watching a fire glow
through a window
wish I was home

Sarah Bassill

I like this haiku because it is how I feel sometimes in the winter. I miss the warm feeling that you get when you sit by a fire. I can just imagine someone who hasn’t been home in a long time and they see a family enjoying a night by a fire through the window. During the winter it is easy to get home sick, and seeing something like that would definitely do that! I like they way this haiku was written, I think it flow really well. It is a slow haiku also. Brooke

weeping willow
not even the lingering fog
dissipates old memories

Angie Hawk

4. This haiku struck me with its sentimentality and emotion. The author used the tree not only to give a setting and also to convey the mood, even before we read the rest of the haiku. This haiku is very heavy. The fog is as smothering as the old memories that refuse to stop plaguing the subject. Katie Steimann

side by side
we walk together
through the snow

cold shack
a flickering glow
in the window

Cory Hodges

In this haiku I have a feeling of hope. I like this because although the shack appears to be empty there is still someone living there. I can imagine myself wanting to go up to the window and wanting to look in and see who is in there. Then when I do I can imagine seeing a little family who just loves each other and is very close yet they don't have much. That little candle glowing in the window just represents that winter can sometimes be hard but that light shows that there is hope and Spring is soon to come again. Jill

In this haiku, the reader gets a vivid picture of a lone shack on an empty hillside. It is a very cold night, but there is a sense of warmth from within the shack, whether it’s the fire alone or accompanied with a sense of family or relationship. Angie

snow covered land
standing by your friend
a lonely tree

in front of the fireplace
blizzard covers
neighbor's stalled car

Perspective is wrong. How can the stalled car be in front of the fireplace? Lee Gurga

collapsing into drifts
we flail our arms
            snow angels

Joanne Weise

5. This is such a cute image. Everyone can remember making snow angels as a child, or even as a young adult. The fact that they are falling collapsing into drifts makes it even more fun because drifts infers a lot of snow. You would have to sink down a bit before creating your masterpiece. Katie Steimann

This hailku brought back some wonderful childhood memories of making snow angels. I imagine a small child covered from top to bottom in winter gear. Stiff and almost robot like, they lean back slowly and collapse into the snow, hoping that it will break their fall. As they slowly fall back, they raise their arms in position to make the snow angels wings. To complete the creation, they move their cold legs and arms back and forth, plowing the snow. Standing up, they admire the birth of their perfect angel. Jennifer

I like how this one starts with the feeling of collapsing into a soft pile of snow. You cannot feel the cold as you fall without caution into this huge pile. No one is too old to make snow angels this haiku author seems to suggest. Katie

There is so much movement in this haiku! The word choices of “collapsing” and “flail” are simply beautiful! This haiku paints a very clear picture through its use of action. I can see little children running around in the snow and simply falling spontaneously into snow drifts and making snow angels. It is energetic and playful. Nicole

winter day
so much light
so much death

Good wording, but needs a little more content about where this is happening. Lee Gurga

across the footbridge
so many tracks
through the fresh snow

How about "crossing the footbridge" as a first line? Lee Gurga

ice covered tree
alone
on a hilltop

Cory Hodges

I love the imagery in this haiku. First, I see this vast, icy tree atop a hill. Although it’s covered in ice with barren branches, it still stands strong and noble. It is completely isolated, yet all the mightier for it. As I reread the haiku, I can also imagine a lone individual standing “alone” with the tree. The ice-covered tree imitates the individual in both strength and vulnerability. And, though both are left alone and exposed on a barren hilltop, they ironically have one another for company. Laura

the only man
brave enough
made of snow

Tony Lipka

I liked this haiku very much. I think it helped that the weather outside is extremely cold and I absolutely hate the cold. So when I think that the only man who is brave enough to be out in that kind of weather is a snowman, it makes me laugh. I think it is funny how the author feels the same way about the cold. It also makes me think of a family sitting inside their warm house and the children staring outside the window at the snowman standing proudly on the front lawn. I imagine that it's too cold for the children to play outside and that not many people are out due to the frigid air and the only man outside is the snowman. Sarah

