There are words we write but never release into the world. Messages typed in quiet moments, then saved instead of sent — unsaid apologies, lingering confessions, questions that never find their way to an answer. These drafts hold pieces of us, suspended between honesty and hesitation.
For this month’s Haiku Feud, we invited poets to explore Drafts I’ll Never Send. In just 17 syllables, they captured the vulnerability of unspoken thoughts, the tension of restraint, and the quiet weight of what remains unsaid — where emotion lingers without resolution.
What emerged are haiku that feel intimate and unresolved in the most powerful way: glimpses of hidden conversations, echoes of withheld words, and the delicate truths we carry but rarely share. We’re honored to present this month’s reflections.
🏆 Winner — Bri Kilmartin
Typed it. Deleted.
Career saved, friendship intact.
Sent “haha” instead.
🥈 Runners-Up
Shinae Galli
Liminal spaces
Holding repressed expressions
And collapsed timelines
Every submission this month felt like opening a message never meant to be read — raw, honest, and quietly unfinished. Here are the haiku that captured the essence of Drafts I’ll Never Send and stayed with us:
Haiku Feud Submissions
I’ve kept my promise
In books with unbroken spines
An act of true love
by R Dunleavy
print your own future
manifold destiny
debt forgive delete
by Emmi Merece
Love thy neighbor; you
Taught me as a child. Now
Watch you worship hate.
by Kaley Johnson
Dear boss, loud neighbor,
lifelong crush, ex, my Dad: It’s...
better left unsaid.
by Lisa Farver
I only like you
When you are mean to me so
Please be nice asshole
by Melanie Bakay
Dry spells and wet dreams--
It's too bold to text, "You up?"
Here, I'll die of heat
by Jose Rios
5 too late for a risk
7 too late to be in my sparrow
5 too late for the missions
by Ulises Medina
Your smile, infectious—
your voice lingered in the air—
close, but never mine
by Yesenia Martinez
There’s this ‘guy’ I met
Can they come over for lunch?
I…I—Nevermind
by Alex Bratton
Join the Next Haiku Feud
Want to see your words featured next time? Follow us on Instagram @haikuists for the next Haiku Feud prompt.
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