Writing Lune Poetry

While the Lune is a newer form of poetry, it has deep ties to the haiku. Robert Kelly, a poet who was frustrated with the way Americans seemed to disgrace the rules of the haiku, conceived of an idea in the 1960's to create a new form of American "haiku": the lune.

There are two ways to write a lune:

A three lined poem without the nature theme restrictions of a haiku, allowing the use of simile and metaphor, along with the use of any other desired poetic device, which has a syllabic line pattern of 3/5/3. Any idea or subject matter is acceptable.

OR

A three lined poem without the nature theme restrictions of a haiku, allowing the use of simile and metaphor, along with the use of any other desired poetic device, that contains three words in the first line, five in the second, and three in the final line (this manner of writing a lune is attributed to the poet Jack Collom). Any idea or subject is acceptable.

The lune gives fewer restrictions to the writer, allowing their creativity to run freely:

Example: (syllabic lune)

The sun has gone down
The moon, up.
Time for peaceful sleep.
©Katherine Arcand

A lune may be titled, rhyme, include metaphor or simile, or encompass any topic the author chooses, human or not. It may be serious, silly, in the present, in the past or anywhere in between.

The main reason for the name of the form "lune" is that the poem should resemble a crescent moon (latin, luna, meaning moon). The first type of lune makes a right facing crescent, while the second form of lune makes a left facing crescent.

Example: (word counted lune)

Sweet white liquid
Chilled until it is frozen--
Soft serve treat
©Katherine Arcand

I caution you, as with haiku and senryu, the lune can be quite addicting. Before you know it, you might be able to publish your own anthology of lunes!

Practice: Use either method of creating a lune. Use your favorite novel or fictional character as inspiration.