I like this haiku because it was able to put you in a place right away when you read it. I instantly pictured a snowman in the front yard that was very peaceful afternoon. Also I could sense some strain in this persons voice as it is being read. David K

This haiku took me somewhere I didn’t expect, and it was great. I am now able to see that snowman enduring the cold as if it were a person. I really enjoy how the snowman was made less inanimate in such a natural way, not forcing the sense of the snowman being less inanimate. Dan S

I really liked this one because when there is a lot of snow on the ground or there is a bad storm going on, the kids love to play outside. They want to stay out there all day and have fun, but it gets too cold for them and they have to come in to get warm. As they are getting warmed up by the fire or some hot chocolate, there is the snowman. Standing there, defying the bitter cold and not budging, for he is the only one that can stay outside in the cold and play all day. Matt

snowflakes falling
the town
that time forgot

Angie Hawk

I get a very clear image from this haiku, of a quaint little town that's very picaresque — complete with old-fasioned street lamps adorned with Christmas wreaths. There's just an overall sense of calm and peace. Under other circumstances, it might be depressing that this is the town that time forgot, but there's something about fresh snow that makes everything look beautiful. When I read this the first time, I was reminded of Greenville, where my grandfather lives. It's certainly an old-fashioned small town, a little on the boring side. But when it snows it's easy to forget all of that. Molly

I liked this haiku because it gives me a picture of peace and quite in the small town. Maybe between big hills, in a valley somewhere and no one really gets to see this little town.   So when the snow is falling and covering the town, it has already been hidden from the world now the snow is covering it some more. The people in the town are happy and content with their nice quite life in this mountain town. It is a very peaceful feeling. Matt

calm winter night
city lights dim
under falling snow

Sarah Bassill

I love this haiku because it is truly a depiction of winter calm. I can see the night out of a city apartment, it is bright outside because snow covers everything that hasnt moved in hours. The snow always makes places look so bright and alive because of the glowing glimmering whiteness. Yet as I think it is light out, it is also so dark, still, and calm because te snow has caused people to retreat to their homes, the snow has covered the street lights and caused tem to dim. Not only are the street lights dim, but as cars pass thereir headlights are dimmed from the falling snow also. Julie

This one is so soft and quiet. It is so peaceful just to read. I love the word usage of calm, dim, and the falling snow, all quiet words and phrases. It just makes me think of peace and quiet, of being completely at ease with your world around you. Ashlee

After seeing this haiku on the edit list, I knew it was going to end on a beautiful note. The opening line takes me into a quiet setting, maybe after a first snow, still untouched by footprints, and animal and car tracks. The nighttime sky fades to mind flawlessly with the middle line, and the street lights become even dimmer as I see huge, moist snowflakes stick to the lights. The timing of the haiku is just right, keeping space enough to let the mind soak in the entire picture. Joanne

star-studded sky
the gleam of stepping stones
across the frozen creek

Angie Hawk

Modern Haiku publication award! Lee Gurga

I really enjoyed the language in this haiku. I like things that shine and this haiku used a lot of words that represented things that shine and sparkle. I can imagine the sky twinkling and creating a reflection off of the frozen creek. I also see stepping stones stuck in the middle of the creek with ice on top that gleams from the reflection of the stars. I almost imagine the stones looking like the top of turtles' shells stuck in the ice. The picture created in my mind is very peaceful and because the images are so clear I feel as if I had been there before or seen this same place sometime in my life. Sarah

This projected a really cool image to me. There really is nothing cooler that the winter night, when its clear, espescially out in the country where the lights dont dim out the sky. The air is so crisp and clear its so easy to see the entire sky, and if snow is on the ground and the moon is out the entire sky lights up with the pale reflection of the moon off the snow. If the moon isnt out and snow is on the ground the stars seem that much brighter, for some reason. Its a really soothing image. The cold seems not to affect you when you have the brilliance of such a wonderfull sight to keep your mind at ease. Nick

below zero
no blankets needed
you & me

silence
as you listen
to the winter wind

Matt Tierney

This haiku brought a feeling of calm and peacefulness. I imagine standing alone in the woods after a fresh snowfall. All is quiet, except for the winter wind roaring through the trees. The barren braches sway back and forth in response to the gusts of wind. Everything is coated with the new fallen snow and the only signs of life in the forest are the tracks you have left behind. The only exposed part of your body, your face, gets more numb and frozen with each gust of invisible chill. Taking in all of the glory of nature, you silently contemplate life. Jennifer

