stargazing from
his backyard
date night

R Nicole

porch swing rocks
wrapped in your warmth
watching the stars

Danielle Davis

over your shoulder
a shooting star
we talk of past loves

Skya Gentle

in my room
dancing the rumba
'til midnight

Rob Spurling

porch swing rocks
wrapped in your warmth
watching the stars

over your shoulder
a shooting star
we talk of past loves

over your shoulder
a shooting star
we talk of past loves

top quarter champion

TOP half Chamption

no pickles on her sandwich
realizing
I'm in too deep

bottom quarter champion

no pickles on her sandwich
realizing
I'm in too deep

carefully crafting
stronger armor
who will break through?

no pickles on her sandwich
realizing
I'm in too deep

carefully crafting
stronger armor
who will break through?

Seth Harshman

reigning as king
but wanting my true queen
homecoming

Jarred Leeper

no pickles on her sandwich
realizing
I'm in too deep

Ryan Fraedrich

Valentine's Day
Belvedere and cranberry
boiling fettuccine

James Farris

TOP half champion

no pickles on her sandwich
realizing
I'm in too deep

CHAMPION

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

BOTTOM half champion

firm handshake
Father's permission
granted

R Nicole

caught the flu
and he brings me soup
keeper

Hannah Gifford

hot chocolate
we snuggle together
as the ball is intercepted

Jarred Leeper

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

Austin Myers

firm handshake
Father's permission
granted

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

top quarter champion

BOTTOM half champion

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

bottom quarter champion

moonless night
she traces her name
on his pillow

'I love you'
drunk words
sober thoughts

moonless night
she traces her name
on his pillow

'I love you'
drunk words
sober thoughts

R Nicole

flirtatious voices
I should be
a professional actor

Seth Harshman

skin on skin
bathe me in love
peonies

Morgan Ewald

moonless night
she traces her name
on his pillow

Danielle Mohrbach

hot chocolate
we snuggle together
as the ball is intercepted

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

flirtatious voices
I should be
a professional actor

I really liked the match of these two haiku. I thought they were both so relatable. We can all imagine those times when we are spending time with someone who we really seem to like, but we are still stuck in the “friend-zone” with that person. And on the complete other side of the spectrum, we can picture going to a football game with a significant other and snuggling together for warmth because as it gets later in the football season, it gets colder. I liked these two as a match because they were polar opposites of each other, but still about relationships and being close to another person. Morgan

I found it interesting that both of these haiku made their way into our love-themed assignment. They both talk about the borderline between friends and more-than-friends, and to varying degrees, deception. In the first poem, this deception is subtle, perhaps unintentional. In the second, it is blatant, and seems to be a source of triumph for the author. They also both seem to be set in the high school/college timeframe. It makes me wonder what makes us crave relationships so bad, that weʼre willing to pretend that things are different than they really are. R

firm handshake
Father's permission
granted

caught the flu
and he brings me soup
keeper

from angsty haiku:

I get to see her
every day
with someone else

from love haiku:

rainy day
we watch movies and cuddle
just friends

I really liked this matched pair of haiku. I think the man and the woman each have a way of expressing their feelings here. In the first haiku, the man has hurdled one of the most frightening aspects of his life, which is asking a girl's father to allow him to marry her. I have been there and, while I was nervous, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Just knowing that the father of the woman you love really likes you makes you feel good. I can see the relief on this person's face. In the second haiku, the man, perhaps the same man has won over the love of his life. When she is sick with the flu, he takes care of her, and this may be indicative of the future. From what I know, a woman wants a man to take care of her, and vice versa, but in this case, he has proven that he will. As I said in class, I wonder if that was the only thing he had to do to win her over, but the girls in the class seemed like it would be okay if it was. I think this might be an entry in the girl's journal that evening. Jarred

I liked both of these haiku individually, but I like how they seem to fit together, as well. It almost seems to tell a story about a close guy friend of a girl that is in a relationship with someone else. My first take on the "angsty" haiku was one of seeing an ex-lover in another relationship, but I like the change in perception after adding the second haiku, because it gives the story more depth. James

stargazing from
his backyard
date night

porch swing rocks
wrapped in your warmth
watching the stars

porch swing rocks
wrapped in your warmth
watching the stars

over your shoulder
a shooting star
we talk of past loves

Both are very sweet images of a couple spending time together while stargazing. I relate a lot to this, because my boyfriend and I often stargaze on the top of my roof or, over the summer, in his backyard. I do enjoy the second one's implications, the porch swing reminds of an old, country house with a cornfield as the backyard. Little light from any city, resulting in blazing stars. I also appreciate the line "wrapped in your warmth". I am a very old lady, and am cold ALL the time! Even normal air-conditioning makes me chilly. I think this pair was one of my favorites simply because I felt it described me in my relationship very well. Hannah

These two haiku hit me because they have such a similar message, yet the images that they call to mind are strikingly different. The first is being comforted and cozy, curling up at home and watching the stars from their porch, maybe with a dog curled up at their feet. It's a very iconic American picture, and the ideal kind of image that many people strive for in their lives. The second seems more like a pair of teenagers, rather than an older couple, walking out in a field or park, holding hands, and talking about their pasts. What both poems have is the security of a solid relationship. Both of the poems focus on the comfort and security that comes from finding someone that you are meant to be with. Danielle D

over your shoulder
a shooting star
we talk of past loves

porch swing rocks
wrapped in your warmth
watching the stars

no pickles on her sandwich

realizing
I'm in too deep

Valentine's Day

Belvedere and cranberry

boiling fettuccine

These are both just great love Haiku. They manage to capture a quietly, simplistically romantic moment. Both use the scenery of a late night with the stars visible. The way these two achieve that comfort is a little different, though. The top Haiku has the mention of past loves. They seem to be casually, comfortably talking about their past loves—they are no longer any kind of threat to their relationship. They are just past loves, not lingering loves, not alternatives to their current love. The relationship has an emotional intimacy with a certain warmth to it. The lower Haiku uses the gentle rocking of a porch swing and the literal warmth that one feels when holding themselves closely with their most loved one to instill that same sense of being warm and cozy despite a cool nighttime background. Tingly-lovey feelings all around, wonderful Haiku. Austin Myers

These two haiku just remind me on a nice time with my girlfriend, That we know so much about each other. How I knew the foods that she liked, and how she knew those that I hated. The second haiku goes even better, with the fact that on a nice valentines day, calm drinks and making dinner is perfect. Nothing more is needed, and everything was good. Austin Brettschneider