Haiku Fest awarded certificates to all participating student poets. Thanks to over 2,000 poets, parents and teachers for making Haiku Fest successful. Winning entries are listed below.
We proudly announce the following commendations for participants in grades 7 and 8:
First Prize: $100
A single feather
Painted with scarlet pigment
From the cat’s wide smile
Risa Cohen, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Second Prize: $50
Alone in the dark
Hiding from the light inside
Buried by the truth
Katja Edwards, Age 13, Grade 7
University of Chicago Lab School
Third Prize: $20
Bright yellow lightning
Fighting crime in the dark streets
Fastest man alive
Sejal Prachand, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Gwendolyn Brooks CPS Award
Sounds of bullet waves
It’s like another language
I will never speak
Anthony Sanders, Age 13, Grade 7
Josephine C. Locke Elementary, Chicago
Founders Award
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Emma Ferenzi, Age 12, Grade 7
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Searching for freedom
Justice and equality
That’s black history
Lithzy Ugalde, Age 12, Grade 7
Avondale-Logandale Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Up and down the court
Bounce bounce goes the hard round ball
Echoing my heartbeats
Pierre Carll-Moton, Age 13, Grade 8
Beasley Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Suicide is tough
It hurts others more than you
Close ones left behind
Denkwon Henderson, Age 14, Grade 8
Galileo Scholastic Academy, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Hopping across ground
Tiny legs bend dead blonde stems
Searching for spring seeds
Noreen Ahmed, Age 14, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Winds start to calm down
Crystals are melting away
Spring is coming soon
Lizzeth Rosales, Age 13, Grade 7
John T. McCutcheon Elementary, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Rain falls upon Earth
Ribbons of color unite
Pot of gold awaits
Sabine Ramirez, Age 13, Grade 7
Sacred Heart School – 96th, Chicago
Poem of the School Award
Seeds grow from the ground
to turn into a big tree
and fly with the wind
Jake Keneipp, Age 13, Grade 8
St. Christina, Chicago
Honorable Mention
Shining, left aside
on the cold, hard, concrete floor,
the penny glistens.
Kepler Boonstra, Age 13, Grade 8
University of Chicago Lab School
Honorable Mention
Water roars through rocks
Twisting and tumbling away
Down the mountain side
Naomi Corlette, Age 13, Grade 7
University of Chicago Lab School
Honorable Mention
The youth of a leaf
Long awaits to be worn out
Repeating it steps
Rachel Nguyen, Age 13, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
Honorable Mention
Chicago is bright
It is not all violence
Windy city, Chi
Gianna Sharp, Age 13, Grade 7
Amelia Earhart, Chicago
Honorable Mention
The bright flame crackles
The bright flame crackles
Sweet scent of citrus
Helen Georgitsos, Age 13, Grade 8
Jamieson Elementary, Chicago
Honorable Mention
I lied to my mom
Inside my heart I felt cold
Never ever again
Ben Scheidelman, Age 12, Grade 7
Near North Montessori, Chicago
Honorable Mention
cherry blossoms fall
as well as the orange sun
I walk with my love
John Street, Age 13, Grade 8
St. Bartholomew, Chicago
Teacher of the Year:
Ms. Joann Serafin
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Schools of the Year:
St. Daniel the Prophet, Chicago
Ms. Joann Serafin
Josephine Locke Elementary, Chicago
Ms. Mindy Gonzalez,
Ms. D. Campbell,
Ms. Joann Hernandez
University of Chicago Lab School
Ms. Peggy Doyle,
Mr. Joseph Drogos,
Ms. Kristin Frank,
Ms. Staci Garner,
Ms. Christine Himmelfarb,
Ms. Lisa Miller,
Mr. Sam Nekrosius,
Ms. Jan Yourist