I hate winter, but it can have the same calming effect as a rainstorm. Although the howling wind at my dark bedroom windows can be eery, it is also calming. The house is completly silent, I can hear my son breathing heavily in the next room, the cats are all in their spots on bed purring and cuddling, and the wind is howling at my window. It lulls me to sleep. Julie

twinkling christmas lights
winter burdens
cured

Katie Burke

6. This haiku to me exemplified the feeling of the haiku; that of winter calm. The joy of seeing Christmas lights lifts the person’s spirits and allows them to push their problems away for a moment or forget about them entirely. Katie Steimann

leaping
from boulder to boulder
mountains to me

slippery creek
the stones
don't sink

Ashlee Peth

I think this haiku begins on a very strong note. The word choice of “slippery” is simply wonderful! That word is so descriptive and a very strong word to begin the haiku with. I also love the paradox of the stones not sinking. I am assuming that the creek is frozen over and the stones are resting on the layer of ice on top. However, it is such a weird idea to think of stones not sinking that the haiku kind of catches you off guard. I think this haiku could also have parallels to life if the reader chose to dig deeper and find them. I love this haiku! Nicole

two-thirty in the morning
I ask him to
forgive me

Laura Podeschi

This haiku hits me hard at home. Recently I learned that my girlfriend of two years had strayed as it were. And she came over to my house to beg and beg forgiveness, and as much as wanted to just hold her and tell her it was going to be ok, but i just couldn't. The harder she cried the more I had to dig in. Infidelity is an evil thing and hurts everyone around it. So I hope in this haiku whoever wrote they were able to forgive whatever it is that was done to them. I on the other can forgive but things are never going to be the same.

crackling fireplace
softly illuminates
four legs . . . intertwined

Dan Temkin

lights aglow
through the wintry dusk
guide our way

morning snowfall
squint my eyes
to reveal its brilliance

Zack Glenn

This one reminds me of wondering how many snowflakes are falling all over the universe at that time. That is the kind of feeling that you get when you look at all of those snowflakes when you first step outside in the morning. You are only just looking down the street amazed at the numbers of flakes. Katie

nervous knees shake
under the quilt...
Santa's coming

Joanne Weise

Good fresh image of the knees. It has immediacy and season. Good potential here. Keep working on this one. Whose knees? Maybe we don't need "nervous"? Lee Gurga

northern stars
the sparkle of eyes
from the knothole

a breakfast of snow
the radio tells us
we can go back to sleep

Zack Glenn

I like this haiku because again it reminds me of my childhood. I used to go to bed praying that we would wake up to so much snow that we wouldn’t have school for days. Waking up in the morning and sitting listen to the radio for a hour just waiting to see if school was cancelled. While being extremely bummed when it wasn’t cancelled, it was the best feeling ever. I think that this haiku is really well written and makes it easy for a person to put them selves into it. I words flow well together and it has enough descriptive words in it to get the full experience! Brooke

There is no need for an explanation of this. Of course we remember how great snow days were. I know it is snowing really hard when I go to sleep. I pray all night for it to keep coming down in an endless fury. Maybe just maybe, in the morning my mom will wake me up and say "snow day". I loved it. Julie

This is the wish of any kid and even some adults, to wake up to a snowfall that closes the roads. There is that peace of being able stay under the warm covers and fall back to sleep knowing that the day is going to be a relaxing one indoors. Dan T

I think I love this haiku because this haiku just brought me back to a time when I was a kid and the second we heard snow the fingers crossed and we prayed for the magical almost unheard-of "Snow day". Those days when they happened seemed to just last forever and even though we would play in the snow for hours, we never got cold. Like I said it was magical.

