Haiku

According to the dictionary, a haiku is a japanese poem of seventeen syllables in lines of five, seven, and five, or an English imitation of this. I should think that it could be an any-language imitation of this, but I was looking it up in an American dictionary.

Because of this definition I think, many people who write/read haiku assume that it has to be seventeen syllables in lines of five, seven, and five, and so feel confined to this. Some people even frown upon haikus that do not abide by the syllable count. Other writers may even feel that haiku is just not worth writing, and choose to miss out on it.

Think carefully for a moment. What if the beauty of writing were based on the syllable count?

Now. A high school English teacher of mine once remarked that the essence of haiku lies in the final thought. The first two lines of a haiku may be airy, wispy, bringing you closer to the realization in the final line, which more often than not takes a huge giant leap and lands somewhere far away from the place where the beginning of the haiku started. The beginning of a haiku might be called a springboard, the last line the dive, the splash.

Of course the lines are simply a framework, just as the syllables are. The beauty of a haiku is like the beauty of all writing, it is found in the writing and the reading of it. Frames can be beautiful, but do not ignore the art inside. We humans love frames, don’t we? Some things do look better with them, like mascara about the eye. It really just depends on you.

Don’t go looking for your inspiration for haiku in the number of syllables, rather go looking for inspiration where you normally do. It is the same inspiration that brings all of your writing to life.