Guide on How To Write Haiku & Some Examples
HOW TO WRITE HAIKU – Here is a guide in composing a Haiku which is a traditional Japanese poem and some examples to help you.
Writing poems, short stories, and other literary works is a passion of many people. There are countless masterpieces across the globe but these works actually come in different kinds and structures.
While the English poems is often free-style in terms of poem, there are also poem structures that observe specific standards. One of them is Haiku which is usually discussed as part of the school curriculum.
A Haiku is a Japanese style of writing a poem. It is composed of three (3) lines with 17 syllables all in all. The first and third lines are composed of five (5) syllables each while the second line is composed of 7 syllables.
Most often, Haikus talk about the comparisons of nature to intangible objects like love and other emotions. It does not have to be rhymed and, most often, it is really not rhymed. Here are some examples of this Japanese-style poems:
Love between us is
speech and breath, loving you is
a long river running.
This is a Haiku by Sonia Sanchez. In this Japanese poem, the poet draws similarities the nature of love and river.
Life’s little, our heads
sad. Redeemed and wasting clay
this chance. Be of use
This Japanese masterpiece by Ravi Shankar speaks about the brevity of life on a darker approach. Clay means there is a chance to shape one’s life and it is best to really make use of this short life
First autumn morning
the mirror I stare into
show’s my father’s face.
This is one of the Haiku’s that were made by Murakami Kijo, a Japanese who was instrumental in the publishing of a literary magazine responsible for popularizing modern Haiku in Japan. This was written in Tokyo in 1865 and it shows how one struggles with mortality by just looking at the mirror.
At the windowpane,
sleet; and here in the dark house—
the ticking of clocks.
This Haiku by O. Mabson Southard, an American poet who loves doing pieces of this Japanese poem, depicts a moment of introspective stillness in this art of words. It highlights the quiet and unnoticed parts of life.
Fathers die, but sons
catch the grave chill, looking in
at lost forgiveness.
This Japanese poem written by Hayden Carruth, also an American poet, shows the complexity of the relationships among fathers and sons through this masterpiece. The poet loves to write deeply based on personal experiences.
Look at the white moon
The sphinx does not question more.
Turn away your eyes.
Also one of the Haiku examples is this Japanese-styled poem written by Lewis G. Alexander which refers to the sphinx as enduring mysteries. The African-American poet wants the readers to realize that there are situations that are beyond the human understanding.
Temple bells die out
The fragrant blossoms remain
A perfect evening.
One of the Haiku examples is this masterpiece of Matsuo Basho which depicts an evening scene where the temple bells’ sound may fade but remain linger through the fragrance of blossom.s