C-VILLE’s Valentine’s Day poetry contest returned for another round of competition this year, and we are excited to share the winner and runners up from 2024’s impressive batch of entries. These heartfelt and beautifully crafted haikus capture the mystery, passion, tragedy, and wisdom of love, all in a compact form. Thank you to all who submitted!
First place
Lovers hold their breath
in the heart of Winter’s den
like seeds await sun.
Jessi Giannini
Runners up
I saw you today
holding hands in a cafe.
My heart is shattered…
Larry Bauer
Apricot revealed
Chlorophyll gives way to gold
Souls become real too
Mary Courts
I open the note
It’s my name in the corner
heart beating faster
Madelyn Jones
Your gaze catches mine
Pierced, we come undone as one
The jay laughs with joy
Jan Sievers Mahon
words have lost their way
I can no longer express
my heartbeat tells all
James Irving Mann
Parking garage love—
Concrete perfumes a shared breath
as we start to kiss
Jessica Bossler Palmer
We’re getting old now
Young lovers should heed our words:
Live for each other
Laird Wm. Ramsay
True love is always
saving the last Oreo
for your wife to eat.
Sarah Shedd
Love smells of roses
Thorns draw bright red aroma
Blue heart remembrance
Glenda Staton