Haiku (俳句) is one of the most important form of traditional japonese poetry. It consists of three lines with five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression. Haiku is commonly written in the present tense and focus on associations between images. There is a pause at the end of the first or second line, and there is a kigo (season word), specifying the time of year.
As the form has evolved, many of these rules—including the 5/7/5 practice—have been routinely broken. However, the philosophy of haiku has been preserved: the focus on a brief moment in time, a use of provocative, colorful images, an ability to be read in one breath, and a sense of sudden enlightenment and illumination.
Examples:
On a withered branch
a crow has alighted:
nightfall in autumn.
—Bashō
Not quite dark yet
and the stars shining
above the withered fields.
—Buson
With ease
they reconstruct...
billowing clouds.
—Issa
I challenge everyone that posts on this section to try and create some haiku. Even the ones that don't usually post poetry, feel free to give it a try. But most of all, don't forget to have fun~
