May 17th is Haiku Poetry Day. In honor of our first Japanese EOne Academy customer, we are celebrating this unofficial holiday that honors the short poetry form that originated in Japan.
Haiku is a type of short poetry that is usually three sentences long. First popularized in Japan in the 17th century, Haiku as a poetry genre has been adopted by many languages around the world. In English, the genre first became mainstream in the early 20th century.
In its Japanese avatar, haikus traditionally have three lines with 17 syllables. The first and last sentence have 5 syllables and the second line has 7 syllables. The syllable rule, however, is not always set in stone. Compared to Japanese, many English words have longer syllables. Because of this, English haikus can often have anywhere from 10 to 14 syllables. Unlike a lot of other forms of poetry, words in a haiku poem do not need to rhyme.
Haikus tend to give an interesting insight about something trivial, usually some aspect of nature or the seasons.
Here is my attempt at a haiku. And if you live in Denver, you will totally get it.
Dear rain, please, please cease
I can take it no longer
Sun…sun where ought thou?