back in town
craving homemade candy
lot empty

Brandy Bockewitz

small town bar
felt worn
on the pool table

Debbie Myers

wind chimes—
pocked porch swing
rocks itself

Aubrie Cox

I watch
the sunset
on his empty chair

Sam Sinkhorn

small town bar
felt worn
on the pool table

I watch
the sunset
on his empty chair

top quarter champion

I watch
the sunset
on his empty chair

top half champion

six inches shorter
the hairbrush
on my neck

bottom quarter champion

six inches shorter
the hairbrush
on my neck

searching my pocket
for his key
a hole

six inches shorter
the hairbrush
on my neck

searching my pocket
for his key
a hole

Debbie Myers

empty driveway
I park myself on the front step
one key short

Aubrie Cox

the bite of
October breeze—
beardless

Melanie McLay

six inches shorter
the hairbrush
on my neck

Melanie McLay

These haiku are very similar. To me, they both seem to be dealing with a sense of loss but of different kinds. In the first haiku, the writer actually loses a key to someone's house. Maybe the author was getting ready to enter his house and realizes the key has fallen out due to the hole. However, in the second haiku the author does not lose the key; however, he/she notices the absence of the key of the key ring. Although, he/she may have given the key back or may have moved on, he/she hasn't been able to accept it. And now, when the author returns back to this place, and attempts to get into the house, he/she is now aware that have been missing something, namely the key, the entire time. Sam

the bite of
October breeze—
beardless

I don’t personally know what this feeling is like, but I like the image I get when I read it, especially as someone who has to turn people away from an urban church building in the dead of winter. Amy

six inches shorter
the hairbrush
on my neck

This haiku has a lot of relatable memories stored within. There is the slight annoyance of long hair – the tangles, blow-drying, and such. Next is the wanting of a fresh start. Finally a little bit of remorse because it is not what you are used to anymore. I really like the shrinking feeling in this one. Michelle

top half champion

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

champion

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

bottom half champion

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

going back everyday…
to the place where
we first met

Sam Sinkhorn

old pond;
on a rock I
wait for the frog

Aubrie Cox

country road
out so far
only the owl’s hoot

Melanie McLay

footprints in the snow
monkey's mask
cast aside

Aubrie Cox

going back everyday
to the place where
we first met

The neat thing about this haiku is that we don’t really know why the person keeps coming back to the spot. It could be that the other is lost, whether through death or simple romantic deterioration. Of course, that’s assuming that the other is a lover. It could also be a friend, a child, or another relative. It could also be taken another, perhaps even sadder way. Assuming that this is about loss, it could also imply that the narrator is forced to go back to the place that now holds such bad memories. What if the narrator worked at such a place? Having to face that every day would be a daunting task indeed. Mark

going back everyday…
to the place where
we first met

country road
out so far
only the owl’s hoot

top quarter champion

country road
out so far
only the owl’s hoot

bottom half champion

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

bottom quarter champion

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

shadows on the water
the fish follow
my wriggling fingers

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

frozen December pond
fish no longer
in sight

Brandy Bockewitz

shadows on the water
the fish follow
my wriggling fingers

Aubrie Cox

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

Sam Sinkhorn

passing in the hallway
we pretend
we’ve never kissed

Mark Beanblossom

passing in the hallway
we pretend
we’ve never kissed

This is one of my favorite haiku from the matching contests this week. I can feel all of the emotion in the non-action taken by the two people. Do they even talk, or is it a silent non-recognizing passing? Perhaps it is a "secret" relationship that they're not yet ready to unveil to their friends, or the result of an evening's one night stand, or perhaps one of them already has a boyfriend/girlfriend. Whatever the reason for their pretending, there could be different emotions they are hiding- from passion, remorse, or slyness. The hiding of the emotion requires turning off certain parts of the heart/mind. Debbie

the pull of the tide
brings me closer
to you

I like how you have the attraction of gravity working on two levels--love and the pull of the moon. So obviously on a beach, and I imagine just after the last bit of the sunset. A very literal sense would be the water rushing up and running to the person to not get wet, but I like the idea of that merely being an excuse, and that it really has nothing to do with the tide at all. Aubrie