What Makes a Five Syllable Haiku Unique?

[yourdadonapogostick]

five syllables here;
seven syllables here, and
five syllables here.

make your own and post them

 

[JamesU]

franzbear never dies
we try, we tey, we try, oh
he will never die

 

[Janus]

Haiku's are horrid
I see no purpose to them
They don't even rhyme!

 

[JamesU]

jamus's haiku...
is very, very, true, so
don't post your haikus

 

[Moonbear]

I remember the first haiku I wrote in school:

My pet guinea pig.
Guinea pigs sometimes nip you.
Guinea pigs are cute.

 

[JamesU]

no wonder you're a biologist and not a literary expert

 

[Moonbear]

no wonder you're a biologist and not a literary expert

I think it's just scary that after all these years, I still remember a haiku I wrote in elementary school!

 

[JamesU]

and it was a crappy haiku too.

I remember, in like 3rd grade, my haiku was something about a garden, like with a worm in it, I don't remember it though...

 

[Moonbear]

and it was a crappy haiku too.

I remember, in like 3rd grade, my haiku was something about a garden, like with a worm in it, I don't remember it though...

I'm sure most 3rd grade haikus are pretty bad. I've never had any talent for poetry of any kind. I could get away with decent grades for the technical merit, but the creative/artistic part was not there. I have all sorts of useless crap stuck in my head.

Then again, is there any such thing as a good haiku?

 

[yourdadonapogostick]

are there good haikus?
i honestly cannot say.
we need to find out.

 

[Moonbear]

To teach syllables
haikus can be very useful
but are they poems?

 

[mattmns]

In my english lit class we are doing poetry, it is no doubt the most bs stuff I have ever read. Thankfully it will be over with in 3 weeks! Now to turn this message into a haiku.

Poetry is crap!
It really really is, so
why bother with it?

 

[zoobyshoe]

HAIKU for PEOPLE
Address:http://www.toyomasu.com/haiku/

You guys can read some real haikus here. There is a brief history, and the one rule: they should include something that indicates the season.

 

[hypnagogue]

Properly done haikus are supposed to succinctly create a mental image or setting that evokes a certain kind of emotion. The words themselves are just there to create the scene, and the payoff comes when one imagines the scene and 'inhabits' it for a while and thus shares the emotion experienced by the author. At least, that was always my impression. If you just string together some words to create a short collection of sentence fragments, chances are the intended effect will be lost.

 

[honestrosewater]

Thinking in terms of syllables alone doesn't seem to work well in English. At least, it never worked for me. Thinking in terms of stresses seems to fit the language so much better, and the combination of syllables and stresses is my favorite.

 

[zoobyshoe]

A small moth in heat
courts the scintillating screen,
confounding your words.

 

[Jelfish]

Test in 6 hours
The library is closing
I'm going to fail

 

[yourdadonapogostick]

tsk tsk tsk, come on!
procrastination is bad.
i can't believe you!

 

[Jelfish]

Procrastination?
"Efficient Time Management"
is what I call it.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Jellyfish slither,
glinting in the hot, damp night
climbing a speedbump.

 

[Jelfish]

Eyes in the darkness
prey on amorphous jelfish
as it crawls alone.

 

[hypnagogue]

puddles glisten streets
leaves downcast, eyes following
a stranger walks past

 

[Jelfish]

I stare down the street,
obscured by a midnight's fog
and nebulous thoughts.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The roaring whisper
of a small desk fan muffles
my chattering thoughts.

 

[Jelfish]

The dripping faucet
is a constant reminder
to do the dishes

 

[zoobyshoe]

Acrid, trembling bus
doors flap open. Years later
a fat man steps off.

 

[Jelfish]

Praise to zoobyshoe!
Such esoteric vision.
I'm going to bed.

 

[Moonbear]

The roaring whisper
of a small desk fan muffles
my chattering thoughts.

Zooby, you write good
haikus! Okay, so I see
it's possible now.

(And I still write bad haikus. )

 

[zoobyshoe]

Praise to zoobyshoe!
Such esoteric vision.
I'm going to bed.

Zooby, you write good
haikus! Okay, so I see
it's possible now.

I'm still trying to imitate the subtlety of this one:

puddles glisten streets
leaves downcast, eyes following
a stranger walks past

I think Hyp's is the only really Japanese level entry.

 

[JamesU]

Poetry is crap!
It really really is, so
why bother with it?

because if you can
appreciate it, it is
truly good writing