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Poetic form

What is a Haiku?

Definition

A three-line Japanese form of 5-7-5 syllables capturing a single vivid moment.

Haiku is the art of the glance: one moment, usually from nature, caught in three short lines and released before explanation can ruin it. The classical Japanese form counts 5-7-5 sound units and includes a season word (kigo) and a cutting moment (kireji) — a tiny hinge between two images.

In English, the 5-7-5 syllable count is a useful school of discipline, though many modern haiku poets write shorter, trusting the form's real engine: juxtaposition. Two images placed side by side; the spark jumps the gap.

Structure of a haiku

  • Three lines: 5 syllables / 7 syllables / 5 syllables (classical)
  • A seasonal reference (kigo) grounds the moment in time
  • A 'cut' between two images — the gap is where the meaning lives
  • Present tense, concrete nouns, almost no adjectives

How to write a haiku

  1. Go look at one real thing for two minutes — a kettle, a sparrow, rain on a bin lid.
  2. Write down only what you can see, hear, or smell. No feelings yet.
  3. Put two of those images next to each other and remove every connecting word.
  4. Count syllables last, trimming words like wet branches.

9 haiku examples

Classic and original haiku poems, free to read in full.

The Old Pond (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1686

an old pond, still —a frog leaps into water:the sound of the splash

3 lines · haiku

Summer Grasses (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1689

summer grasses grow —all that remains of the dreamsof proud warriors

3 lines · haiku

Autumn Evening (haiku)

Matsuo Bashō · 1680

on a bare branch sitsa crow, settled in for night —autumn evening falls

3 lines · haiku

First Warm Rain

The QuillOak Editors

first warm rain of spring —the umbrellas stay foldedeveryone looks up

3 lines · haiku

Crocus in the Frost

The QuillOak Editors

crocus in the frosttoo early, and unbothered —teach me that, small one

3 lines · haiku

August Afternoon

The QuillOak Editors

august afternoon —the garden hose, the shriekingjoy of being eight

3 lines · haiku

Cicadas at Dusk

The QuillOak Editors

cicadas at duskturning the whole heat to song —even the heat sings

3 lines · haiku

One Red Maple Leaf

The QuillOak Editors

one red maple leafrides the river out of town —travel light, it says

3 lines · haiku

Snow on the Mailbox

The QuillOak Editors

snow on the mailbox —all the news the morning bringsis white, and silent

3 lines · haiku

Common questions

Is a haiku always 5-7-5?

Classically yes, in Japanese sound units. English haiku often run shorter; the spirit — one cut moment, two images — matters more than the arithmetic.

Does a haiku need to be about nature?

Traditional haiku include a season word. Modern 'senryū' use the same shape for human nature — office life, love, irony.