Haiku

Haiku, like Fibonacci Poems, are concerned not with meter and rhyme, but with the number of syllables per line. A Haiku begins with a line of 5 syllables, then has a line of 7 syllables, followed by a line of 5 syllables.

Traditionally, Haiku are concerned with nature and the natural world, though English language Haiku don't generally have stipulations about the topic of the poem.

In general, Haiku are written in such a way that the last line adds a surprise twist to what was said previously, or forces the reader to see things in a different light.

The following is an example of a Haiku:

Space Walk
Silent weightlessness -
Timeless stars envelop me:
Back-float on the lake.
(Copyright 2008 by Douglas Twitchell)

Note that the first two lines suggest weightlessly floating in space, while the last line startles the reader into realizing that it is about floating on a lake at night.

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