Haiku Re-Do

Haiku is an interesting form of poetry. Short, fairly simple, and yet... complex. It's hard to communicate something meaningful or beautiful in 17 short syllables. But what I really like about them is that traditionally, a haiku is a seasonal poem, capturing the essence of one moment in nature. Of course, those rules are commonly broken -- modern Americans quite enjoy breaking convention and I'm all for that in most cases* -- but I do like the idea of a traditional haiku. 17 syllables, broken into three lines which often indicate a verbal pause, that capture some phenological observation. It's like the original "tweet" but way better thought-out. And less banal (read: stupid).

So here's some more serious/traditional haiku poems for the day:

Crystalline snowflakes

Sparkle in the winter sun,

Reflecting brightness.

Puffed up to stay warm

He chirp-chirps as I pass by.

Sparrow on the sill.

Robin in the branch

Facing into the cold wind --

Why don't you migrate?

*When I teach haiku in my poetry unit, I focus on having the students read and write nature-oriented haiku poems... but I always end with this one, which the kids find really hilarious... actually, they find it way more hilarious than it probably is... here goes:

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don't make sense.

Refrigerator.

ps. Happy first day of Hanukkah.