Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry in three metrical verses of 5, 7 and 5 moras or syllable. It was popularized by the poet Matsuo Basho. In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English usually appear in three lines, to parallel the three metrical phrases of Japanese haiku.
Here is an example of a haiku by Basho:
Furuike Ya
furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
In translation:
Old Pond
old pond . . .
a frog leaps in
water’s sound
Note that the translated version doesn't have a 5-7-5 syllabic pattern but this haiku was intended to be digested in the Japanese language.
Here is my own attempt to write my own haiku:
The Times Are Against Us
Our stars are dying
The sun is peeping, cold morn
East winds takes her far
