Page  Beyond the Haiku  Variations  Mental  The Haiku  The haiku
is a micropoem, originating in seventeenth century Japan, which,
when well handled, has a singular grace and power - lifting it
high above the sound bite, the limerick and all but the best of
epigrams.  It has seventeen syllables: five in the first line,
seven in the second, five in the third.  Like this:  Writing a
haiku Is a matter of getting The length of line right  Poems in
three lines Five syllables then seven Then another five  They do
not rhyme, and they do not have titles:  Though peers of poems
Haikus are but commoners They lack a title  Though rhymes are
not crimes The true worth of a Haiku Is its sounds and sense.
But it must be more than cut up prose; a haiku should express a
thought, fact or feeling of significance to the writer and
reader:  Writing a haiku A way to communicate Brief and to the
point.  Much to aspire to - Such humbling constraints - haiku
Metaphors for life  In many of the best, the last line
represents a contrast