And the winners are ...

First of all, let me just say that running this scifaiku poetry contest was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed reading all of your entries.  In fact, I liked them so much that I picked out a winning entry ... and then second place ... third place ... and an honorable mention.  I felt bad that I only had one prize to offer.  I discussed the situation with my son tonight - the 11-year-old instigator of the contest - and he said he wanted to donate the $5 Target gift card that he got during a holiday gift exchange at school for use as a prize.  Inspired by his generosity, I'm adding another prize of a $15 iTunes gift card.

So, without further ado, here are the winners:

FIRST PLACE

(winner of a one-year subscription to Poets & Writers magazine)

the aliens' grasp
of haiku's basic concept:
seventeen small farts

 -- F.J. Bergmann

 My thoughts:  What can I say?  Every time I read this poem out loud, I laugh.  I love the contrast of the perfectly staid 5-7-5 syllable count against the bizarre imagery of the poem.     

SECOND PLACE 

(winner of a $15 iTunes gift card)

 elfbots
my little shoppers
return

-- N.E. Taylor

My thoughts:  I read this poem after a long day of Christmas shopping, a day when I longed for some elfbots of my own.  Brief, concise, and compelling, this poem is classic scifaiku - the type of poem that stays with you long after you read it.

THIRD PLACE

(winner of a $5 Target gift card)

in soldered skulls
preprogrammed memories
echoing unheard

-- N Sloboda

My thoughts:  This poem has a deeply haunting quality, a sort of scifaiku - horrorku hybrid.  Try as I might, the imagery of this poem would not leave my mind.

HONORABLE MENTION

   

Hollowed asteroid
--zygote born of desire--
finding a new home

--emeraldcite

My thoughts:  This was my son's favorite poem.  "I thought it was an interesting idea," he said.  My husband also liked this poem the best, enjoying the juxtaposition of a human zygote and a new colony on an asteroid.

If you have a winning poem, please contact me at jublke (at) gmail (dot) com and send me your snail mail address so that I can send your prize to you.

Thanks again for sharing your poetry!