Poetry Pie Writing Challenge: Saturday

Everything you need for Saturday, 4/19/25

Tip #8

If you think the last tip was wild, this one will blow your mind.

Haiku masters don’t follow the 5-7-5 pattern. They compose three lines (with the second one being the longest) that can be read aloud in one breath.

The 5-7-5 syllable pattern is an Americanized and simplified version of haiku. One reason for this is that English and Japanese are dramatically different languages and our concept of syllables doesn’t transfer well.

For example, a haiku written in English that can be read in one breath has about eight words which gets us closer to the length of a Japanese haiku.

If you feel ready to break free from the seventeen syllable structure, try it! Read your haiku aloud. If you can read it in one breath and you like the sound of it, BRAVO!

One Breath (But Not Seventeen Syllables)

at its bottom

all things are visible

winter river

By Kiyoko Tokutomi

hit by

a raindrop-

the snail closes up

By Yosa Buson

sudden shower

in the empty park

swing still swinging

By Margaret Chula

pausing

halfway up the stair—

white chrysanthemums

By Elizabeth Searle Lamb

Writing Prompt #8

Write a haiku without worrying about seventeen syllables. When you finish writing it, read it aloud. If you can do it in one breath, yeah. If not, tweak it a bit.

For this haiku, it might be fun to write in a public place (like waiting in line at Starbucks or Trader Joe’s) or during a family gathering.

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Here’s a link to resources if you need it.

See ya over in the chat OR in the comments below this newsletter. Happy haiku writing.

Always writing haiku,