Haiku You 2: Winning Poems

A few weeks ago, we asked you to send us haiku in celebration of poetry month. And you did! Over 80 haiku were submitted to our haiku contest—thoughtful, sad, funny, silly, weird and beautiful haiku from students, faculty, alumni, staff and friends of Hopkins. Haiku were submitted in several categories: springtime (and look, it’s finally here!); blue jays; Baltimore; science & technology; humor; the library (go library!); Earth Day (since our contest ended on April 22); Japan (since this contest was dedicated to the Japanese people); and miscellaneous (for everything else.)

We published all the entries on bookmarks (still available throughout the library) and we promised fame and fortune to the winner in each category. Well, poets, your moment is here. Here are the winners—plus a few additional poems that were so delightful, we couldn’t leave them out.

SPRING

Light, blossoms emerge –
restoration of the heart,
renewal of mind.

-Gary Sampsell
Sheridan Libraries staff

BLUE JAYS

No one likes soccer
At least, not Americans
But hey, go Blue Jays!

-Tiana Badillo
Whiting undergrad

BALTIMORE

Baltimore beckons.
Where is the Bromo bottle?
Alas, I am blue.

-Tom Edwards
Sheridan Libraries staff

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The English major
Is content not knowing
what “Orgo” stands for

-Anne Hobson
KSAS undergrad

And the runner-up in this category…

Nano things are small
So small they sometimes even
Turn invisible

-Sue Vazakas
Sheridan Libraries staff (and science librarian)

HUMOR

Research paper due
Instead, I write this haiku
Prioritizing

-Anne Hobson
KSAS undergrad

LIBRARY

[insert student name]
is here at the library
studying facebook

-Ali Mathis
KSAS alumna

There were so many good poems submitted in the library category—hey, we love you too!—that more of them need airing.

Blinded by sunlight
A pale Gollum–like creature
Escapes D level

-Anne Hobson
KSAS undergrad

MSE Patrons Hijacked by Universal Biology

Freshman napping; A.
Professor REM-charging; D.
Both of you fart in your sleep.

-Meaghan Bresnahan
KSAS undergrad

EARTH DAY

Hippie Creed

Reduce: junk you buy
Reuse: even if it smells
Recycle: chicks dig

-Adriane Koenig
Sheridan Libraries staff (and our sustainability coordinator)

JAPAN

Facing out to sea,
Nippon watched in silence;
Stoic to the last.

-Michael Houck
Sheridan Libraries staff (Columbia Center)

MISCELLANEOUS

Sentences I Never Thought I’d Say:

Please stop pretending
your sister’s pacifier
is a toy penis.

-Ali Mathis
KSAS alumna (and a parent, no doubt!)

Of course, “miscellaneous” is pretty capacious. There were lots of entries in this category, so here are a few more.

dream expansively
free your deepest emotions
in a solar flare

-Dianne Vaughan Carey
KSAS alumna and parent

I am the brisk air
I am the bright light within
I am beautiful

-Mia Merrill
Sheridan Libraries friend and daughter of KSAS alumna

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

First prize—a Barnes & Noble gift card—goes to Meaghan Bresnaham, a KSAS undergrad, for this poem in the “science” category:

Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogels/Kinda-Sorta Love Poem

We dissolve, move on.
You re-encapsulate me.
Differently, this time.

Second prize—a Café Q gift card—goes to Anne Hobson, also a KSAS undergrad, for this poem in the “Baltimore” category:

Hair salon, gun shop,
Fried chicken joint, Goodwill, church…
Mapquest loves North Ave.

And we just had to give an honorable mention to Ali Mathis for her paean to the way we live now:

blue jays are tweeting
on Ipods and Blackberries
opposable thumbs

Many, many thanks to all who participated.