Haikus for National Haiku Day

Claire Su

Modern haikus bend traditional rules; they blend old and new again.

Learn about the history of haikus in a series of 5-7-5 poems we wrote to honor National Haiku Day on April 17!

Sparse syllables flow
Haikus born in Japan’s past
Bashō’s artistry 

Seventeen sound bites
Five, seven, five, count just right
Nature themes take flight

Words on the paper
Haikus form syllable by
Syllable, it blooms

Seasons come and go
Haikus capture nature’s flow
Transient beauty shown

With meditation
Haikus grant contemplation
Zen inspiration

Kigo, kireji
Haiku’s vocabulary
Need for mastery

Shiki’s reforming
Haiku’s five-seven-five beat
Open to the world

Haikus honor life
About birth, death, joy and strife
The beauty of all

Minimalism’s aim
Haiku’s brevity, its game
Sharp words, a small frame

Ink flows from the pen
Haiku emerges on page
Beauty, brevity

Masters like Issa
Honored the form with prowess
Haikus spread their wings

Haikus in wartime
Offer solace to the mind
In moments unkind

Samurai poets
Haiku’s practitioners
Emphasized stillness

Edo period
Haikus for the masses
Through printed pages

Modern haikus bend
Traditional rules, they blend
Old and new again

Haikus celebrate
Life’s moments, both small and great
Haikus resonate

National Haiku
Day was April seventeenth
Let’s all write haikus!