Haiku Poetry Day

Haiku Poetry Day

April 17

If you have ever been in a writing class, or even in a class where your teacher liked writing, you have probably written haiku. I was still pretty young when the simple poetic form was introduced to my class. Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry structured with one 5-syllable line, followed by a 7-syllable line, followed by a third 5-syllable line (17 total syllables), mostly concentrating on a single moment in time or observation of nature.

According to the Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education (SPICE), “Students like writing haiku because of its brevity; teachers find it an interesting addition to the study of poetry. With some basic background information and some hints for guided practice, the study of haiku can give students a brief glimpse into Japanese culture.

“Historically, there are only a few poets in Japan who, over the centuries, have become respected for their haiku poetry. Among these are Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki. Of these four, the most famous is Basho. He is credited with making haiku a revered form of poetry. Before Basho refined the haiku poem, its form of 17 syllables had been used, but not with the simplicity and depth of meaning that Basho brought to the form.”

I have enjoyed passing this writing experience on to my students, and they usually have a lot of fun with it. After all these years, until today, I was not even aware that there was such a thing as Haiku Poetry Day. This is not something I can pass up!

For anyone who may need a little definition, here is an explanation from The Poetry Place:

The haiku depicts a moment of insight

“The most important of these other rules is that the haiku conveys a single moment where the poet suddenly sees or realizes something.

“In this way of thinking, the haiku is a lightning bolt—fast, clear, and striking, it shows a whole panorama of thought in a single flash.

“That’s what makes a haiku, a haiku: some amazing thing that the poet has never realized before brought vividly to life.

The haiku is based on observation

“In the traditional haiku, the insight and the images always come from observation of the natural world. However, since then things have relaxed a lot, and you do not need to write haiku only about nature (though many still do, and you totally can).

“But whatever topics you pick, the observation part is still very relevant.

“I said above that “the haiku conveys a single moment where the poet suddenly sees or realizes something”—and one way of thinking of the haiku is as a way of recording flashes of insight in your observations of the world.

“Those observations could be of nature, or they could be of entirely other things:

• How warm your socks felt on a cold morning
• The feeling of acceleration as you pass a slower car
• Unexpected gratitude for an action someone did for you
• Suddenly seeing how algebra unlocks the world of numbers

“But viewing the haiku as a way to package up and convey your best observations is no bad way to think of it.

The haiku breaks into two parts

“This is a lesser-known haiku rule, but I really like it.

“The rule says that the haiku contains two separate parts:

• A section that creates an image (often the first two lines, but not always)
• Then another section which is different but connected—perhaps suggesting an interpretation of the first image, perhaps suggesting a contrast.

“I love this rule because it helps you give your haiku complexity and roundedness, despite the brevity. I think this rule is always worth following, not least because it teaches you how to break patterns and make unexpected connections in all your poems.”

All that information is from The Poetry Place.

A Few Originals

Here are a few originals from my students and me. Enjoy them; then try it for yourself. It’s fun, but beware, it’s a little addicting. 

A beautiful face

So full of worry and care

It breaks my heart

Birds glide high above

They swoop low to the white fence

And perch upon it

Gong bells ringing out

Firecrackers booming loud

All people cheering

The oak tree blows

It sways in the rhythm

Of the birds’ songs

White buds cloak the tree

One opens into pale blossom

Then drifts to the ground

One ripe crab apple

Slips from a dew-drenched branch–thud

But Silence returns

Moon’s silver glow

Breath creates a wispy haze

Stars shine through the veil

Gray breath stirs the leaves

Rumbling rolls through the hollow

Creek rushes in alarm

My history class wrote “history haiku.”  Perhaps this will help them remember facts.

First Congress for freedom

Friends of Great Britain gone wrong

Colonists now fight

(the first Continental Congress)

A freedom statement

By shed, red blood adopted

Britain defeated

(Declaration of Independence) 

William of Orange

Glorious Revolution

New King of England

(William of Orange)

Charles was beheaded

January thirteenth

Parliament approved

(Charles I execution)

A great prose writer

Wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress

About Christian life

(John Bunyan)

Struck hearts of the young

Missionary zeal revived

Religious freedom again

(The Great Awakening)

England’s tyrant reigns

Retaliation is near

Freedom will come

(War against the Royalists)

Restricted America

Enacted many taxes and laws

And what they could do

(British authority over America)

How about closing with a devotional haiku:

Heaven’s holy King

Wounded, beaten, bruised, chastised

Freedom’s heavy cost

Are you ready to try it? Have fun, and God bless you!