Formalist Friday: The Haiku

No one has time to write epic poems-- it’s finals week. So let’s scale back our length and talk about a short and sweet poetic form: the haiku.

Haiku are one of the easiest forms to remember. The only rule is that it must have a 5-7-5 syllable structure. Everyone knows this one. But to be honest, I couldn’t name a haiku before writing this blog post. Damn my euro-centric education. So I did some heavy duty research (lol no I did a few google searches) and here’s what I have to share.

The most-cited example of a haiku is by Matsuo Basho:
“An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.”

Simple, but effective. Here’s another few I really liked:

“From time to time
The clouds give rest
To the moon-beholders.”
- Matsuo Basho

“Light of the moon
Moves west, flowers' shadows
Creep eastward.”
- Yosa Buson

“Don’t weep, insects –
Lovers, stars themselves,
Must part.”
- Kobayashi Issa

And here’s one that every student can relate to: “I Want To Sleep” by Masaoka Shiki.
“I want to sleep
Swat the flies
Softly, please.”

A lot of traditional haiku have natural themes. They capture a fleeting moment of beauty.
So in the midst of the flurry of stress that is finals, take a moment, capture some beauty. Scribble a poem in the margins of your chemistry notes. It’s as simple as 5-7-5.

A Finals Week Haiku:
A quiet commons
Fresh sunlight soft on the ground
Unseasonal warmth.

​Written by Megan G.