Poetic Forms: Haiku and Senryu

Haiku is one of the oldest Japanese forms of poetry. Originally written about the seasons of the year, currently nature is also an acceptable theme.

Haiku does not rhyme and consists of 17 syllables in three lines in a 5-7-5 format (five syllables in line one, seven in line two, then five again). In classic haiku, there is usually a "cutting word" that turns the thoughts of the reader in an unexpected, sometimes ironic, direction.

Although "haiku" has become a catch phrase that includes any and all 5-7-5-formatted poems, there are other forms with that format. Senryu can be thought of as haiku that features human foibles or characteristics of life rather than nature or the seasons.

Since they are short, titles of haiku or senryu often are taken from the poem's first line or are simply numbered, though naming poems is completely up to the author without specific rules.

Examples:

Spring Harvest (Haiku)

Spring harvest begins
when revealed petals call out
for tiny visits.

Intensity (Senryu)

Loud explosions fuel
the thrill of intensity
in a stuntman's heart.