home alone
floorboard creaks
i hide under the covers

Maya Dougherty

shower running
the creak creak
of the floorboards

Lane Casper

empty library
walls creak     slowly
rats

Mackenzie Martin

friends explore
the abandoned house
it's empty . . . no longer

Trey DeLuna

shower running
the creak creak
of the floorboards

friends explore
the abandoned house
it's empty . . . no longer

shower running
the creak creak
of the floorboards

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

bottom quarter champion

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

crunch of dead leaves . . .
hairs on neck
stand straight up

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

Georgia Martindale

looking around the room
the little fairy
tries to find her mother

Alex Herrera

crunch of dead leaves . . .
hairs on neck
stand straight up

Lane Casper

bumpy hay ride
zombies emerge
from the woods

Kalli Farmer

TOP half champion

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

Champion & Grand Champion
 

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

BOTTOM half champion

popout decor in my front yard
little red riding hood
falls down

Mia Klek

a clown no longer hides
the little girl
screams

Kalli Farmer

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

Trey DeLuna

bitter cold
ballerinas, superheroes, doctors
bundled in coats and scarves

Maya Dougherty

popout decor in my front yard
little red riding hood
falls down

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

bottom quarter champion

Jack-o-lanterns gawk
while she struts by
a skimpy costume

finally alone
she replaces her mask
with a Halloween mask

Jack-o-lanterns gawk
while she struts by
a skimpy costume

masks, costumes, and make-up
we pretend to be who we are not
a daily occurence

Trey DeLuna

finally alone
she replaces her mask
with a Halloween mask

Austin Taylor

plump pumpkin
I cut into
smiley face illuminated

Mackenzie Martin

Jack-o-lanterns gawk
while she struts by
a skimpy costume

Austin Taylor

no plans
new bag of candy—
I wait for the doorbell

Lane Casper

ring of the doorbell
it’s not for me
they want the treats

Mia Klek

jack-o-lanterns light up
the porch
a forgotten neighbor

Georgia Martindale

Halloween night
a brave ghost approaches
the house on the corner

Austin Taylor

ring of the doorbell
it’s not for me
they want the treats

Halloween night
a brave ghost approaches
the house on the corner

Halloween night
a brave ghost approaches
the house on the corner

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

bottom quarter champion

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

looking through
the night's treasure
“Who gave me an apple?”

first halloween
baby becomes
a little devil

Lucas Chatterton

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

Austin Taylor

end of the night
i’ll trade you my reeses
for your twizzlers!

Maya Dougherty

looking through
the night's treasure
“Who gave me an apple?”

Alex Pratt

home alone
floorboard creaks
i hide under the covers

Maya Dougherty

shower running
the creak creak
of the floorboards

Lane Casper

empty library
walls creak     slowly
rats

Mackenzie Martin

friends explore
the abandoned house
it's empty . . . no longer

Trey DeLuna

I like these two being together because of the similarity. Both describe an instance where many can relate to being or thinking that they are alone at home relaxing when they hear an out of place sound and get a feeling like someone is there. I have had this happen before only to find my roommates coming back from practice or class without me hearing the door. Alex

This was, hands down, the most difficult pair for me to compare. They are both thrilling in the fact that they almost give you goosebumps because the imagery in the haiku seem so real. However,

shower running
the creak creak
of the floorboards

is the stronger haiku for me. I am instantly reminded of the shower scene from Psycho will this haiku, along with the haunting soundtrack that is playing where Norman brutally stabs her. I also like the clear auditory image of the creak creak. Mackenzie

haunted house
the young girl tugs
on her father’s shirt

Georgia Martindale

looking around the room
the little fairy
tries to find her mother

Alex Herrera

crunch of dead leaves . . .
hairs on neck
stand straight up

Lane Casper

bumpy hay ride
zombies emerge
from the woods

Kalli Farmer

I really liked both of the haiku in this matched pair. I thought the first one was cute that her father took her to a haunted house. I feel like a lot of people imagined a little girl being scared and needing to tug on her dad's shirt to pull them away. I pictured the little girl dragging him through the haunted house because he was the one who got scared. I also liked the second haiku. Again, this was a cute haiku with a little girl dressed as a fairy. I liked the wording “the little fairy” instead of saying “the girl dressed as a fairy”. I could also feel the panic of the little fairy that was looking for her mother around the room. Overall, I liked the first haiku the most. Austin

These were my favorite 2 haiku that were from the Halloween kukai. I really enjoy both of these haiku because they both have that family element and that is something that I really enjoy. The first one makes me think of when I was little and I would be trick or treating and want to go the scary houses like all the big kids but I was scared so I'd hold onto my mom or dad the whole time. I like the second one because of how it refers to the girl as "the little fairy" because I think the idea of actually becoming the costume for the night is really cool. It captures that sense of wonderment and fantasy from Halloween. Lucas

