Do You Haiku?

I used to believe that haikus were only for serious poets that lived in Japan and practiced calligraphy.

I had heard that a Japanese monk might spend his whole lifetime perfecting one little haiku. In all my years of school, I never once was assigned to write one. Then… I took a creative writing workshop in my 30’s. I learned that haiku is not only for hibernating monks! It’s for everyday people like me. And, that’s the moment my love affair with the art of haiku began. Distilling your thoughts into three lines carved of 17 syllables—it’s genius! And so, I give haiku prompts to end every writing circle I lead. In the circle, I’ve witnessed women who never thought a smidgen about haiku, suddenly transform into haiku-loving converts. Upon seeing my haiku joy, my husband decided to try his hand at it. Now we haikumunicate and have haikuversations in a journal we leave by the bathroom sink that we've kept for 10 years exchanging feelings, schedules, admiration--all in haiku!

A page from our “haikummunication” journal

I also love to haiku as I hike, it helps me hike in presence. As I walk about the trails, I think in “haiku,” noticing details I might otherwise ignore.

Haiku Boots (or Shoe-kus)

So, the question is, do you haiku? Try your hand at writing birthday haikus, text haikus, love note haikus, make-up-after-a-fight haikus, lunchbox haikus, prayer haikus, hiking hike-ku’s, write a haiku on the sole of your shoe (my son’s idea) or on the inside of your closet or tape one to a park bench…you might even start by adding a haiku post on this blog…

Here’s the haiku structure:
5 syllables
7 syllables
5 syllables

Pick any topic, try including a nature metaphor or reference to a season, but to heck with the rules, most of all—have fun!

Hike-Ku:

How to age with grace?

Drop petals, trust beauty stays

A star will emerge