FPS: Falling Leaves Challenge Winners
A behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Vocal Curation Team’s top picks from Falling Leaves.
Welcome to the first stop in our Fall Poetry Series!
How do we judge a haiku? Beyond the rhythm and the 5-7-5 rule, it’s less about counting syllables and more about catching a feeling. Does it paint a clear picture? Make you laugh? Make you stop for a second? The best ones don’t need to be picked apart, they just land softly and stay with you.
For the Falling Leaves Challenge, we asked writers to capture the quiet magic of autumn in 17 syllables. A haiku about change, color, and the beauty that fades too fast. What came back were moments that felt suspended in time, leaves caught mid-fall, memories pressed between seasons, and the hush that comes when the air first turns crisp.
A note on AI generated content:
We love haikus but we obviously shied away from them a bit recently because AI generated content detection is tricky when we're talking about just 17 syllables and only a few words. So to give you a little "inside-baseball" into our process for this challenge: once our shortlist was created and we had our potential winners picked out, our curation team did a quick review of the creators’ profiles to confirm they were real. We didn’t do deep dives into their full body of work or run extensive AI checks, just a quick gut check, especially for creators we weren't as familiar with (Lamar, you're good, we already recognize your game!).
🏆 Winners
Final Waltz by Lamar Wiggins
This one lingers like the last warm rays of autumn, inviting a bittersweet gaze at fleeting beauty.
The Field Remembers by Rebecca A Hyde Gonzales
Evokes a sense of loss, turning the landscape into a tapestry of remembrance.
s u s p i r e by Kristen Balyeat
A breath of crisp morning air, like the forest itself whispering goodbye as the leaves fall.
time of dying by Raistlin Allen
The imagery glows with intensity, capturing that bittersweet moment of transition perfectly.
to see fall more than once by Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA
A striking image that makes the heart swell, the red leaf stands out like a pop of hope amid the urban gray
🎖️ Runners-up
- Laudamus Te by Daniel Bradbury
- Autumnal by ROCK aka Andrea Polla (Simmons)
- phoenix wisdom, ii by L.C. Schäfer
- We were almost winter by Daniel K
- Autumn Sunset by Ema Salvi
- Authorial Autumn by D. J. Reddall
- Delicately Durable by Kelli Sheckler-Amsden
- leaflight & cinnamon by Sara Little
- The Moment Before by Steve Lance
- Only Here by Ellen Stedfeld
- The Dying Flame by Tim Carmichael
- A Breath Before Nothing by Miss. Anonymous
- Velvet Incarnadine by Ian Read
- Mid-Air by Natasha Collazo
- The Fall by Hannah Moore
🏅 Honorable Mentions
- Time Falls by Stacey Mataxis Whitlow (SMW)
- Aspen Song by K.B. Silver
- The Backdrop by Jon Emm
- Sacred Gifts by Pamela Williams
- Scarlet Leaves by Cadma
- Suspension by Meredith Harmon
- College Migration by Justin
- Hanging In by Katarzyna Popiel
- Fiery by TheSpinstress
- My Exhale by Aubrey Rebecca
Check out the latest on Vocal Challenges.
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Comments (26)
Loved reading this — such a creative celebration of storytelling! It’s inspiring to see how many unique voices came together under one theme, each finding something personal and beautiful in the idea of “falling leaves.”
Aight i may not won but co grats to all. Ill get my shine the next time
This story was such an inspiring read. I loved how every haiku captured the calm and change of autumn so perfectly. Each piece made me pause and feel that soft nostalgia the season brings. Congratulations to all the talented writers truly beautiful work
Congratulations To one and all- accolades Rain down from rooftops!
Oh wow, thank you so much for recognizing my piece! I really appreciate it. I don't usually write haiku, but the natural beauty that still exists in my city is something I have a lot of gratitude for. When I saw the prompt, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to write about.
The write-up captures both the artistry of the poets and the integrity of the curation process. It’s refreshing to see Vocal spotlight creators with such care and clarity.
Wooohooooo congratulations to everyone! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Congratulations!!🎉🎉🎉
Congrats one and all! 😊🎉🎉☺️
Thanks for putting on the comp, it was good to try something new.
Congratulations everyone 👏
Congratulations to all! That was fun!
Congratulations everyone! 🎉
Congratulations to everyone! Way to go, Lamar❣
Congrats to all 🍂🍁
This was a fun challenge :) congrats to you winners
Thank you so much, Vocal! Humbled, honored, excited! 🙌🏽😁 Congratulations to everyone! Gorgeous work- you all do such a brilliant job weaving great depth with brevity! ✨🩷✨
Well done to the winners and all who took part.
Congrats to everyone up there. I was really blown away. 🍂👏👏👏
I've never won anything and other than a pumpkin in 5th grade. Humble pie! Thanks Vocal team!
Congratulations everyone 🎊
Congratulations to everyone! There was some great Haikus for this challenge.
Congratulations to the winners. Beautiful work 🍂🍂🍁
Congratulations to all of you who beat me at this (that's all of you)!
🎉🎉Congratulations Lamar and the other winners Runner ups congratulations to Andrea Polla, LC, Ema salvi, DJ Reddall, Kelli, Tim, and all the other runner ups. For HM, congratulations to KB, Pamela, Meredith, and all the other honourables. 🎉🎉 🤗❤️