April is National Poetry Month, and April 17th is International Haiku Poetry Day, a day that encourages everyone to write their own haiku.
A Haiku is a form of poetry, first made popular in Japan. A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with 17 syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Historically, they focus on images from nature and reflect a sense of movement or brief passing of time, like these by the poet Bashō.
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
Lightning flash—
what I thought were faces
are plumes of pampas grass.
According to poets.org, haikus were traditionally written in the present tense and focused on associations between images. Over the years as the haiku form evolved, many of these rules—including the 5/7/5 practice—have been commonly broken. However, the essence of the haiku has stayed true.
Today, haikus contain some of the following characteristics: a focus on a brief moment in time, colorful images, an ability to be read in one breath, and a sense of sudden enlightenment and illumination. Modern haikus can be almost about anything (they can even be funny) and come in varying lengths, but must maintain their brevity of approximately 17 syllables.
A great example of a non-traditional haiku is from Caldecott Honoree and New York Times bestselling author and artist, Jon J. Muth. In his picture book, Hi,Koo!, Jon J. Muth features an adorable panda bear alongside 26 haikus about the four seasons.
Eating warm cookies
on a cold day
is easy
-Jon J. Muth
For International Haiku Day, we’ve decided to write our own haikus!
“Feed me, human!” Lick!
Such tiny paws, wet noses
My morning greeting
-Michael B.
It feels like winter
But it’s supposed to be spring
Frostbite in April
-Julia G.
The ocean water
Ignores the warm summer breeze
Clear and smooth as glass
-Alexandra W.
Bagel so tasty
Everything with cream cheese please
Inside my belly
-Brittany S.
Want to try your hand in writing your own haiku? Here’s how: Choose a topic and simply maintain the 5/7/5 syllable rule as close as possible or aim for approximately 17 syllables upon completion. Here are three I’ve written
Line 1] Five Syllables: A bird flies a-cross
Line 2] Seven Syllables: the crim-son ho-ri-zon
Line 3] Five Syllables: lost to the o-cean.
They float like little diamonds
the way the light carries them,
dust particles.
Twinkling lights,
my living stars,
fireflies in the garden.
-Gianna Lakenauth, Corporate Communications intern