I really liked these two haiku because I thought there were both well written and they created a clear image in my head of the situation. I like the word choice in both of these poems, especially the words "tug" in the first haiku and "the little fairy" in the second. The little girl in the first one isn't holding, or pulling, but she is tugging, which makes the image completely different than it would be with any other word. I imagine she is trying to get her father to pick her up so she doesn't have to walk through the haunted house and risk being too far away from him. In the second, I love how they use the girl's costume to refer to who she is. I just picture a cute little kid dressed up in a fair costume looking around the room. When I picture this image it makes me feel so sad for the child who is probably scared in the big, crowded room on Halloween. Both of these haiku also deal with innocence and fear. These two things are sort of battling each other throughout the haiku. Trey

popout decor in my front yard
little red riding hood
falls down

Mia Klek

a clown no longer hides
the little girl
screams

Kalli Farmer

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

Trey DeLuna

bitter cold
ballerinas, superheroes, doctors
bundled in coats and scarves

Maya Dougherty

This haiku was one my favorite out of the two matching contests we did yesterday in class. I love this haiku for the vivid imagery that it conjures, and the creepy feeling it gives me when I imagine the scene. When I read this haiku, I imagine a woman alone in a hotel room. It's at night, and suddenly she hears a knock at the door. She isn't expecting anyone, so when she approaches the door she looks through the peephole to see who it is before opening the door. Instead of seeing the normal hallway, she sees an eye staring directly back at her, as if they knew she would be looking through the hole and wanted to stare at her, too. This scene is so specific, and so scary, and I love it. It is a perfect haiku for Halloween. Lane

This was another difficult pair for me, and I think for this one, it was because the two haiku were so different. You have a terrifying haiku versus a very cute depiction of children on Halloween night. However, as much I like the imagery of the cold air and creative costumes of the children, I gravitated towards the following:

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

I love the eyes (hence my pre-optometry focus), so I found the haiku to be even more clever. The visual of the knocking stranger putting their face directly up against the door is a frightening one, and like a good haiku and horror movie, it brings up more questions than it answers. What does the stranger want? Can they see her through the peephole? etc. Mackenzie

masks, costumes, and make-up
we pretend to be who we are not
a daily occurence

Trey DeLuna

finally alone
she replaces her mask
with a Halloween mask

Austin Taylor

plump pumpkin
I cut into
smiley face illuminated

Mackenzie Martin

Jack-o-lanterns gawk
while she struts by
a skimpy costume

Austin Taylor

I enjoyed this pair because of the way that both are written and because of the message behind them. Whether we want to admit it or not we all act like different people than who we actually are, no matter what the reason. Due to this, I really enjoyed that fact that both authors point out the fact that dressing up as something we're not is a normal and daily thing, and not something that only happens once a year. Alex P.

I really liked this matched pair because of the personification of the pumpkins. I could really see the pumpkins mouth wide open and gawking at the person walking by. It made me smile. I also really liked the sense of fellowship that the first haiku gave me. For whatever reason, it made me feel like I was back with my family having a great time and giving pumpkins life. I really enjoyed this matched pair. Ben

no plans
new bag of candy—
I wait for the doorbell

Lane Casper

ring of the doorbell
it’s not for me
they want the treats

Mia Klek

jack-o-lanterns light up
the porch
a forgotten neighbor

Georgia Martindale

Halloween night
a brave ghost approaches
the house on the corner

Austin Taylor

first halloween
baby becomes
a little devil

Lucas Chatterton

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

Austin Taylor

end of the night
i’ll trade you my reeses
for your twizzlers!

Maya Dougherty

looking through
the night's treasure
“Who gave me an apple?”

Alex Pratt

I really liked both of these haiku a lot! The first one is really clever in the fact that on the ordinary people call other people a little devil. But in this case, the baby actually dressed up as a little devil. And also you could imply that the baby was being fussy on putting on the costume and was not being easy for his or her parents, so I like the double meaning in it. And the other haiku is simply hilarious! “Witch-of-a-mother” is so clever because it sounds like a swear word that makes sense in the context, but in the third line you learn that the mother dressed up as a witch for halloween. Also the haiku as a whole is a funny story that the kid was trying to steal candy but the mother wouldn’t let him. That’s relatable because my mom would always only let me have one piece of candy a day after halloween but sometimes I would try to sneak more. I ended up going with the second haiku because it was more relatable and really funny. Mia

hand in our candy bowl
my witch-of-a-mother scolds me
fake wart

Austin Taylor

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

Trey DeLuna

a knock on the door
she looks through the peephole
an eye stares back

Trey DeLuna

first halloween
baby becomes
a little devil

Lucas Chatterton

This was my favorite matched pair because both of these haiku were very well written. The first one is humorous. At first I thought he was just calling his mother a witch and then realized that she is actually dressed up as one. This was hilarious to read. I like the second one because of how creepy it is. The author does a good job of scaring the reader with little to no context. Georgia

I liked this haiku because of the creepy factor it gives me when I read it. At first, I thought it was just a person standing outside the opposite side of the door putting their eye to the door. After reading this haiku multiple times, I then thought that maybe the person on the other side of the door was in a costume like an ogre or something with one eye. Either way it was a haiku that was descriptive and creepy. Kalli

I liked this second haiku because of how cute it was. I just picture a little girl all cute and innocent dressed up in the complete opposite of what she actually is, a little devil. I just find it funny that a family would choose to dress up their little girl in a costume that is the devil. Kalli