Lit: Haiku

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