Short Poems Haiku

Succinct short haikus

Poetry is part of our lives and I particularly like short poems like haiku which are the shortest of all poems. We all remember snatches of poems we were taught in school, even if we cannot remember the poem title, who wrote it or how long it was. Reading poetry books is essential to understand the different styles and types of poems that can be written. Short poems are more difficult to write because you must convey so much (with few words) but this is the beauty of short poetry as it allows the reader to read between the lines. Poetry stimulates the mind and improves understanding in much the same way as reading books. Quite often when I read new poetry I have to consult a dictionary to decipher the poets meaning. I like to write poetry that is succinct and to the point and I find that the haiku is the best way to do it.

My short haiku poem

I wrote the poem ‘Loneliness’ many years ago as a haiku long before I knew how to write poetry. Then I was experimenting with the balance required between the few syllables (17) allowed and trying to make some sense of the verse.

Loneliness can be

Surrounded by people who

Fail to comprehend.

When this poem is broken down to its constituent parts you will find only the 17 syllables as line 1 will have five, line 2 will have seven and the final line will again have five syllables.

How to write short poems - Haiku example

Haiku are really short poems consisting of only 17 syllables (or fewer) for the entire poem! In English it is written on 3 lines. Even when there are so few words in the poems the poet can convey a feeling of time, space, energy and other abstract thoughts. A Haiku International Association exists, so popular did these short poems become outside of Japan. An international online haiku magazine is also in existence and would be worth a visit for anyone interested in writing (or reading) haiku.

Haiku sample short poetry

Stillness (2 syllables)
a chestnut leaf sinks (5 syllables)
through the clear water (5 syllables)

The above haiku was written in Japanese in the 17th century and shows how difficult it is to translate to English whilst maintaining the 5,7,5 syllable formula and also keeping the meaning of the poem intact as it was intended. When a haiku is written in one language it does not lend itself to easy translation to other languages.

Remembering your poem

Like dreaming and then capturing your dreams and thoughts upon wakening, the fact is that you will get some poem thoughts and ideas at the strangest times so be prepared to carry pen and paper with you wherever you go in case of inspiration. Consider this image I had of a zebra crossing which I converted to a haiku.

A big striped zebra = 5

is crossing the motorway = 7

But no one will stop = 5

Birthday phrases can be a short love haiku

Birthday haiku poems can be written inside Birthday cards in order to personalize them with Birthday phrases. As Birthdays are loving occasions a love haiku will be much appreciated and is just as easy to write as any other short message. These simple short poems can be a very effective way to express your feelings.

Haiku outside Japan

Zen philosophy and haiku entered the U.S. in the 1940s post the second World War. In America many Haiku journals were launched by poets in different areas including Boston, GeorgiaNorth Carolina, North America itself and Canada too. An Australian Haiku association was sponsored by Japan Airlines which boosted knowledge about Japan and Haiku philosophy in Queensland and Brisbane. In Great Britain the British Haiku Society (BHS) began in 1990 and is linked to many haiku societies across the world. The BHS publish new writing and are keen to develop the teaching of haiku in schools and colleges in the UK. India has had much less success in introducing the haiku but slow progress is being made nonetheless with some language difficulties being addressed and overcome. Hindi is the official language of India but there are another 15 or more languages recognized officially so translating short poems and haiku presents major difficulties in India.