I once took part in some writing seminars with a local author, who suggested writing a Haiku a day. In their opinion, the short form of this style of poetry (three lines of 5-7-5 syllables) was a great way to practice the distillation of a thought or mood into a very short set of phrases.

Here is one that developed in my mind as I finally roused in the shower:

I’m up for the day

Six A.M. on a weekend

Both children are up

But then I realised that there was no reference to nature, so this is not a Haiku in the classic sense.

The general ‘rules’ for a traditional Haiku are loosely as follows:

• A focus on nature or the seasons
• The juxtaposition of two subjects (something natural and something human-made, for example) a
• A contemplative or wistful tone
• Impressionistic brevity (no superfluous words)
• Emphasis on imagery over exposition
• Avoidance of metaphor and similes
• Non-rhyming lines

I might attempt more Haiku poems in future. I remember finding the exercise useful, even if I am a little out of practice nowadays.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the Haiku form here…