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How to Write a Haiku Poem: Haiku Examples and Tips

This page explains how to write a haiku poem, and offers haiku examples and prompts to inspire you. At the bottom of this page, you'll find links to more CWN pages about poetry.

Read haiku examples by our visitors, and publish your haiku poem on this page.


What is haiku?

Haiku is a Japanese poetry form. The best haiku uses just a few words to capture a moment and create a picture in the reader's mind. It is like a tiny window into a scene much larger than itself.

In English, haiku is normally written in three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.

Haiku examples

Here's a haiku poem written by a poetry student:

The last winter leaves
Clinging to the black branches
Explode into birds.

You can find haiku examples by our visitors at the bottom of this page.

Characteristics of haiku

The following are typical of haiku:

  • A focus on nature.

  • A "season word" such as "snow" which tells the reader what time of year it is.

  • A division somewhere in the poem, which focuses first on one thing, than on another. The relationship between these two parts is sometimes surprising.

  • Instead of saying how a scene makes him or her feel, the poet shows the details that caused that emotion. If the sight of an empty winter sky made the poet feel lonely, describing that sky can give the same feeling to the reader.

How to write a haiku - try it!

You can use the pictures lower down on this page to give you ideas. In your haiku, try to use details related to the senses -- sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste.

Or look out your window, and describe what you see. Try to "zoom in" on a small detail that contains the feeling of the larger scene.

Or follow the steps below to write a "surprise-ending haiku." This is based on an exercise from the poet Ron Patchett which is described in The Haiku Handbook by William J. Higginson:

  1. Write two lines about something beautiful in nature. You can use the pictures below to give you ideas. Don't worry about counting syllables yet.

  2. Write a third line that is a complete surprise, that is about something completely different from the first two lines.

  3. Look at the three lines together. Does the combination of these two seemingly unrelated parts suggest any surprising relationships? Does it give you any interesting ideas?

  4. Now rewrite the poem, using the 5-syllable, 7-syllable, 5-syllable format and experimenting with the new ideas or perspectives that have occurred to you.

Publish your haiku poem

Submit your haiku here for a chance to be published on the website. (Please only submit previously unpublished poems.)

Congratulations to the winner of our recent haiku competition, Tirzah Goodwin, for her poem "Fences Like Smoke."

Enter the title of your haiku.

Haiku examples by our visitors

Click below to see contributions from other poets.

Monkeys  starstarstarstarstar
Jumps from tree to tree
Lives a long and happy life
Eats all of the fruit
_______________ About the author: My name is Jerry, and monkeys are one ...

The Impermanence Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
With summer rains
the frogs come out to play.
Hop! Hop! Croak! Croak.
_______________
About the author: "Samuel Zane Farrell is a 29-year-old ...

Rain after Succoth and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Rain after Succoth

Parched souls pray for rain
After the feast of Succoth.
God heeds, or does not.
_______________
The Wages of Outgassing ...

The Sun  starstarstarstarstar
High, bright in the sky
It is the absence of night,
It makes all things hot.
_______________
About the author: "My name is Sasha Fisher and ...

Islands Remembered  starstarstarstarstar
Luring palm shadows,
Marimba slats on sand. Konk!
A coconut falls.


Cool ocean breezes,
Ice white beaches lace the isles.
Eternal summer.


Number ...

Elements (Four Haiku)  starstarstarstarstar
Wind

whispers over earth
swift and silent, wisps of it
gone - leaves stand still

_______________
Water

soothing, teeming, bleak
completes ...

California  starstarstarstarstar
California sun,
we all will miss you greatly,
goodbye, my best friend.
_______________
About the author: "My name is Alex Winters. I'm in the ...

Tigers  starstarstarstarstar
Silently stalking
Crouching, and waiting for its
Prey. Ready to pounce
_______________
About the author: "Hi, my name is Jerry and tigers are ...

Death  starstarstarstarstar
Silent horizon
Winter thickening blanket
Blackness deepening
_______________
About the author: "Hi, my name is Nicola. I am a veterinarian and ...

Storm and other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Storm

Wild white foam
Stubborn black rocks
Clashes of anger
_______________
Death

White doves waiting
A cross leading
mahogany casket,...

Massacre and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Massacre

Hungry hordes, frenzied,
Rip chunks of fresh flesh. Blood stains
White teeth, worn by bone.
_______________
Fear

Bright light ...

Spring; Hole in the Sky  starstarstarstarstar
Spring

The snow is melting.
A timid crocus peeks out.
Behold! A new world!

_______________
Hole in the Sky

Streaking through deep blue,...

Midsummer's Day  starstarstarstarstar
Kites of red and green
Filling up the light blue skies
While kids watch below.
_______________
About the author: "I am a student who loves to ...

Basque Country and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Basque Country

distant beach moonlight
nothing happens here except
water, ancient dreams.
_______________
Losing Harry

Dad's photo age ...

Fences Like Smoke and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Fences Like Smoke

Run Appaloosa...
until your white spots wink out,
fences gone like smoke.
_______________
Morning Kiss

Morning comes ...

Crystal Kisses  starstarstarstarstar
Snow falls in moonlight,
crystal kisses float in air:
my heart in spring time.
_______________
About the author: Darryl has worked in non-profit ...

Sights Not Seen  starstarstarstarstar
Land filled with bison
thundering hooves rolling past
for days the herd ran.

Continent roaming
o’er Great American Plains
almost extinct once.

Shot ...

Fatherhood  starstarstarstarstar
The male robin sits,
Cocks his head, dives through branches.
Hungry nestlings wait.

Fall Leaves and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Fall Leaves

the splendor of fall
through my window I can see
rich red maple trees
_______________
Ebony Rose

sweet ebony rose
growing ...

Fluffy  starstarstarstarstar
Fluffy

hiding in shadows
accumulating horror
dust bunny's revenge
_______________
About the author: "Patricia A. Hawkenson posts poetry ...

Mystery of Light and Other Haiku  starstarstarstarstar
Mystery of Light

The moon is not out
And the sun has not risen
But there is still light
_______________
Song of Spring

Just a quiet sound ...

Tonite  starstarstarstarstar
Tonight

Summer solstice, Stars
Orion above True north
Heart below True Love
_______________
Who is The Artist.

Early Sunrise Gold’...

Shallow River and Other Haiku  Not rated yet
Shallow River

Shallow river flows
on clumps of greens on her bed
to the verdant banks’ delight.
_______________

Colorful Apples

Crunchy,...

Old Faithful (Yellowstone Park)  Not rated yet
earth's womb greatly springs
mystic sea waters, heaven's
Lazarus rises.

The Summer Hot Air  Not rated yet
Navy pier, fireworks going off
The sudden rush of hot air,
That makes everyone go crazy!
_______________
About the author: "My name is Caitlin ...




water




apples on a windowsill




rocks




roof




foam




See a complete list of CWN poetry pages.


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