a power outage
envelopes
the windowless room

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

Rick Bearce

dying campfire
the bugs
now chirping

peeling my skin
off of his
even the moon sweats

Stephanie Dietrich

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

peeling my skin
off of his
even the moon sweats

top quarter champion =

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

top half champion =

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

bottom quarter champion =

a midnight cloud
obscures the moon
and the path ahead

a midnight cloud
obscures the moon
and the path ahead

illuminated skin
the curve of your back
follows the moon

a midnight cloud
obscures the moon
and the path ahead

Natalie Pedrfetti

a starless sky
I find my way home
by memory

the crescent moon
above the tracks
and the willows

illuminated skin
the curve of your back
follows the moon

Jamie Devitt

top half champion =

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

grand champion =

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

bottom half champion =

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

Erin Wyant

born blind,
he imagines
what the colors are like

blinded
by the blackness
of a new moon

shadows attack
as the clouds swallow
the sun

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

shadows attack
as the clouds swallow
the sun

top quarter champion =

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

bottom half champion =

shadows suppress
the bright colors
caressing the corner

bottom quarter champion =

the slave slips away
in the night
—camouflage

the slave slips away
in the night
—camouflage

liquid at my feet
spilt pop
in the movie theater

midnight blue
as my eyes adjust
to the night

the slave slips away
in the night
—camouflage

Adam Stefo

I see clearly
until awaken
blackness

liquid at my feet
spilt pop
in the movie theater

Pat Steadman

dying campfire
the bugs
now chirping louder

peeling my skin
off of his —
even the moon sweats

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

a power outage
envelops
the windowless room

I liked the pairing of these haiku because they both give off heat, but at different intensities. One is a fading heat, the other is a passionate heat that matches the sticky humidity of the weather. Allison

I chose to compare these two because they were my favorite haiku that were submitted. It was easy for us to pair them together because they were both about the electricity being shut off, but it was hard because as a group we thought these were both well written and felt bad taking one of them out in the first round- however the obvious attraction won and we paired them up. The “resetting the breaker” focuses on the feeling of a cobweb-how icky and to maximize the gross exposure the author had it brushing the forehead which is a very sensitive and personal area. It was almost as though they were being violated and their personal space was being invaded by the darkness. The “a power outage’ haiku was also about being bombarded by darkness, but not in a direct physical way as the other one was. The room is windowless and closterphobic seeming to begin with, so without electricity it is truly a place of captivity. The darkness plays more on a person’s mental stability without them ever being touched. These two haiku just show the wide range darkness has in affecting humans. Traci

Midnight blue
As my eyes adjust
To the night

The slave slips away
In the night
- camouflage

a power outage
envelopes
the windowless room

resetting the breaker
a cobweb
brushes my forehead

We paired these two haiku together because they flowed together in a sense and they could both relate to a similar seem. The first haiku is about your eyes adjusting to see in the dark, which we thought would be how the slave in the second haiku would have to see or how the slave owner would be trying to see in order to find where the slave went. In the second haiku I personally liked the choice of the word camouflage. It seemed satirical or ironic in a way because the darkness of the slaves skin is what caused his suppression but it is also what helps him get out of slavery because his skin blends in with the night. We like the first haiku because it brought up a moment that many have felt but that you wouldn’t think to write about. We like the second one because it showed our topic of darkness in a different light. In the end we chose the slave haiku just because it had a very creative subject and because it was satirical. Corinne

This was my favorite pair matched up in the Dark Haiku contest. They both deal with the issue of a power outage, maybe caused by a storm or a power overload, but they do it in very different ways. The first one really gets the idea of darkness through by adding "the windowless room." If there is a power outage and you're in a room with no windows, it's going to be pitch black in there. The second one, however, uses the sense of touch to get a feeling across as well. To me, there aren't things that feel worse than running into a spider's web. They are sticky and clingy, and you never know if there was a spider on it that is now somewhere on you. Both of these haiku did a great job in creeping me out. Liz