Haiku Poems that turn daily or well-known situations into brand new experiences

Structure  17 syllables (5/7/5)  Kigo – nature or seasonal word  Satori – moment of enlightenment

Contemporary Examples

alone, on the web, drops of sensitivity embrace an eyelash - Alexey V. Andeyev

Silence-a strangled Telephone has forgotten That it should ring - Michael R. Collings

the morning paper harbinger of good and ill --I step over it - Dave McCroskey

Examples that have been translated from Japanese and do not obey the “rules”

Right at my feet – And when did you get here, snail? -Issa

I kill an ant And realize my three children have been watching. -Shuson Kato

Night, and the moon! My neighbor, playing on his flute – out of tune! - Kojo

After killing a spider, how lonely I feel in the cold of night! - Masaoka Shiki

For love and for hate I swat a fly and offer it To an ant. - Masaoka Shiki

The summer river: although there is a bridge, my horse goes through the water. - Masaoka Shiki

Glass balls and glowing lights. Dead tree in living room. Killed to honor birth. - Ron Loeffler

Anonymous Student Samples

Hands speckled with cuts Florist, cut my thorny rose Make it safe for touch

Petals like the sun Why name it a sunflower The sun is not brown

Lemonade for sale A car in the horizon Continued driving

The cold keeps us in forces us to be family But is that so sad?

colored leaves do fall, and wash away the season, along with our past.

Time for renewal the flowers will grow along with our troubled hearts

Read more about haiku on pages in the old purple book.

Complete the Creative Writing exercise at the bottom of page 643.