beady black eyes
on a crow
open wide     forever

Caroline Lodovisi

open heart surgery
you forget
to sew me back together

Alyssa Becker

lifeguard instinct
I have to remember
I can't save everyone

Alyssa Becker

typical
through hell and back
she leaves me anyway

Caroline Lodovisi

open heart surgery
you forget
to sew me back together

lifeguard instinct
I have to remember
I can't save everyone

lifeguard instinct
I have to remember
I can't save everyone

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

bottom quarter champion

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

battery dead
a good excuse
to end it

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

battery dead
a good excuse
to end it

Savannah Riestenberg

fuel light on
white knuckles
until the next exit

Anna Harmon

mowing the grass above my dog's grave

Shannon Netemeyer

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

Shannon Netemeyer

TOP half champion

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

CHAMPION
 

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

BOTTOM half champion

dark tombstones
broken epitaphs
unreadable

Alexsenia Ralat

she loves me not?
no problem.
      we are only dust.

Ryan Sikora

the fish
flopping on the dock
nearly lifeless

Morgan Vogels

unwanted and forgotten
from birth till death
dog shelter

Matthew Vangunten

she loves me not?
no problem.
      we are only dust.

unwanted and forgotten
from birth till death
dog shelter

unwanted and forgotten
from birth till death
dog shelter

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

bottom quarter champion

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

passengers on a train
change without
changing anything

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

passengers on a train
change without
changing anything

Jordan Comish

I nurse my beer
sitting in my booth
alone as always

Owen Pulver

elixirs of all kinds
the cold fall night
fades into the black

Alexander Erickson

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

Alexander Erickson

lighting up the night
Christmas lights
not a single bulb unlit

Shannon Netemeyer

painting a night sky
I forget to add
the star

Alexsenia Ralat

light reflects
from the globe
disco queen

Savannah Riestenberg

the dance floor
falling apart
we don't care

Ryan Sikora

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

bottom quarter champion

the water boy
finally gets his chance
crowd goes wild

Alyssa Becker

•

big shoes
filling little ones—
my big brother

Caroline Lodovisi

Cheshire grin
the cat darts
out into the night

Alexsenia Ralat

windblown hair
in her eyes
in her mouth

Morgan Vogels

TOP half champion

CHAMPION
 

BOTTOM half champion

my favorite blanket
longer than the couch
we all fit under it

Alexsenia Ralat

•

midnight
we are
just getting started

Owen Pulver

bright eyes
youth unphased
she laughs with abandonment

Alexander Erickson

on dad's shoulders
marching in black
the band's procession

Ryan Sikora

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

bottom quarter champion

old socks
I laugh as I slide
across the wood floor

Alexsenia Ralat

•

skating on ice
across the hospital parking lot
a new dad

Randy Brooks

••••

no welcome party
no leaving party
clearing off the desk

Jordan Comish

bags and clothes
sprawled out
moving back in

Matthew Vangunten

•

beady black eyes
on a crow
open wide     forever

Caroline Lodovisi

open heart surgery
you forget
to sew me back together

Alyssa Becker

lifeguard instinct
I have to remember
I can't save everyone

Alyssa Becker

typical
through hell and back
she leaves me anyway

Caroline Lodovisi

I love this one. I guess that I'm just a sucker for this kind of poetry. The kind that's super metaphorical and has a little bit of heartbreak. I love poems about heartbreak. Not the obvious kind, though. I love the kind that is filled with underlying emotion and depth. The kind that kind of hit you in the gut with sadness. I also love the happy heartbreak poems just to let you know. I don't just like sadness. Alexsenia

I really relate to this haiku, not as much from the view of a lifeguard, but as someone planning to go into a field devoted to lifesaving. I must be able to accept that I can't save everyone, I will lose patients, and I will have to be able to help people get through that. I will also have to be able to deal with those situations within my own psyche. Doug

battery dead
a good excuse
to end it

Savannah Riestenberg

fuel light on
white knuckles
until the next exit

Anna Harmon

mowing the grass above my dog's grave

Shannon Netemeyer

lowering him into the ground
my heels
follow suit

Shannon Netemeyer

I'm pretty sure that anyone who has experienced loss can relate to this. on some level, when you lose someone or something close to you, a piece of you will go with them. it's this feeling of loss, the hollow, aching pain that really connects you to them. if you truly ache as though part of you has been removed, then they really did, and still do, have meaning to you. Doug

dark tombstones
broken epitaphs
unreadable

Alexsenia Ralat

she loves me not?
no problem.
      we are only dust.

