Haiku
Haiku is Japanese poetry form that traditionally follows a pattern of five-seven five syllables. This is generally a good way for haiku beginners to start but it is not a rigid rule. Instead, it is important that the haiku uses no spare words — no unnecessary words and syllables.
Haikus are written in a moment of inspiration where the self-conscious mind drops and the poet is in touch with the unity of all things. Haiku is a mindfulness meditation. Haikus are about everyday life and usually have a nature theme. One of the lines usually contains a word that indicates to the reader to which season the haiku refers, thereby giving it a sense of time and place. Wild plums, for instance, would indicate summer.
Basho is known as a great haiku poet. He was born Matsuo Munefusa in seventeenth-century Japan. In his youth, Basho was a samurai but exchanged his sword for poetry. He lived in a hut made of banana leaves, which is how he came by his pseudonym. Basho means “banana leaves.”
Haikus do not usually refer to a participant: in other words — no self. This usually extends to mean no adjectives are included, as adjectives imply there is a person judging (a beautiful tree implies an opinion, there-fore someone who holds the opinion).
Here is an example of haiku from Basho:
Winter rain
falls on the cow-shed;
a cock crows.
Notice that the haiku does not follow the five-seven-five rule but a similar beat is found: three-five-three. Haikus are not intended to be brilliant and pithy. They are strokes of inspiration and honesty coming from the heart. Most of all, haikus are reverent towards the sanctity of the small things, and of everything. Children love to create haiku poetry, which says a lot about the simplicity and honesty to be found in the haiku.
