2025 Wisconsin Sijo Competition
Winners | Judges | Winners' Sijo
Winners' Sijo
Adult division
“Christmas Caroling”
Beautiful, your family Is beautiful, thank you for the song The woman claps, then wanders on Like her mind, already gone We are yours; remember, grandma You knew the words once, sang along
Sijo Reading by Rachel Leverenz
I know that you are leaving; the seasons shift, and with them, you. The falling leaves recall your steps, each one fading into the past. When you're gone, only silence remains—this is the weight of growing old.
Sijo reading by Yia Vue
“Wow, Grandma!” Her eyes sparkle. “You look just like our Christmas tree!” Grandma laughs. “A Christmas tree? Because I’m big? Is that why, dear?” The girl points. Bedazzled with gems, Grandma’s jacket. “’Cause you shine.”
Sijo Reading by Genevieve Dwyer
what a veteran is made of (sijo)
what does it mean to have the sand of four countries in your joints? when those joints give out, and your bones try to make sand of each other? they did not tell you this. eighteen with a shaven head full of hope.
Senior division
Lines we cast beneath bright skies—fish danced as the sunlight arose. Grandpa’s laugh carried in the breeze, his stories told—soft and slow. One last cast—I’d trade the world to fish once more where he would go.
Sijo Reading by Asher Neumeyer
"count the stars," you whisper, awed by the size of the heavens you love the stars, the moon, the sky, things vast as the universe count my thoughts, dreams, heartbeats — am I not also a universe?
Sijo Reading by Ananya David
Symphony of Stars
The colors fly, exploding through my vanilla mind and soul, creating a glamorous symphony of sparkling stars. I take my headphones out of my ears and the walls turn grey again.
Sijo Reading by Nicole Anderson
The wise
Old eyes sparkle, they have seen light from times and lands forgotten. They tell tales to those who listen, tales of loss, love, time. They know that soon, they will become a sparkle in another's eye.
Sijo Reading by Ivan Romashko
Junior division
The Magic of the Stars
Oh, how the stars shimmer and shine, dancing through the sky, each unique. Some dash through the sky, while others create pictures and stories. All the magic disappears though, when you learn that it's the Earth that moves.
Sijo Reading by Quinnley Gronski
The Leaf
The wind takes me off the trees, I go to join my neighbors. When I touch the ground, I’m raked into a pile where there's more leaves around me. The wind blows.... Woosh! l’m in the air!..and then l fall down again.