bright winter night
accompanied
by myself

Nick McLenighan

I really enjoy this haiku. Though the reader may take away a feeling of loneliness, I am given a sense of inner peace as I read the work. I imagine a beautiful evening in winter: the moon and overhead streetlights illuminate the ground, revealing a blanket of fresh snow. A person is walking by his or herself, taking in the view as he or she thinks about the day and its happenings. All the while, he or she is satisfied. My favorite part of this haiku is the second line, “accompanied.” It makes the reader realize that sometimes it’s okay to be alone – you even have yourself for company. Laura

compassionate frost
my secrets
leave a handprint

Fresh image, especially the last two lines. First line "compassionate" doesn't work for me. Find the right word by thinking about the exact time of year more: "October frost" or "February frost" then see if you can get the word. Lee Gurga

from the comfort of my chair
watching
as the snow piles higher

Molly Burns

I really enjoy this haiku as well, but the last line seems a bit jerky to me. I would play around with the order of the lines, or re-examine the last one.

from the comfort of my chair
watching the snow
pile higher

watching the snow
pile higher
from the comfort of my chair

This way you keep where you are watching from a mystery until the last line. Katie Steimann

barren forest
the silence
of fallen snow

Brooke DeWall

This one is loud in its silence. I am always constantly amazed at how loud and deafening silence can be. Although the forest, barren and empty after the snowfall, too cold to be out in even by forest creatures, is completely silence, there is still that unspoken element of sound. The snow itself falling doesn't make noise, but the silence is thunderous. Ashlee

I am on a walk with my dog and I decide to go down the road and into the woods. After walking for about ten minutes we are pretty far into the forest, I can’t see houses in the distance any more. My dog Zeus is franticly sniffing around the trees and he has a dusting of snow across his black fur. I keep walking and the wind stops blowing. I hear Zeus painting and stops for a moment and I realize how quiet it is out here. Rachel

This really reminds me of so many memories i have of walking through the forest with my father in the dead of winter. Snow would be piled up between the trees and the land was all grey and white, and the trees dark bark looked to be black juxtaposed against the white snow. The snow would creep up the trunks and would lay heavily in the branches, accenting the barren fingers of the trees limbs. I really liked this image as a kid. You can really loose your self (in a good way) out in the forest, espescially in the winter. It really is a "wonder land" out in the woods during winter. The sky is different, you can see it for one, and the entire landscape is transformed. No one is in the woods during the winter, its just you. It seems more so than in the warm weather. Nick

through the snow drifts
closer to home
our steps slow with relief

Molly Burns

My three brothers and I always used to walk across the fields and golf course to get to the very best sledding hills. By the time we were done sledding, we were so tired that we would literally drag our feet a majority of the way home. The sight of our house out in the middle of the country always picked up our spirits . . . and our feet. Angie

After sledding for an hour or so, the sun started to go down so it was time to head home. We are really tired and it’s hard to walk in our heavy snowsuits. Our plastic sleds are trailing behind us, they have long twine handles we are dragging them with. Our house is finally in view and I am out of breath. We pause for a moment and I sit down in the cold snow. After a minute or so I get up and we continue on up the hill towards the house. Rachel

This haiku reminds me of elementary school when i walked home from school and it seemed so far away. When the snow fell it seemed especially unattainable ... and every step was a few inches closer. This haiku also reminds me of walking home from class to the Woods. When its cold outside and you'd really rather be in bed, the walk home from class can seem almost unbareable at times. Ashley

mall fountain
i toss a penny
and hope for the best

Ashley Knezevich

This haiku really captures a feeling of lost innocence — who hasn't thrown a coin into a fountain and made an idle wish? When we're younger, we're wishing for ponies, or toys, or Christmas presents, but eventually, we all reach a point when we know they won't come true, but perhaps the person in this poem has just been through so much that they're willing to try anything to make things better. This actually reminds me a bit of when my grandmother was in the hospital at the end of last year (she died in December). My younger cousins were shielded from the worst of the news and just heard that Grandma was sick. I, however, as an "official" adult, got the whole story. At this point, I knew that tossing a coin probably wouldn't work, but I can see myself doing so anyway, just wishing I could be innocent enough to believe it would help. Molly

This haiku describes such a simple act. I think nearly everyone has tossed a penny into something and made a wish. I can picture someone at the mall who is having a particularly bad day or something is going very strangely in their life and they throw this penny into the fountain on a spontaneous whim. It seems to me that the person in this haiku whop is tossing the penny is an adult; even though this is an act that we usually think of children doing. I find this haiku very uplifting. Nicole

