The smoke stack of an old sugar mill. The shriek of an invasive but colorful bird. The rumble of an earthquake triggered by Pele’s movement. 

The distinguishing characteristics of our communities aren’t always big — or even particularly beautiful — but when residents are asked to describe what makes their neighborhood home, the most unexpected things become poetic. 

Civil Beat launched its first Neighborhood Haiku project in 2019, putting a local spin on the traditional Japanese poem structure by asking residents to use the five digits of their ZIP code as the syllable count for each line. 

We’ve run the competition five times now, and each year brings new insights into what matters to our neighbors. Some of the poems are moving. Others are funny. Many reflect the challenges of living in the islands. They are all worth reading. 

Here’s a sampling of the submissions we’ve received so far this year.  We’re accepting entries until Dec. 23, so type out your ZIP code and tell us what makes your home unique. 

Our events manager, Ashley Ong, wrote one just for us: