hot summer day
double dutching
in the street

Cassandra Long

my shadow and I
playing hopscotch
here comes the ice cream truck

Nova Spence

I know this poem was probably written by a female, but I think even men can relate to playing alone with they were boys. When I was a child, I lived out in the country on a farm and there were no other kids around. The rare times when I did have someone to
play with was when we had family over for a special occasion. So, most of the time it was just me and my imagination, but we had a good ole time and I rarely felt lonely! Joe

on a shelf
the black and white cat
among the stuffed animals

Patti Freimuth

dusk
Tinkerbell begins her hunt

Kathi Overheul

hot summer day
double dutching
in the street

on a shelf
the black and white cat
among the stuffed animals

top quarter champion =

on a shelf
the black and white cat
among the stuffed animals

top half champion =

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

bottom quarter champion =

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

lights out!
one by one their eyes close
pretending to be fast asleep

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

lights out!
one by one their eyes close
pretending to be fast asleep

Linda Hayes

fireworks at dusk
high in the sky
eyes sparkle

Michelle Dalluge

This haiku remind me of a childhood memory growing up in Chicago, IL. My mother would take my twin sister and me down town to the taste of Chicago. The taste of Chicago bought in hundreds of people and vender to celebrate Independents day. There was always entertainment, food, carnival rides and last but not least the fireworks show down. For me the fire works was all the enjoyment I needed at that particular time. Still to this day, I am always trying to make plans to go to the taste of Chicago, in July for the fireworks show down. Josh

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

Tena Myers

I love this haiku, because it makes me think of a time when I was fifteen babysitting for our neighbors. The two little girls were four and six. I had just fixed them lunch, and the four year old wanted to go out in the backyard and play on the swing set. I let her take a slice of bologna with her. A few minutes later I heard her screaming, and ran outside to find her hanging on for dear life from the monkey bars with the bologna hanging from her mouth with about five dogs nipping at her feet. I sort of see the same scenario in the haiku, but the lunch meat is missing! Becky

I like this haiku you really visualize a kid hanging on a close line calling out to his mom. This haiku makes me think of times when I was a little girl, running around playing with my dog. Cassandra

After reading this haiku, I found the image to be quite funny. Here you have a child messing around in the backyard…using a clothes line as monkey bars. While messing around, the child some how gets tangled and stuck in the wires. Now, the child is screaming for mom. The dog senses the child is in trouble; so its nipping at the child’s toes trying to pull him/her down to safety. Finally, I can just imagine the look on the mother’s face. Keith

I'm running away.
With my cabbage patch backpack.
Ha! I made it down the block.

Jaylen Nicole

top half champion =

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

champion =

screaming for mom
dangling from a clothes line
a dog nipping at her toes

bottom half champion =

county fair
sticky fingers from
cotton candy

a lazy hammock
shade is my friend
today

Bryan Williams

This haiku reminds me of Saturday afternoon after a hard week at work. I do not want to talk on the phone or do any chores. I only want to sleep on my hammock and enjoy the day, because I know Monday morning will be here before I know it. The shade is the only friend I want to be with or talk to at the moment.

lazy afternoon
floating in circles
the scent of coconut

Lori Baietto

county fair
sticky fingers from
cotton candy

Becky Voight

This haiku reminded me of my grandson Alex who is 22 months. I took him to the Macon county fair this year which was his first fair. He was so excited with the atmosphere. We stopped by the sheep area, so he could see one up close, he didn’t care for that at all. Next we thought we would find a small ride for him to get on. We found a kids ride that had an airplane, mustang car and so on. So I put him into it and buckled him in the ride and the ride started very slowly and he began to scream! I took a couple of pictures of him crying, and took him out. The fair guy felt so bad he handed me my tickets back and said don’t worry about it. The only thing that calmed him down was some cotton candy and wiping it all over grandma’s clothes (which that night I had a lovely white shirt on). The rest of the night he was just fine in my arms as long as we didn’t put him on another ride! Oh well better luck next year. Linda

This haiku starts with all kinds of sights, smells, tastes and sounds bringing all of the senses right into the picture with just the opening two words county fair. The rides are everywhere and I picture myself standing right in the middle of them. As I walk away from the games and rides, I can picture myself heading toward food ally. On the way, I can hear the announcer at the grandstand and the screams of children on rides combined with the cheers of the crowd enjoying a show. After sitting down to some greasy carnival food, the kind that you must have but pay for the rest of the night, I watch the kids smiling with cotton candy in hand. Trying their best not to get messy, however no matter how good of a job they do, the warm humid air dampens their hands making the mess they tried to avoid inevitable. Bruce

popcorn in a sack
all packed in the car
outdoor movie

Keith Campbell

Buttery popcorn scent fills the air. Dad has just made the family microwave popcorn for our weekend movie. We did not have a lot of money when I was younger so going to an outdoor movie in the car would be out of the question. Packing the five of us on the couch for a Saturday night television movie was our special treat! My baby brother would fall asleep before the movie was over and my sister and I would giggle and talk throughout the movie driving my dad crazy. Popcorn always without fail reminds me of my father. To this day I believe he eats popcorn nearly every night while watching TV after supper. I realize this haiku spoke of a car and being outdoors, but my car was the couch and the outdoors was our living room and the special time my dad made for us on Saturday nights. Kathi

I like this haiku because it takes me back to my childhood. I would help my mom fix a huge brown paper grocery bag full of popcorn. The whole family would snuggle up with blankets and pillows across the bed in the back of our open van to watch the movie. I can remember how crummy the sound was from those tiny speakers but we had a great time. One of the things I like about how this is written is that you can picture the people in the car exactly as the popcorn all sitting beside, on top of, in front of each other, just everywhere!You can also picture the stars in the sky and the breeze blowing over you. Patti

This is another one that reminds me of recent memories, although we
did go to the drive-in when I was a boy. My wife loves to pack up the car and take our buys to the outdoor
movie. The funny thing is that I know Keith wrote this one and he's me
wife's cousin. She explained to me that she was in that "packed" car with Keith. It's kinda neat that the memory
has followed both of them and now I have it! Joe

a lazy hammock
shade is my friend
today

county fair
sticky fingers from
cotton candy

top quarter champion =

county fair
sticky fingers from
cotton candy

bottom half champion =

county fair
sticky fingers from
cotton candy

bottom quarter champion =

little red car
a dozen eggs
smashed

on the deck
barbie swims
in cold water

little red car
a dozen eggs
smashed

on the deck
barbie swims
in cold water

Crystal Swaim

big bubble gum bubble
in the pony tail
hair and bubble gone

Alec Le Feur

spring day
an empty house
where are my roommates

Josh Guise

little red car
a dozen eggs
smashed

Crystal Swaim