Decide what kind of haiku you would like to write. You can choose to follow the 5-7-5 syllable style, or decide you want to be more experimental with your structure and adjust the number of syllables. If you are writing an English haiku, you’ll separate your poem into three lines. Determine your subject matter. Pay attention to small details around you. Nature themes are most common in haiku, so start to notice things like birds or leaves outside, the way the air feels, or even a smell in the air. Many haiku are about very simple natural elements of day-to-day life.
Use short phrases that evoke strong images. Think of how Japanese poets use kigo, and choose images that symbolize a season (say, fallen leaves for fall or daffodils for spring) to set a mood with very few words.
Use a kireji or “cutting word” to create a break in the meter. Remember to use punctuation in conjunction with a kireji to control the rhythm of the poem.
Here are some examples of Haiku.
“A World of Dew” by Kobayashi Issa
A world of dew,
And within every dewdrop
A world of struggle.
“The Taste of Rain” by Jack Kerouac
The taste
Of rain
—Why kneel?
Sonia Sanchez “Haiku [for you]”
love between us is
speech and breath. loving you is
a long river running.
Ravi Shankar “Lines on a Skull”
life’s little, our heads sad.
Redeemed and wasting clay
this chance. Be of use.
Write a haiku about one of the following:
springtime
love
health
your first