Haiku: It’s the little things that count

Haiku: It’s the little things that count
Writing a haiku: group project
HA English 9
OReilly

What is haiku?
The shortest form of Japanese poetry constructed in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. The message of a haiku poem usually centers on some aspect of spirituality and provokes an emotional response in the reader. Early masters of haiku include Basho, Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Masaoka Shiki. English writers of haiku include the Imagists, notably Ezra Pound, HD, Amy Lowell, Carl Sandburg, and William Carlos Williams. Haiku is Japanese Buddhist poetry designed to express and create the bliss and true knowledge of the divine.

English counts syllables differently than Japanese, so the syllable rules in English are not as strict. What is important is that there is a strong contrast, a mild surprise that occurs after the first or second line. There is a kind of pause first, then a very distinct change.

How nice to take a noonday nap
Feet planted against the wall.
How cool the wall

The surprise or change occurs in this haiku after the second line. The third line is not apparently relevant. Yet the reader recognizes the connection. This change, contrast, or juxtaposition surprises the reader, and moves her into a kind of recognition, a realization of the connectness of disparate aspects of nature. This is a kind of mini enlightenment created by the poem.

Winter storm:
The peering cat
Squints and blinks

What does a winter storm have to do with a cat?
Here the change or surprise is after the first line. The writer is explaining, in the briefest possible way, that tiny moment when he feels a certain enlightenment or connection with nature. In the few seconds it takes to write a three-line poem, the writer expresses the moment when he sees truth and beauty.

Stop to smell the roses:
Haikus are usually about everyday images or sights that remind us of the special moments that we ignore. These sights snap us out of our thoughts and remind us to be alive and in the moment. In the mundane, yet somehow striking image below, the change occurs after the first line.

 Breastfeeding her baby
The mother counts
All the flea bites



Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to:

• Get in groups of four and write four poems on a theme. For instance, the theme could be the seasons, and each poem would reflect one season. Other themes include times of day, emotions, phases of life, teen years, clothes, games, friends, phases of life, etc.

• Write your poem on construction paper, illustrate with any medium: drawing, collage etc.

• Tape your four haikus together to make a large poster.

• Make sure the following appears on your poster: your names, period number and haiku theme. You may add an extra strip of paper across the top or bottom for that information.

25Participation points:
8 points_________ You have four poems about one theme. (Unless you have a smaller group due to class size.)
3 points_________ Haiku are illustrated
3 points_________ Names, period number, and theme appear on the front of the poster.
4 points_________Haikus have three lines, and there is a pause or break and a “contrasting” image. See above
5 points_________ Posters are lovely
2 points _________ This rubric is lightly taped to the back with all your full names and period number