So, you want to learn haiku. It's no surprise. Many people are attracted to this elegant and economical poetry form. In just a few words, an entire scene is captured.

To learn haiku, you need to forget about what you've heard regarding writing it. The notorious 5-7-5-syllable rule no longer applies to modern haiku poetry. This is a good thing for it frees you up to focus on expressing yourself without worrying if your syllables fit a predefined pattern.

The most important thing you need to know about learning how to write haiku is that it's a very short poem based on a present moment experience. This is the point where newbies to the art form mess up. They want to write something that's, well, western for lack of a better word. They use western poetic devices like metaphor and simile while the humble haiku requires neither of these. For example, take a look at this haiku poem by the author:

Notice that the 5-7-5-syllable rule does not apply here, yet the haiku "sensibility" is retained. Why? Because this is a short poem about a present moment. In this case, the present moment has to do with what a sparrow is doing. It's not sophisticated nor is it "trying" to be prosy or poetic. On the contrary, it's simple and quite elementary yet it contains all the elements we need for successful haiku making.

After learning how to create phrases that are in the present, it's necessary to examine the method most modern haiku poets use to construct their poems. And this has everything to do with something called fragment and phrase theory. This really isn't a theory at all but a way of describing how 99% of most modern haiku is constructed. In the above haiku, the fragment is line one "August moonlight." The phase consists of lines two and three.

Most modern haiku poets consider the phrase to be the most important part of the poem. This is the specific "present moment" part whereas the fragment's purpose is to set mood or place. Combined, fragment and phrase create something called juxtaposition. It is this juxtaposition that makes a haiku a haiku. To learn haiku, don't bother yourself with syllable counting. Instead, focus on writing descriptive phrases about a present moment. Do this and your haiku skill will grow in leaps and bounds!

Edward Weiss is a poet, author, and publisher of Wisteria Press. His 2 books "Bird Haiku" and "Seashore Haiku" are now available and he is currently working on a third. Get haiku in your inbox! Sign up for our FREE daily haiku service at http://wisteriapress.com and get a fresh haiku in your inbox every morning!

Source: www.isnare.com