We all learned what a haiku is in elementary school and possibly studied them through college (if only off and on). It may be easy to pass up the art of haiku — but for those who take the time to understand a poem’s meaning, the seemingly humble haiku can hold a lot of meaning.
Enjoying Haikus
Haiku examples are especially prolific on Instagram posts, where shorter verses work better in an image — and interestingly, the image-based Instagram is where I really started appreciating haikus.
Poetry books and online sources often couple haikus with art. Yet with or without imagery, some people are amazing at haikus! The meaning that is conveyed in such a short, limited-stanza piece is inspiring.
Writing Haikus
My new appreciation of reading haikus has led to an interest in writing them. Sometimes, many of us are inspired to write poetry, as for me with this recent poem, “Why?” (and other poems soon to be here). But trying to fit exactly the right word for a haiku — with the right meaning — can be like finding the right piece to fit into a puzzle. And once you find the right piece (aka “word”), the fit can be magical.
So even if some of us are more prone to read or write prose, we can still appreciate the beauty of “less is more” in the haiku.
