So, what are the rules of haiku as they are written in English?
Haiku are about the natural world and are attempts at capturing fragments of Zen-like enlightenment in words.
Everyone knows that haiku are three-line poems of 17 syllables distributed according to a 5-7-5 rule, but, as is so often the case, it’s not quite as simple as that. In Japanese, haiku consist of 17 phonic units.

As the Japanese forms became naturalised into English, the strict 17-syllable structure was slowly abandoned, so that now our haiku are really just very short poems that try to capture moments of illumination of one sort or another.

American poets: Frank Samperi + Cid Corman

Cid Corman – of – Volume One and Two – Lapis Press 1990

Cid Corman

to do with

you beyond

being with?

+

What were you

expecting?

What more is

there than this?

Can’t write haiku poems?
Here’s help.

Ben Haller named this computerized version of the fridge poetry kit after his favorite poet, Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827). This program, although great for frustrated poets, will also help kids click into their creative side. Simply point and click on a word, or group of words, and drag to another word or words to create a haiku poem.

Issa: Virtual fridge poetry