Engaging! Lee Gurga

family gathers
the same stories
still bring laughter

Molly Burns

This haiku needs a little more, especially a sense of the time of year or why the family is gathering. Something as simple as "family Christmas" would do it. Lee Gurga

My family only gets together with distant relatives about once a year. Every year we find ourselves reminiscing about the previous years, laughing at the same old stories… but somehow the stories manage to change a little more every year. Angie

winter sunrise
         I remember my
         Mother’s hands

Nicole Silverman

1. Sunrise should probably be one word, but all in all, this haiku brought one of, if not, thee most vivid image to life when I read it. I can clearly see the sunrise and a pair of older women’s hands. There is the contrast of the beauty of the winter sunrise and the bittersweet memory of the mother’s hands. I get the impression that the Mother has passed away. Katie Steimann

I find this haiku interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, I enjoy both the unique spacing and capitalization. “Mother” is emphasized: not only is it in the last line of the haiku, but it is also capitalized and aligned to the right. I also enjoy attempting to create my own connection between “winter sun rise” and the following lines. I wonder what the author must have been thinking when he or she wrote this work: did his or her mother wake up early in winter to bake, or did she pray while the sun rose before her, or did she sew or paint or play the piano in the early morning? And where is she now? I love the fact that I will never know. This is a wonderful haiku. Laura

snow-covered
fir trees
lights twinkle

winter reflected
a white horizon
through the window

Laura Podeschi

I loved how the haiku opened with winter reflected. The phrase is closed, yet open ended enough to bring many images of winter to mind. I imagine someone is outside, looking through the window of a house, only to have the outside reflected back at them. The brightness of the white snow paints a picture in the window, now complete with the mirror image of their face reflecting as well. Everything is covered in snow, which conceals the bareness and grayness of winter. In all directions, the white horizon seems endless. Jennifer

The bright day where the sun is blinding, not a cloud in the sky yet the sky has that grey or white sky instead of blue. This was simple and let the reader fill in the details of the scenery. Dan T

dark garage . . .
puppy noses
the frozen pet door

Joanne Weise

This haiku has a problem because the three lines are disjointed and are not truly connected. It made me wonder, where are the puppy noses? Are the dogs on the inside or outside of the garage? I came to the conclusion that they are on the inside trying to go out, but they can’t because it’s frozen.

dark garage…
puppy noses
at the frozen pet door

dark garage…
puppy noses nudge
the frozen pet door

It’s a great way to let us know that there are dogs, just by their noses. I love the image I get. Katie Steimann

I see an iced-over driveway. The family is inside the house enjoying dinner; the dog was put out as usual. He's cold; snow covers his paws and his fur is beginning to ice over from the moisure. He tries to get to the warmth of the garage, but he is cut off from this comfort by the temperature. David M

icy wood
on the dock
I grab for your hand

Rachel Walker

2. This was a close pick for my favorite haiku of the kukai. The haiku is constructed skillfully in that it doesn’t state the obvious fact. We know that it is slippery just by the mention of icy wood, so that when the person grabs for the other’s hand, we infer that they were about to fall or slide out of control. It is a great image and a fun moment to picture. Maybe this is a couple that has just started going out and the slippery wood is a great excuse to reach out and touch that other person. Katie Steimann

I thought this haiku did a nice job of touching base with something that we all can relate to. We all have lost our balance or just had to catch our balance somehow, and in this I was able to really put myself in that situation. David K

What I feel works best with this haiku is the sense of relationship. I also liked how the last line was delayed until just the right time giving the impression of security right when it was needed. Dan S

the tide rises
a hint of orange
in winter sky

Laura Podeschi

Excellent! Modern Haiku publication award! Lee Gurga

3. This haiku is very simple and understated. It carries respect for the nature it is describing. The tide is rising, so it must be sunset that the author is referring to. I love that this haiku takes us to the beach at winter time. Katie Steimann

footprints
in the fresh snow
suddenly so close

Dan Temkin

I see a freshly fallen snow and there is a couple that decide to go for a walk together. They love each other very much and they are very comfortable walking and talking together. The more they are together the more they fall in love and want to spend even more time together. As they walk behind them they leave their footprints and the hard times that they have and they just keep on walking. Forgetting what is behind them and moving on toward a better life together. As the Haiku says the footprints are close together and that is how their relationship is as well. Jill