Ryan Sikora

the fish
flopping on the dock
nearly lifeless

Morgan Vogels

unwanted and forgotten
from birth till death
dog shelter

Matthew Vangunten

This haiku makes me so sad, which is very impressive for just 9 words. I love my cats so much and it is just heart breaking to think about all of the animals that do not have the same life as my pets. I wish there was a way to end the suffering that the mass population of dogs and cats face in shelters, but nothing that has been tried works. I also like this haiku because until the last line you could be talking about a person who feels unwanted by their family. Savannah

As someone who worked in a dog shelter for a long time, I can understand this. the sheer sadness and contempt of that place, can make you feel so depressed. When there's so much pain and sadness in one place, it's easy to see that that's really what the poor creatures in there are feeling. Unwanted and forgotten, and sadly, too many people can end up feeling like this too, as they leave their homes and move out into the big scary world, it's easy to end up feeling insignificant. Doug

passengers on a train
change without
changing anything

Jordan Comish

I nurse my beer
sitting in my booth
alone as always

Owen Pulver

elixirs of all kinds
the cold fall night
fades into the black

Alexander Erickson

the sun may orbit again
but it stopped rising
years ago

Alexander Erickson

I have no idea what this haiku is about, but something about it is very beautiful. I think the word choice of “orbit” and “rising” makes a big difference in the overall flow of the haiku. I think the meaning is related to the fact that we will keep living life, but nothing new or exciting will happen. It almost sounds like the person is stuck in a rut and everyday is exactly the same. The ambiguity of this haiku is I think what I like most about it. Savannah

This haiku reminds me of my stars and galaxies class. When I look at the sky I am reminded that I ma nothing but a little speck on a speck of a planet in one tiny part of the solar system. Most people would let that discourage them from trying to make an impact on the world. For me, it just puts things into perspective: there is so much about the universe that I do not know about. I am humbled by the fact that I am only a minute part of this gigantic wonder. One of the weirdest things to think about is that we are so far away from the sun and other stars that it truly could have stopped shining but the light has not yet stopped reaching us. That's kind of creepy to think about. Alyssa

lighting up the night
Christmas lights
not a single bulb unlit

Shannon Netemeyer

painting a night sky
I forget to add
the star

Alexsenia Ralat

light reflects
from the globe
disco queen

Savannah Riestenberg

the dance floor
falling apart
we don't care

Ryan Sikora

the water boy
finally gets his chance
crowd goes wild

Alyssa Becker

•

big shoes
filling little ones—
my big brother

Caroline Lodovisi

Cheshire grin
the cat darts
out into the night

Alexsenia Ralat

windblown hair
in her eyes
in her mouth

Morgan Vogels

my favorite blanket
longer than the couch
we all fit under it

Alexsenia Ralat

•

midnight
we are
just getting started

Owen Pulver

bright eyes
youth unphased
she laughs with abandonment

Alexander Erickson

on dad's shoulders
marching in black
the band's procession

Ryan Sikora

I like this haiku because I feel like it is very comforting. It reminds me of nights in with my friends. The sober, weekend nights where you simply make popcorn, watch movies, and squeeze as many people as possible on the couch. This haiku is relaxing, and I feel like it puts the readers at ease. Renee

old socks
I laugh as I slide
across the wood floor

Alexsenia Ralat

•

skating on ice
across the hospital parking lot
a new dad

Randy Brooks

••••

no welcome party
no leaving party
clearing off the desk

Jordan Comish

bags and clothes
sprawled out
moving back in

Matthew Vangunten

•

I like this haiku because I feel like it captures the nervousness but excitement of the new father. “Skating on ice” could represent the father dancing in excitement. It could also represent the father falling all over the place, trying to carry all of the new accessories that come with having a baby. Renee

This haiku gives me the feeling of disorganization but then comfort. There is something bittersweet about move in day. You are saying goodbye to the people you love from home but are too excited to be sad. These are the days that you are reunited with friends and bombarded by hugs from them. While the day is hectic, it is a great day. Renee