A slice of Haiku, anyone?

Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry.  Strictly speaking, the history of Haiky begins only in the last years of the 19th century or more precisely around 1892 when it was establisted as a new independent poetic form.  The two traditional elements of haiku are the diision of 17 syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the inclusion of a seasonal theme.  

There are two further proposals that can be included.  One, haiku would be truer to reality if there were no center of interest in it and two, the importance of the poet’s first impression, just as it was, of subjects taken from daily life, and of local color to create freshness.  In Japanese, the rules for how to write a haiku are clear.  In foreign languages, there exists no consesus in how to write haiku poems. 

What do you write about? Haiku poems can describe almost anything, but you seldom find themes which are too complicated for normal people’s recognition and understanding.  Some of the most thrilling haiku poems describe daily situations in a way that gives the reader a brand new experience of a well-known situation. 

Try it… get inspired.  Happy Earth Day!