2023 Wisconsin Sijo Competition
Winners | Judges | Winners' Sijo
Winners' Sijo
Adult division
Capturing Light
Departure—sudden leaving, like early thaw, like low tide time
Looked for light, letters in drawers, lost messages, whispers in dreams
Your echo is a lightning bug, my memory is the jar.
A wicked wind blows the golden autumn away today
Cardinal sways on the branch, feathered heart against spirals of snow
Takes its place for the winter, a burning candle in the cold.
What Did You Think Love Would Be Like?
Having left it on the sill, a bare breeze could blow it all away
in an instant like a kiss, if I open the window
a bare breeze could blow it all in, having been left on the sill.
Senior division
Drugs
Teacher says, “Do not do drugs,” Yes, I’ll listen and understand
She lists off: “No Heroin, No Mary Jane, No White Cocaine”
Yet I am addicted to love, it’s the hardest drug there is
Untitled
Red and green, presents under the tree. Grandma sits next to me.
Cinnamon, wafting from the kitchen, “Merry Christmas, Abby.”
But that’s my sisters name, not mine, “Merry Christmas Grandma”.
Lord Knows:
It’s Sunday, to church I go, it makes me better, I suppose.
It’s Friday, committing sins, I must repent, I suppose.
Saturday, argument with mom, I don’t believe. That I know.
Junior division
Burning Trust
Fire, a valuable resource many use for warmth and cooking
You get a cozy feeling when sitting near the hearth, eating soup
Fire roars too and consumes everything in its path: backstabber!
Guitar Solo
Life is like a guitar; each fret is a chapter of our lives
You can read the music, and stick to the page, or rewrite it
But chords can blend to easily, so pluck the strings to stand out!