late night
homework
so many pop-tarts

briefcase discarded
the phone booth opens
up up and away

Ryan Fraedrich (7)

freckled girl
grape popsicle
ruins her shirt

Hannah Gifford (3)

I love this haiku because of the colors. Freckles, implying orange hair. A purple grape popsicle. And the fact that the popsicle ruins her shirt makes me see a brand new white shirt in the middle of summer. The bright white against a colorful summer background also evokes the vision of a very colorful scene. Geoffrey

low roar
pushing harder
get the mower up the hill

Austin Brettshneider (3)

on your roof
calm silence
a cool breeze

Austin Myers

I just like this one because when I read it I imagine being on my roof at home looking over the tops of the trees and down into my yard. I go up there sometimes just to enjoy the view and to sit in solitude. It just reminds me of being up there and at peace. Rob

perfect storm revealed
sun cast away
I begin a song

Christopher Potter (6)

a tree falls
now mom says
they all must go

Morgan Ewald (3)

first family dinner
with her new boyfriend
he looks old

R Nicole (4)

boots stuck in the mud
running in socks
in an estuary

headlights
from around the corner
cat's eyes

Geoffrey Eggleston (2)

labor day
the pool sits vacant
until next spring

overheated car
enhancing
the puke smell

Seth Harshman (7)

red striped swimsuit
cool, clear water
washes the sweat away

birthday candles
she blows them out
but does not wish

Danielle Mohrbach (10)

This haiku was most appealing to me because there are so many possible interpretations. It could be about someone who is so happy and content that there is nothing more to wish for. On the other hand it could be about someone who has given up hope and no longer sees the point in wishing. It could be about a small child who doesn't understand the concept of wishing after she blows out her candles as well. The ambiguity of the haiku is what makes it so attractive. It calls up so many possibilities that it forces the reader to stop and reflect. It also makes the poem relatable to anyone. Danielle Davis

end of summer
car full to the brim
sophomore year

hot coffee
doing loads of homework
and laundry

Seth Harshman (7)

pressing fresh leaves
in beautiful patterns
a sun-baked mud pie

setting up the bonfire
we forgot
about the firecrackers

Skya Gentle (6)

petals
her roses
slowly filling with rain

Skya Gentle (4)

morning storm
white caps
crash against the docks

washing dishes
with a good story
no longer a chore

R Nicole (5)

I gather from this haiku that, while washing dishes was once a chore, it is no longer that because of good company. In this haiku, I picture a grandmother huddled over her sink with suds up to her arms, enjoying a good time with her granddaughter. Normally, Grandma has to wash and dry the dishes herself, and she normally dreads the silence that is created by an empty house. Today, her granddaughter is visiting from college, and she is telling all sorts of funny stories from school. Grandma feels young again, and she actually enjoys the chore of washing dishes because she has a companion. Jarred

white lace
hangs over the festivities
rings exchanged

leaves rustle
don't move
cottonmouth

James Farris

packing my lunch
butterflies
yellow school bus

animals floating
with the noodles
in the steam

 Danielle Davis (3)

reptile house
I can't help but think
Harry Potter

Morgan Ewald (2)

panic fades
I see my friend
neon lights

wave pool
bobbing on the surface
like ducks

Danielle Mohrbach (5)

bedtime
the house creaks
monsters

Geoffrey Eggleston (6)

I just liked this one because I think everyone had a similar experience to this at some point in his or her life. I remember when I was little I would hear things and thin there was something in my closet or whatnot, and now that I’m 19 I still think that after playing a game of Slender or Amnesia: The Dark Descent, so I can still relate to it. Rob

horse's mane
between my fingers
we canter in the dust

Danielle Mohrbach (4)

two weeks
until school
band camp time again

splashing
my outfit ruined
. . . I don't mind

Hannah Gifford (4)

I dive
from the cool morning
into the cooler water

Robert Spurling (4)

annoying tick
the metronome pushes my button
but still, I play

Hannah Gifford

I love this haiku, because I know the exact feeling it is exemplifying. I have been playing the piano since I was six years old, and therefore I have had to deal with the annoying tick of a metronome for the vast majority of my life. Metronomes are used as practicing tools in order to aid musicians develop a consistent tempo in the music they play as well as practice music slowly before bringing it up to speed. After awhile, the metronome really does get on one's nerves, especially if the practice session at the time isn't going well. I know one of the most annoying things is hearing the perfect tick of a metronome continue to insult me, if you will, after I have failed to keep up with it or messed up in general. Despite the annoyance that a metronome can present, all musicians know that it is imperative to deal with it in order to improve musical skill and learn music. Seth

all beautiful
I long to be
like Mom

Hannah Gifford

This haiku is especially rich in detail and imagery. I picture a young girl who has also finished her awkward years and is proud to be a young woman. She looks at her mother for guidance as she decides how she wants to look. But she knows that beauty is not her mother’s only attractive quality. I picture her mother as a stoic, compassionate, determined, loving woman who provides an excellent example for her daughter. Her daughter now realizes that she has the ability to be beautiful, and she yearns to be like her role model. Jarred

falling raindrops
I ask them
may I have this dance?

Skya Gentle (5)

push-ups in the mud
an empty seat home
boys to men

early morning
sweaty tent
no ventilation

unmarried Mom
she rocks her baby
through a sermon

Randy Brooks (4)

a splash in the pool
aloe-vera
on red-hot skin

Ryan Fraedrich (2)

sun's glow
grilling
four juicy steaks

the last of the awkward years
finally over
blow the candles out

Skya Gentle (5)

This was my favorite haiku from the kukai on September 6. I loved the mental image that came as I read it. I remember turning 20 and breathing a sigh of relief that the teenage years were behind me. Before that, I remember the fall I entered high school and thinking that I was glad to be done with junior high. I pictured someone leaning over a birthday cake, making a wish for the future while surrounded by his family. I imagine him breathing deeply as he blew out the candles, remembering those “awkward years” and looking forward to the future. Jarred

sitting in the van
realizing what life is
taking a different road

 Christopher Potter (3)

Sunday morning
too-quiet car ride
on the way to church

Austin Myers (7)

I have never directly experienced this, but I have had those awkward silences over religious subjects before. It primarily reminds me of the time that I first told my father that I was irreligious. We were driving into town to get something from somewhere. I don’t remember but I kind of brought it up in conversation because I had kept it secret for three months and told him and then I tried to talk about it with him but he didn’t seem to want to, so I just stopped talking about it and we rode in silence to where we were going and back. Rob

cold glass
the small snowflakes
stick