Time Capsule Haiku Challenge Winners
An inside look into the Vocal Curation Team's favorite haiku from the Time Capsule Haiku Challenge

We've been asking ourselves lately why we keep doing these haiku Challenges because, frankly, they are very difficult to judge!
We are blown away anew every time we read your submissions. We are humbled by the skill and grace shown through your haiku. They truly are gleaming gems, pearls of wisdom, each one a bit different, all of extreme quality, so many deserving of their time in the spotlight.
Well, perhaps that's why we keep doing haiku Challenges. So that everyone can continue to work on their haiku skills, maybe grab that top prize, receive an honorable mention, make the top 12 out of hundreds of submissions.
Whether you placed this week or didn't, know that we were moved by your work. We see your effort, we see you getting better, we know that you are the Vocal community. And we couldn't be more humbled and grateful to be a part of it.
Here are the winners of the Time Capsule Haiku Challenge and spotlight on two of the Runners-Up. You can check out the full list of winners HERE.
$1,000 Grand Prize Winner
PK Colleran for Precious Moment
This haiku went by so quickly, we almost missed it. But when we read it again, we were caught by the languorous pace of its first line, lulling us into a honeyed sense of time. A golden dewdrop, as pleasant as Spring morning. And then, suddenly, gone. It's almost like the haiku skips a frame. Wait, this beautiful image was just here and now, zip, poof, gone.
Evaporated.
We love a 5 syllable word and this one happens to work perfectly. Evaporated. Even the feel of the word. Golden dew drop is subtle, emotional. Evaporated feels more immediate, more cutting, scientific. A moment in time, appreciated, then snatched away. Congratulations, PK Colleran!
$250 Runner up
Luke Foster for Talking In The Park
There's something deceptively grand about Talking In The Park, even in its title. This haiku felt both very specific, of a moment, and all encompassing. It played with time like they were old friends.
It's that last verse, of course, that sets this haiku apart, a simple invitation to share a story, to tell of life, tell of the impossible. But this invitation wouldn't hit so hard had it not been set up so unassumingly. Simplicity to grandeur, that's haiku done well. Congratulations, Luke Foster!
Honorable Mention
L. Stormer for Passing By
What drew us in most about this inverted haiku was how dense it was with time. It took the prompt - Write a haiku about time - and filled almost every word, every sentiment and line, with the passage of time. Just take a look at how many words allude to time:
Moments... dripping... years... gone... blinks... never... enough...
Pound for pound, moment for moment, this haiku delivered on the prompt, and with a heart rending story at that. This haiku bent time, sped it up and slowed it down. We read it many times, and with each pass we put the emphasis on a different moment, a different feeling, felt our minds go a bit numb with how much time was placed into a scant 14 words. While its inverted structure unfortunately did not allow for it to place as a winner, know that we loved it deeply. Well done, L. Stormer!
Honorable Mention
Liz Sinclair for The Pine Tree
We felt this haiku greatly honored the traditional form. It was natural and unexpected, ending with a beautifully rendered, surprising image. Wind. It moves where it pleases, or does it? Wind that may have moved one way, had the tree grown straight, is now forced to bend because of this leaning pine. And there was something right, something concrete about the question mark at the end of the second verse, leaving the third to stand on its own. It could have been one phrase - How long has it grown this way, giving shape to wind - but, once again, the punctuation brings forth a beauty that did not go unnoticed. Well done, Liz Sinclair!
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Learn more about our current Challenges below:
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Comments (20)
I entered this. 😀 yay!
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congratulations, everyone! :*
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loved this challenge and reading all the beauty of time ... Congrats to the winners :)
I'm feeling better for having just submitted. My procrastination sure has blossomed over the years
It’s amazing to see so many interpretations of the themed haiku challenges. Thanks, Vocal! And congratulations to all the winners!
Thank you so much for your insights! 😄
congratulations, everyone! lovely imagery :)
Well done to all the winners…congratulations x
Well done to all the winners! Great stuff!
Congragulation https://vocal.media/education/what-i-do-when-i-fail
Congratulations to all the winners!
Congratulations to everyone! Awesome poems! 💕🙂
Wow! Well deserved win! I'm in awe!
Congrats to the winners. Amazing stuff!
Congratulations
Congrats to the winners. Beautiful stuff!
Congratulations winners 🎉🍀✨
Well, congratulations to the winners. As always, I wish I knew what their secret recipe is that makes the judges favor their special sauce. Keep up the good work everyone, and keep writing.