Haiku
Most popular definition, but there is more to haiku than meets the eye:
Haiku (also called nature or seasonal haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three
unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Haiku is usually
written in the present tense and focuses on nature (seasons).
The 5/7/5 rule was made up for school children to understand and learn this type of poetry.
For an in depth description of Haiku, please visit the Shadow Poetry Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka
section. There is much more to haiku than the made up 5/7/5 version.
Example #1:
Pink cherry blossoms
Cast shimmering reflections
On seas of Japan
Copyright © Andrea
Example #2:
salt-waves caress sand
tickling my toes and heart
in their short-spun wake
Copyright © 2002 Diana
Example #3:
warm soup in a bowl
letters of the alphabet
hang on the teaspoon
Copyright © 2002 Gail Goto
