Haiku Fest awarded certificates to all participating student poets. Thanks to over 3,000 poets, parents and teachers for making Haiku Fest successful. Winning entries are listed below. For entries receiving Honorable Mention, click here.
We proudly announce the following commendations:
First Prize: $100
Butterfly dances
Flaunting its delicate grace
Cocoon forgotten
Olivia Cheng, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Second Prize: $75
We are like crayons,
Some broke, some leaning on one,
We can’t all be sharp.
Kara Donovan, Age 11, Grade 6
St. Cornelius, Chicago
Third Prize: $25
Veil of mournful smoke
On the floor lingers crimson
Stinking of regret
Alejandro Cortes, Age 14, Grade 8
Charles Dawes Elementary, Chicago
Gwendolyn Brooks Award: $25
My dad lost a foot
I’m sad because he can’t play
He is still with me
Brandon Mota, Age 10, Grade 5
Daniel Boone Elementary, Chicago
Founders Award: $20
Drops of dew fall down
Flowers secretly blossom
People start to wake
Sayed Ali, Age 14, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
10th Anniversary Anthology Cover Art Award: $100
Jailan Goss, Age 11, Grade 5
Langston Hughes Elementary, Chicago
10th Anniversary Anthology Cover Art Honorable Mention
Elizabeth Claybaker, Age 11, Grade 6
St. Cornelius, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Eagles are so cool,
They represent our country,
Models that show strength.
Josue Rivas, Age 9, Grade 4
Avondale-Logandale Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Snow day’s really fun
Hot chocolate pajamas
Make-up days not so!
Joshua Shorter, Age 9, Grade 3
Myra Bradwell Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Tree decorating
Drinking warm hot chocolate
Snow ball fights are fun
Jacob Ramirez, Age 9, Grade 3
Michael M. Byrne Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
The world has beauty
where the people live in peace
I just dreamed of it
Emanuel Brown, Age 14, Grade 8
Langston Hughes Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Sister who I love
went to the navy and stayed
Miss her so much now
Lisa Sanders, Age 12, Grade 6
Josephine Locke Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Death and the Maiden
Music of a peaceful death
A very sad piece
Sarah Nguyen, Age 12, Grade 6
John McCutcheon Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
cumulonimbus
a cloud that is very big
is dark and scary
Rodrigo Gonzalez, Age 12, Grade 7
St. Bartholomew, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Dandelions fly
gliding through the air like planes
with faint whisps of wind
Conor Joseph Larkin, Age 12, Grade 7
St. Christina, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Wolves howl at the moon
The wind blows thunder crashes
The dog likes to bark
Lawrence Schab, Age 12, Grade 6
St. Daniel, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
The world at my hands
An affluence of knowledge
Fiction comes alive
Grace Dougan, Age 12, Grade 6
St. Francis Borgia, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Fog is so shady.
Fit or not are hooded gray.
It masks the lovely.
Zachary Cicero, Age 13, Grade 8
St. Paschal, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Silent with darkness
A very cool place to be
Bats, bugs and wet dirt
Jeremiah Ramirez, Age 10, Grade 4
St. Symphorosa, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
The brown deer runs by
the gray wolf howls at night time
the quiet bear sleeps
Phillip Paloma, Age 10, Grade 4
St. Viator, Chicago
Teacher of the Year:
Ms. Joan Baley
St. Christina, Chicago
Honorable Mention for Teacher of the Year:
Ms. Melody Farmer
Myra Bradwell Elementary, Chicago
Ms. Joann Serafin
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
School of the Year:
University of Chicago Lab School
Ms. Peggy Doyle, Mr. Joseph Drogos,
Ms. Staci Garner, Ms. Lisa Miller,
Mr. Sam Nekrosius, Ms. Lisa Sukenic,
Ms. Jan Yourist
Honorable Mention for School of the Year:
St. Christina, Chicago
Ms. Joan Baley
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Ms. Joann Serafin
Myra Bradwell Elementary, Chicago
Ms. Melody Farmer, Ms. Kirsten Musetti