Writing a haiku
Can seem daunting but relax!
It's not hard to do.
Select a topic—
your favorite ice cream flavor,
the state of your socks.
Count your syllables—
three lines of five, seven, five
is the final goal.
Try a twist ending.
Use a thesaurus if stuck.
Better with practice!
My inspiration here is mylittlebecky, who commented that she liked reading haiku poems, but couldn't write them "satisfactorily." My view is that haikus (and all poetry, really) should be fun to write. I wouldn't get hung up on perfection--that's what revisions are for. The beauty of the haiku is the short format allows you to write a complete poem quickly, and syllable limitations lead to unexpected word choices. All fun and games, in my opinion!
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I was on a poetry-writing kick in high school (who wasn't?) and eventually I tried to challenge myself by writing sonnets. I preferred sonnets to haiku because I had more lines to make my point. I'm not usually very good at being short winded and I always thought that one haiku was supposed to stand on its own, a complete thought.
ReplyDeleteHiakus and limericks are two of the best poetry forms ever created!
ReplyDeletecoolio! i just may have to try this! and you'll have to say you like them but don't let me embarrass myself :)
ReplyDeleteI think the rigid structure of a haiku scares people from attempting them, but as your blog so amply demonstrates it's possible to write them about a wide variety of topics!
ReplyDeleteHaikus are fun. I agree with Nicole, also, limericks.
ReplyDelete