I really like this one because of the private feeling it evokes. It is like these two people who didn't even know there was something there between them suddenly find themselves alone, against a snowy landscape, and wondering about themselves together. It is a feeling of closeness, of surprise, and of new hope in relationship. Ashlee

I can clearly see the footprints in the snow with the first line, though it's really left ambiguous otherwise (I only knew because the entire kukai was about the wintertime). At first, I could see the one set of prints, probably someone alone, being the first one to trudge through the fresh snow. The last line made me think of a couple walking together, now being the first team to traipse through the snow. The couple's paths, unknowingly, become closer and closer to each other; the last line really captures a sense of surprise at this realization very well. Joanne

frigid wind
against the window
day of sleep

frost covered windows
we hold each other
under feathered blankets

red bow
on the snowy post
marks the path

sunlight on snow
the softness
of slush

Zack Glenn

I enjoyed this one because it foreshadows the beginning of spring which is something that everyone longs for at this time of year. The sound of your feet slicing right through the slush and how easily it scatters comes to mind when reading this one. Katie

This one needs to get the author in it, especially feet. Lee Gurga

silent winter walk
twin footprints
trailing behind

Nicole Silverman

The silence says more then the talking. No matter what the people are thinking there is a calm to the scene which fits the goal of the haiku quite well. Dan T

Good potential but it needs a little more. Lee Gurga

first snowfall
car treads
trail of grey

Cory Hodges

i can imagine driving home from work at 10pm after a snowfall and watching the car ahead of me make the lines in the street before i can. And as all the white falls, the realization of man's presence on earth is found in the car's treading over the ground and leaving the dull gray behind. Ashley

Needs a little more. Lee Gurga

frost covered windows
we hold each other
under feathered blankets

Sarah Bassill

I love the idea of having frost-covered windows, and that this haiku jumps right to this image. The next line makes me feel quite warm, laying next to a loved one in bed. It's one of those mornings where you just don't want to get up, partly because of the warmth, but mostly because of the person you're spending the morning with. The description of the blankets in the final line really makes the haiku, adding a new soft feel. Nothing beats cuddling up with a blanket and a significant other all at once. Joanne

barren field
covered in frost
a fawn stumbles

Angie Hawk

Initially this was in my favorites list, but the more times I read it something didn’t sound right. There is nothing to prevent me from thinking that the fawn is the things covered in frost, though the logical answer would be the field. The elements seem a little too separate, they are missing the connection that allows the haiku to flow and the picture to be properly formed. Perhaps this:

in the frost-covered
barren field
          a fawn stumbles

in the frost-covered
barren field . . . a fawn
                    stumbles

in the barren
frost-covered field
a fawn . . .
           stumbles

This allows for the wonderful surprise element to be maintained, but makes a connection between the first two lines. Katie Steimann

This haiku reminded me of the movie Bambi. I imagine the meadow scene where all of the deer are trying to find grass to eat in the field and the forest lines the meadow. From this haiku I imagine the meadow covered with frost and the trees lining the meadow are also bare. I see one little brown fawn with white spots that ran off from his mother early one morning. The fawn is not used to the ground covered with frost and it causes him to stumble. I enjoy reading this haiku because I can see the images really well and the image of a field and a fawn is very peaceful and I feel very connected to nature. Sarah

The field is empty except for a young deer and its mother. The doe has endured several winters; its legs are sure and steady as it crosses the icy patches of collected water in the field. The fawn steps gingerly; the snow is cold and it dislikes this new sensation. Suddenly, it finds an icy spot in the field, and before it can react, it finds itself dazed upon the ground. David M

outhouse walls exhale
wind
across the ice caps

lone melody
a bird
through icy branches

Ashlee Peth

I really thought that thsi haiku got to the point of winter calm as well. The solo voice of the bird really captures a sense of isolation, not negative but calming; meditative. No other sound can be heard and the bird cuts through clearly, and the moment is solidified and seems to last longer by the uninterrupted birdsong cutting through the icy trees. The bird is the only one around other than you, and you are the only one to wittness the bird. Its such an intimate moment. One that seems to stretch beyond its capacity. Nick

