where life is overwhelming or I need to get away and think so I just go on a cruise and think. I feel like that is what the author is doing in this haiku. It also could mean that they are leaving the past in the rearview mirror, which is also something that relates well. Nick R.

nasty words said
in front of the children
just walk away

Caitlyn Latshaw

••

quick tug
from the fishing pole—
I sigh for the tenth time

Kyle McMahon

•

stargazing—
the brightest one
sits next to me

Emily Chudzik

••••• ••••• •

I really enjoyed this one because it brings back memories and clear images. I've laid out back home in the country underneath the stars. It was so beautiful looking up at the ocean of tiny lights with the person I cared most about right next to me. It is such a peaceful and relaxing time. Nick R.

leaping of the frog
up and over
sunset

Chase Smith

••

the crickets in the tall grass
confessing our sins . . .

Chase Smith

•••••

the softest kiss
for my forehead
he's all for me

Andrea Burns

••••

I really loved this haiku! It captures such a pure and beautiful moment. I can relate to it so well. I felt like this haiku gave me butterflies like I would normally get in a moment like that. The author did a very nice job of bringing an entire moment that would normally be just ignored or pushed aside and made it so much more. Caitlyn

barbeque smoke
     my father
kissing someone else

Kala Keller

••••

the lights come on—
I thought I was dancing
with her

Kyle McMahon

•

laying here next to you
the world is old
and so are we

i keep promising
him
one more sleepover

Andrea Burns

••

conversations getting shorter
Yet my love grows . . .
      for someone else.

Yunek Moore

••••

I like this one, because there's a lot to interpret. From what I understand, this is dealing with a couple who is drifting apart. Their conversations are becoming shorter, less meaningful. The narrator says that despite this, their love grows; however, the twist ending reveals that it is for someone else. That could be the reason why the current couple is drifting. The narrator has fallen for someone else. Emily

our icy backs
frozen on the asphalt
     I felt the moon

Kala Keller

•••

a kiss on my forehead
reminds me
you love me

Brittany Walsh

••

flowers in the field
I pick one to save for
nobody

Paige Dorsel

••••

he wipes the tears
from her eyes
then makes her laugh

Olivia Gonzalez

••••• ••

I picked this haiku as my double vote, because I think it is extremely sweet. It honestly reminds me of something that would happen in a movie. The wiping the tears from her eyes eventually to make the girl laugh is just so sincere and can come from a romantic love story. The lines flow very well together and the words fill up each line nicely. I like how everything in the haiku is associated with a person's face. It goes from the tears that come from the eyes eventually talking about a laugh. It correlates very nicely and I love how it makes me smile and have hope. Kate

“I wanna hold your hand”
he reads
          the wedding vows

we were over
the moment
your fist raised

Olivia

•••

we stare at the sunset
the darkness comes
out of us both

Chase Smith

••••

connecting your
beauty marks—
the Big Dipper

Emily Chudzik

••••

I didn't tell Mom
about his tattoos
yikes

Kala Keller

•••

late night
we sneak to the train tracks
no one will see

Chase Smith

••••

I picked this one as one of my double votes because of it encompasses a lot about what I like in a haiku: adventure, danger/daring circumstances or sense of wonder. I recently made NIGHT LIFE, a collection of haiku about night life on a college campus, and this includes the elements of night and adventure as does my collection. So, I can really relate to this haiku. It also takes me back to freshman year when I would do the same thing (haha). Kyle K.

burnt bacon—
i thought you
knew how to cook

Emily Chudzik

••

rain streaked evening
i wish i could take back
that car ride

Emily Chudzik

•

a field of trees
my best friend's laugh
        echoes through

Jordan Oelze

••••

he gives
his last dollar
to the homeless man

Nick Retherford

•••

game show music
revealing the surprise
a plate of spaghetti

singing in the shower
the birds in competition with her songs.
they're winning

     eyes closed
calming wind
     quietly stirs

4th mile
the sun hides behind the trees
better turn around

peaking through the cracks
of an empty parking lot
a yellow tulip

Kyle McMahon

••

walk-off grand slam
a proud grandpa
screams!

spring weather
deflated soccer ball
sitting in the closet

back from the funeral—
we do dishes
as a family

Kyle McMahon

•••

big eyes beg
from under the table
—the crumb collector

Kyle McMahon

•••

*crunch* I love
. . . thin mints . . . *crunch*
the whole box . . . not again!

Kyle Kite

••

This is one of my double votes because it is me. I could easily eat a whole box of Girl Scout cookies especially thin mints. Every opportunity my family gets we buy a surplus of Girl Scout cookies. They are a family favorite. I also like how they added the *crunch* because it produces sound in the haiku that I can hear perfectly. Chase

the last shot
gym floor shakes
right through the net

in her own realm
turning pages
glancing up at him

Paige Dorsel

•

the snow falls gracefully
the cars slide every which way
one into the semi-truck

Paige Dorsel

•

cool breeze
blowing off of the ocean
the taste of Piña Colada

Kyle Kite

••••

This haiku is my other double vote from the final kukai because it gets me excited for my trip to Spain and reminds me of my trip to Spain last year. I am going to Spain May 31st and this haiku makes me picture exactly the spot I'm going to be in because in Spain the breeze coming off the ocean is super cool. The breeze comes often too but it is relieving because the temperature is usually pretty high in the summer. This haiku also appeals to my taste buds because I can taste the Pina colada. Chase

“our ice cream machine is broken.”
          okay . . .
                      no.

Jordan Oelze

•

shaggy hair
   water drips
      from my trunks

hills of Ireland
mountains of Pennsylvania
on the stationary bike

Nicholas Kemp

•••

rolling the joint
on the leg of my jeans
the cops bust in

Kyle Kite

•

cicada creek—
after sunset
they all come out to sing

Kala Keller

••••

low battery
phone call from Mom
he answers

Nick Retherford

•••••

I love my mother, but sometimes she is over protective. One time I took a nap with my phone and silent and had it on floor, I was awoken by safety security knocking on my door and numerous missed phone calls from my mom. She had not heard from me, for a couple of hours and she thought the worse. My mother makes sure I talk to her everyday and I know if I'm about to be away from my phone for any period of time I need to let her know. I'm the person in this haiku, if my phone was about to die I would still answer for my mother. Dub

holding her for the first time
“don't drop the baby”
Mom says

reunion dinner. . .
silent pauses
     let's change the subject

old theater
the seat lowers
but sits empty

Caitlyn Latshaw

•••

This is my second double vote, because it gives a very detailed image without telling me what they are referring too. Everyone knows how old theaters are creepy and people begin to freak out when in them. Therefore, the seat lowers which is weird in the first place because I don't think people go to old theaters anymore. Then it hits me that the seat is empty in the theater but down; therefore, making me think a ghost is sitting in that seat. I have a deeper connotation with it too. The ghost sitting is from the past just like the old theater, so it represents the past and the memories made. Kate

gas light dings on
he pushes harder
on the pedal

passing by
on the trail
blossoming dogwood

Kate Gebultowicz

•

I can hear my grandmother's voice
telling me now
“get your shit together”

the old man
stares
rain fills the pond

Chase Smith

•

the poster hanging
from one tape roll
Gandhi

creaky floor board
my new home
the silence within

reaching out
     the cold water
moves through my fingers

Kate Gebultowicz

••

lying in the grass
watching clouds
daises in her hair

Caitlyn Latshaw

•

juice drips to          the pavement below
     giggling behind a big old
                    watermelon
               smile

shrimp Alfredo
something bad will happen
if I quit stirring

the wind may shake
the branch
but it will not shake
the Crow

Kala Keller

•