Wichita Eagle’s Haiku Contest winners rely on humor, emotion for pandemic-inspired poetry

When life gives you a pandemic full of canceled plans, missed relatives, boredom and despair, there’s only one thing to do:

Express your feelings in 17 syllables.

Last month, we issued a challenge to Wichita Eagle readers: Reflect on the dumpster fire that the year 2020 has been, muster up all your feelings about it and write a haiku that describes it. The best three get a prize.

Readers liked the idea. We received about 200 haiku, which are a form of Japanese poetry that expresses a single feeling and contains three unrhymed lines of five, seven and five syllables, respectively. The last line includes a bit of a twist or kicker.

This week, we chose our winners. First place was awarded to a Wichita woman who penned a heartfelt haiku after she visited her aging mom at a healthcare facility but was unable to touch her amid COVID-19 precautions.

Second place was awarded to a 9-year-old with a sense of humor who entered the contest as part of a school project.

And third prize went to a retiree who spent her career teaching math but has since discovered a passion for the written word.

You can read all of their stories below, along with their winning entries.

It wasn’t easy for our panel of judges to choose a winner. The haiku, which were authored by people ages 9 to 91, were full of emotion and humor, and many of them deftly captured universal feelings gripping everyone during the pandemic: Relief that, in the age of masks, lipstick no longer matters. Fatigue over pandemic buzzwords. Renewed appreciation for cooking and nature.

There were several themes that emerged. More than a few haiku writers were introverts celebrating that stay-at-home and social distancing orders finally put them in their comfort zones.

Several touched on the fear of illness and of losing touch with an aging relative. And many authors pointed out the positives that the pandemic had produced, including the ability to spend more time with family at home.

Here’s a look at our winning haiku. Keep reading to see the finalists that made it into judges’ hands. Each of the winners will be able to select a canvas print of a photo taken by the Eagle’s photography staff.

First place — Carrie Moore, 58

Unable to touch

Talking through gates, she’s aging

On the other side.

Carrie Moore, who until last year was a middle school language arts teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Wichita, said she’s always loved haiku and even used to teach her students how to write them during her 28 year career.

Earlier this month, she had been visiting her mom Joyce Markley, who is suffering from memory loss and living in a healthcare facility. She was able to see her 83-year-old mother, but because of social distancing precautions, she couldn’t get closer than six feet. She couldn’t touch her.

She left the visit filled with emotion and regret that she was running out of time with the mother she remembered, she said. Then she thought about the contest, sat down, and poured her feelings into the haiku.

“It was very therapeutic,” she said.

Second place — Chloe Everett, 9

Twenty Twenty life

All we need is family

... and toilet paper

Chloe is a fourth grader at St. Peter The Apostle Catholic School in nearby Schulte, and her teacher, Jennifer Beevers, sent in her entry — one that clearly shows young Chloe has her priorities straight.

Beevers said she noticed the contest and decided to start the school year off by challenging her students to give it a try. She submitted her students’ haiku to principal Brenda Hickok, who narrowed it down to the three best. Those were entered in the contest.

Chloe said her memories of toilet paper hoarding early in the pandemic inspired her haiku. She’s not new to writing: Chloe often pens stories and skits and acts them out with her friends.

Third Place — Mickey Wasinger, 75

Hole-in-one not seen.

All witnesses quarantined.

Oh, well, saved some green.

Wasinger says she’s enjoyed poetry her whole life, but she never tried haiku before now.

The retired math teacher lives in an independent living community in Sterling, she said, and when she can’t sleep, she likes to sit down in her La-Z-Boy recliner and watch Tiger Woods play golf.

That got her to thinking about the dilemma a golfer might face if he hit an elusive hole-in-one with no one around to see it. She said she’d learned that it’s tradition for that person to buy all the witnesses drinks, so at least with no witnesses, he could save some money. The judges loved her haiku, even though it rhymes.

Wasinger said she loves to write, and she’s particularly skilled at the art of the pun. She’s in the process of writing a pun-filled novel, she said. She’s about five chapters in.

“It’s my project this year while I’m confined,” she said.

The finalists

Dogs let out. Dogs in.

The cat wants out. Dogs out. In.

Wait. Where is the cat?

— Jody Ridnour, 55

Though many hate masks

For me they can be useful

They hide my wrinkles

— Sandi Stika, 75

Married 14 years.

Got to know my wife this year.

And now she knows me!

— JT Manuszak, 76

Too much plot this year

If it was a Netflix show

It would get canceled

— Alex Chiles, 32

New reality:

Spare mask on rearview mirror

replaced fuzzy dice.

— Wanda Ryel, 66

Our Roaring Twenties

Less flappers, more depression

That’s just the first year.

— Alex Wampler, 24

Once a century

Spanish flu, now COVID too

Pandemic redux!

— Evan Yoder

Shame on you hoarders!

You turned plenty into none

Enjoy your T.P.

—Vivian Montgomery

More good ones

We are learning now

Glinda of Oz had it right

There’s no place like home

—D. Lynn Moore

Time to start the day.

Is it time to start the day?

What day is today?

— Teresa McGrath

Social distancing

Extroverts going crazy

Introverts just grin

— Doris Chrisman, 85

Covid 19 strikes!

Isolate and insulate!

Still, birds chirp, sun shines

— Judie Miller, 75

So said my hero

My neighbor, Mr. Rogers

Look for the Helpers

— Mindy Kershaw

People are out there

Somewhere, behind the blank masks

I do miss the smiles.

— Jason Rose, 41

Introverted. Shy.

Introspective and quiet.

Locked down? No. Set free!

— Katie Kellerman, 38

Each day I hear it

The phrase “these uncertain times”

I despise those words

— Scott Bradley

Playing bridge online

Instead of face to face games

No gossip. No treats.

— Dr. Polly Schoning, 79

Stuck in the same boat.

It’s a small world after all.

When will the fun end?

— Julie Carver, 49

New normal playground—

Swings, seesaws, and sandboxes

Wrapped in police tape

— Mrs. Barrie Levine, 76

Social distancing

is a concept I embraced

long before COVID

— Carol Ann Robb, 62

Back to school and sports

Finally out of our house

Oh wait, maybe not

— Naomi Neumann, 18

Oh no, it’s Covid!

Or maybe it’s allergies...

But could be the flu?

— Krysta Goetzinger, 30

Playing together.

Cooking in the kitchen more.

Good can come from bad.

— Jan Dunlap, 73

Contents of my purse:

hand sanitizer, wipes, mask.

No need for lipstick.

— Vicky Miller, 64

Health department called

Your test came back positive,

My attitude ain’t

— Susie Schlatter

I have never seen

A year with so many worsts

Could there still be more?

— Ruth Tombaugh Martinez

Until they know how

To make it all safe again

I’m a stay at home

— Judith M. Loignon Reid

Relearned to make bread

Pita, pumpkin, banana

Back to the kitchen!

— Suzanne Koch

Excuse to stay “stay home”

Did not bother me at first

Six months. A lifetime!

—Annetta Young, 69

The sheltering curse:

Snacking desires produce

Pandemic 15

—Kim Loignon

Never good at math

How far is six feet apart?

Mental gymnastics

— Judy Oliver

A walk in the park

Virtual reality

Or real trees, flowers

— Gil Holstein, 83

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.