7 Day Haiku Challenge (#16)
Haikus are easy
You count on your fingertips—
One, two, three, four, five.
There are only three rules when writing a haiku:
You must have 17 syllables in total.
The entire poem is only 3 lines
Each subsequent line must follow the 5-7-5 syllable rule.
Simple rules bear interesting results. I first learned how to do a haiku in elementary school. We were encouraged to write about anything, whether it made sense or not, and the practice stuck with me into adulthood. While I don’t remember the things I wrote in the 4th grade, the Japanese style of poetry really impacted the way I thought of words.
With haikus, you are limited with what you can say and how to say it, so like a math problem you really have to be intentional with your words, since there is a set syllabic rule to follow. Whole haikus typically give a nod to nature, I think modern haiku can explore different things to talk about. Haikus are definitely helpful in keeping your mind sharp and can be a fun activity to stretch your brain when you need to take a mental reset.
The Challenge:
A haiku a day, for 7 days.
BONUS Challenge:
Choose one haiku, take a 1:1 canvas (digital or physical), write the haiku on the middle of the canvas, and then illustrate around the poem imagery related to the haiku.
Carissa’s Results:
In another life
The moon rises in the West
Always, you and I
the smell of autumn
and the snags in my sweater
sun, please go to rest
silence is fleeting
things are never what it seems
talk is always cheap
petals of roses
scattered on concrete sidewalks
may dies in june’s hands
glistening golden
do you see the way I am?
power in summer
our eyes lock like doors
we close them to be alone
you saw everything
sticky pink lipgloss
my hair is pinned to my mouth
you laugh at the wind
