Day 17 ~ “Haiku Poetry Day” for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth

Day 17 ~ “Haiku Poetry Day” for “30 Poems in 30 Days” #NationalPoetryMonth 

Well, today, April 17, just happens to be both “International” and “National” “Haiku Poetry Day” so all you Haiku lovers – this is your lucky day! Cheers!!

Haiku is a popular and well-known form of poetry that started in Japan in the sixteenth century. It usually centers on a nature theme, but you can make one up about anything.

Haiku poems don’t rhyme but they do follow a pattern.

They are very short, structured poems with three lines and a total of 17 syllables. The lines in a haiku follow a set format: 

Line 1: 5 syllables

Line 2: 7 syllables

Line 3: 5 syllables

You need to pay attention to the number of SYLLABLES, not words.

Here are a couple of examples:

A soft, gentle breeze

Tickles leaves in my front yard

And I know He’s there.

          © 2011 Stephanie Abney

Golden ball of fire

Slips behind the horizon

A desert goodnight

          © 2014 Stephanie Abney

                              (Photo courtesy of Bob Murray of Scottsdale, AZ - used with permission)

And as a “heads up” for tomorrow (Sat. Apr.18) start glancing at the book spines one your shelves because we will be doing “Book Spine” poetry where you stack up books flat on top of each other with the spine side showing in a way that the titles make up a “poem” ~ like this:

I Dare You

The Double Cross

Counting the Cost

Don't

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.