When I picture this scene I am not able to see this bird, however its calls are so intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed how the last line included “icy branches.” This paints a very stark picture against the ambiguity of the rest of the haiku. Well done. Dan S

at twilight
streetlights warm
snowy halos

top bunk
bottom bunk
both wide awake

Joanne Weise

It’s Christmas eve and it is pretty cold in the house. Mom and dad finally insist that my sister and I head to bed so we get into bed even though we are both wide awake. We lay in bed for a long time and then my sister giggles, and I giggle and pretty soon we are both laughing loudly. I ask her if she is too excited to go to sleep and she says yes. We talk for a bit longer about how we can’t wait until tomorrow and then we finally get sleepy and stop talking. Rachel

Fresh and clear, but it needs a little seasonal hint. Lee Gurga

empty park
filling the swings
winter snow

Nick McLenighan

...i like this haiku because you get the visual image of the snow softley forming the shape of the seat of the swingset, as is slowly builds up. Chris

Like I said in class, I thought that this one gave a good image. Even though the park is empty there are still swings moving as if there was a child playing on them. But it is the snow having a little fun before it melts away. I just thought that it was a nice image to think about. Matt

Good moment but poor expression. What kind of snow? Focus should be on the swings. The empty park isn't filling the swings.

filling the swings
in the empty park
winter snow

Lee Gurga

the snowman
with the crooked smile
a purple mitten left behind

Nicole Silverman

I really like the imagery in this haiku, I can clearly see this charmingly disfigured snowman, standing guard over the abandoned mitten. I also like the use of color — the fact that it's a purple mitten makes the image that much clearer. This haiku mostly reminds me of two of my cousins. Over Thanksgiving break, they spent nearly every waking moment outside playing in the snow (as one of them lives in Florida, this was his first experience with snow). Even after it had started to melt, they still wanted nothing more than to be outside playing, and I can see them both getting so wrapped up in their snowman construction that they wouldn't even notice a lost glove. Molly

It's dusk. Snow is gently falling; by the morning, it will cover the myriad footprints left in the snow by young children. A battered trophy of their exuberance still stands in a yard; a dirty snowman with makeshift two makeshift eyes, a nose and a mouth. Left hanging off of the end of one of its stick arms is a purple mitten left by a young girl who was called home. David M

pink noses
disappearing into mugs
hot cocoa

Nicole Silverman

...i like this haiku because it shifts very well from a extemely cold feeling of pink noses, to the warm feeling of hot cocoa. Chris

I really love this Haiku. I can remember as a kid growing up we had a huge hill in our back yard. We all used to go out there after it snowed and go sledding. It was always so cold and all of us kids' noses would try bright red and my mom used to make us come in so we would not get frostbite. Then when we got in the house it was so warm and she would rap us all up in big blankets and rub us until we were not shaking anymore. When we could feel our lips she would make us all hot chocolate to drink and you could feel the warmth all the way through your bellies. Jill

I like this haiku because it is cute. I think everyone could agree with me that it is the best feeling waking up on a Saturday morning and having nothing to do but play in the fresh fallen snow. After playing in the snow for the record amount of time spent outside in the snow for most children, nothing is better then coming home and having your mom have enough cups of coco for you and all your friends. I like how this haiku used the word pink, it really adds a lot to the detail of the haiku. Brooke

This haiku probably lights up a memory from just about everyone. The days when you get all bundled up as warm as you can and go out to the big hill for a full day of sledding. When night falls and your legs feel like jelly from running up the hill so many times and no matter how many pairs of clothes you have on you are still freezing. So you decide to come home and get out of the cold. When you get home you mom has a nice cup of cocoa waiting for you, even though it is too hot to drink you just hold it in your hands for a while. Then finally when it has had time to cool off, you take a sip and every part of your body just feels so much better. Matt