People from all over the world submitted some 12,530 valid entries between May 1 and July 1, 2013. Public vote determined the top five winners—and a grand total of 39,100 votes were logged on the entries!
As a special recognition of the unique entries and the overwhelming response to the contest, all haiku that received 2 votes or more were saved to the DVD that accompanied MAVEN on its journey to and around the Red Planet.
Top five by public vote
The following poems received 1,000 votes or more in our public voting contest!
It’s funny, they named
Benedict Smith
Mars after the God of War
Have a look at Earth
United Kingdom
Thirty-six million
Vanna Bonta
miles of whispering welcome.
Mars, you called us home.
USA
Stars in the blue sky
Luisa Santoro
cheerfully observe the Earth
while we long for them
Italy
distant red planet
Greg Pruett
the dreams of earth beings flow
we will someday roam
Idaho, USA
Mars, your secret is
Fanni Redenczki
unknown for humanity
we want to know you.
Hungary
Special recognition
The following poems are MAVEN team selections.
MAVEN haiku
I am the petrel
Earl Frederick
Exploring ancient shorelines,
Of long-dry oceans.
Virginia, USA
MAVEN tastes the air
James Ph. Kotsybar
too thin to hold oceans’ broth
wafted on Sol’s winds.
California, USA
My body can’t walk
Allison Swets
My mouth can’t make words but I
Soar to Mars today.
Michigan, USA
Haiku for Mars
Your crimson bosom,
William Houston
Valles Marineris depths.
Will we find your tears?
North Carolina, USA
Rusted, dusty, fruit.
Maria Masington
Pitted, marred, mysterious.
Milky Way’s Apple
Delaware, USA
Reflections on Earth
Mars, copper penny
J. David Liss
Dropped in the dark bank of night
Saved for Earth’s future
New Jersey, USA
Amidst sand and stars
Anonymous
We scan a lifeless planet
To escape its fate
Haiku about haiku
Maven’s engineers
Craig Houghton
write in binary while we
count some syllables.
Connecticut, USA
The migrant Rover
Helen Jeffery
Unfolds a slip of haiku
And dabs its lens cap
Maryland, USA
Humor
Mars, oh! Do forgive.
Chuck Abolt
We never meant to obstruct
Your view of Venus.
Texas, USA
a persistent wind
Edward Foreman
keeps taking your breath away…
but look at those cheeks!
Illinois, USA
Writing poems, Mars,
Clay Graham
I’m a little bit rusty
But then so are you
California, USA
Educator recognition
The MAVEN Message to Mars contest offers special recognition to select submissions from our participating educators.
View educator recognition selections
RIP: The winner that could have been
On May 23, 2013, the Washington Post acknowledged our haiku contest and ran their own contest in response (The Style Invitational Week 1023). The section’s editor—the Empress—lamented that it was unlikely that any of the haiku submitted to the their contest would be winners in our contest. Alas, none of The Style’s winning entries were submitted to our contest!
Dear Empress: In vain
we searched for shared haiku; yours
must be from Venus.
