Haiku-Style Poems
Some writers compose poems in Haiku style. Poems written in this style often leave the reader scratching his/her head and wondering if what they just read was meaningful.
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While reading some poems published on Triond, I ran into one that made me think the author fell asleep at the wheel while writing it – so to speak – and didn’t finish it.
While I am no slouch in the English language, I wondered if there was something I was missing here. So I decided to do a little research on Haiku.
I discovered that Haiku, pronounced “hi-coo” is a poetic form and type of poetry from the Japanese culture.
A haiku poem is written with just a few words about the simplest everything-day things or ideas, but with meaning. They are short and to the point. Simple words and grammar are used to express feelings and experiences, or something about nature.
While some poems are written short and to the point, to be true Haiku, a poem must be written in three short lines. The first line usually contains five (5) syllables, the second line seven (7) syllables, and the third line contains five (5) syllables. The whole poem is written in seventeen (17) syllables.
The following is a true example of a Haiku poem:
“Behold the ego
Set in glowing emptiness
On the edge of time.”
Haiku is written from simple thoughts and ideas and DOESN”T rhyme. A Haiku poem must “paint” a mental image in the reader’s mind in ONLY 17 syllables over just three (3) lines of poetry!
I would like to direct attention to the following poem written by Daisy Peasblossom:
Driving Home (title).
All is right with the world (description).
You take the wheel (4 syllables)
I doze in the passenger seat (8 syllables)
All is well (3 syllables)
After my research and some thinking, my wondering has been resolved and I am satisfied. Her poem is not written following exact Haiku syllable rules as described above, but it is simple, short and to the point and has meaning and I believe it can be considered to be informal Haiku.
A very important point to make here is that just stringing a few words together, does not make a haiku poem. The reader must visualize a MEANINGFUL picture. For example, saying or writing, “all people, garage, the birds, king, downtown, the war” do not fit the rules of Haiku.
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Tags: haiku, Literature, poems, poetry, Writing
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March 1st, 2009 at 9:31 am
Haiku seems to be making a serious comeback. I hadn’t read any since middle school, and lately they seem to be popping up everywhere!
March 1st, 2009 at 10:53 am
Haiku is definitely more of a challenge to write correctly.
March 1st, 2009 at 11:37 am
thanks pal for the information, I too want to write Haikus so I did some researched and found out these facts,
Haiku
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five morae, usually containing a season word.
There is also what the Japanese call: Senryu
A short Japanese style poem, similar to haiku in structure that treats human beings rather than nature: Often in a humorous or satiric way.
March 1st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I am just happy that you explained what this was West I’ve been scatching my head for days about this. Now I can finally relax lol I thought I was missing out on something. Great Article!
March 1st, 2009 at 1:34 pm
haiku is a distinct style
March 1st, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Wes, you are far too kind to my small effort. “Driving Home” is an example of VERY informal haiku. It is pretty poor haiku, as well, and proves that even a practicing poet can turn out some pretty bad verse on occasion. In my own defense, I was still half asleep from driving three hours, waiting for two, driving 2 more hours (my friend drove for the last hour of the trip), sleeping for three and then working for nine. I had written two or three verses about worrying and waiting, and wanted a capper piece to show that the wait was over, but just could not find the right words. Good haiku is actually pretty hard to write, which is why, Denise, we probably haven’t seen too much of it lately.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Eek! And the above paragraph shows that off-the-cuff comments should be edited before posting! Can we say repetitious adjectives? Again, thank you for the kind explanation, Wes. Very well done.
March 1st, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Daisy, You may not have been trying to write a good haiku poem, but you were 3 syllables short of the standard total of 17. Your words and grammar were simple; you expressed a meaningful feeling – using three lines – which moved my imagination to see your situation in my mind. While you may not have written it to the standards of true haiku, and you say you were not using any effort to write in haiku, you were very close, even if by chance. Okay, take a bow; there is no reason for modesty here. .
March 1st, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Awwww, shucks. /blush /blush
March 1st, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Interesting article – - I love all types of expressions of art*
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
March 1st, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I really thank you for this article. I learn something everyday, the truth is I have no clue about poetry and certain writing styles. I am learning as I go.
Lee
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 pm
writing a Haiku-style poems is much easier… but sometimes its hard for me to voice out what i want…
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I find myself lost reading these poems and some of them you are suppose to get lost… I dont know to much about these but I do now thanks to you Westbrook… still I try and steer clear of them
March 2nd, 2009 at 9:21 pm
If you like haikus check out my page. I really enjoy haikus here are some of mine:
http://tinyurl.com/bac5ry
http://tinyurl.com/b95ysc
http://tinyurl.com/apwl73
http://tinyurl.com/clpfeb
March 4th, 2009 at 8:51 am
oh to have a poem
named after me..
Great article and true
March 4th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
A Haiku is one form of poetry I have yet to try. Something so small just scares the snot out of me, (so lady like I know). I more of a fiction writer than poet and until I read your article, I really did not understand what a haiku was.
Thanks for the information. I’m still not ready.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
Well-written article – I like well-written Haiku very much!
March 10th, 2009 at 1:56 am
I never heard of this before. I’m gonna give it a try anyway. Thanks for the info…
March 10th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Nice Wess
March 11th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
This is great. I didn’t really know what a Haiku was. Great article Westbrook.
April 12th, 2009 at 5:44 am
even though i dont know much about this but still it really is great.