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Haiku for a Change in Season

Haiku are the little powerhouses of the poetry world! They are a fun challenge involving the best of word play, mixed with a little finger counting to get the syllables just right! Here's a brief "Haiku 101" to help you and your kids get started.

1. Haiku poems consist of a three-line stanza that has a total of 17 syllables written in the following pattern:

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

 *Slight variations in syllabication is appropriate as this helps the poet maintain "one thought in three lines"

2. Haiku poems are observations of nature, often making reference to the seasons. 

3. Haiku poems are like photographs, which capture moments in time. A  "haiku moment" describes a scene that leads the reader to a feeling. 

4. Haiku poems were originally written as introductions to longer works of poetry and should be written as one thought in three lines.

Consider these haiku written by the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho:

Yellow rose petals
Drop one-by-one in silence:
Roar of waterfall.

Within plum orchard,
Sturdy oak takes no notice
Of flowering blooms.

Ready to write? Try crafting three original haiku inspired by any of these photographs. Share them with us in the comments section, we'd love to read them!

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10 thoughts on “Haiku for a Change in Season

  1. Crisp leaves swarmed through the
    Novel autumn wind, while leaving
    a friend behind
    -Cherish

  2. Dozens of fresh apples
    Thump covering dirt creating
    A red blanket.
    Dry sharp weeds decay
    Freshly snapped apples leaving
    Imprints in the soft dirt.
    Autumn sunrays reflect
    Against polished apples
    Touching the earth.

  3. mud splashed rain boots
    trodding on spangled leaves
    waiting for apples.
    -moriah,12

  4. Pail and blemished
    Splashed with the frail color
    Of defeat and Fall.

  5. Dead ballerinas
    Hung limp from fall’s greedy branches,
    No soul for dancing.

  6. Punctured apples
    Plump softly to the ground
    Fusing with damp leaves.

  7. In crisp Autumn air,
    They hang like ghost women in
    Shriveled white dresses.
    -Marlo, 14

  8. The lonely leaf floats,
    Watching for friends to play with,
    Longing to go soar.
    All the unwanted,
    All the unwanted apples,
    They go to this place.
    This season is dark,
    The season of all dead leaves,
    Will it ever leave?

  9. Golden stuck in this
    fence,i’m a lonely leaf,
    sitting here alone
    -Matt

  10. Here are some wonderful haiku from the 3rd and 4th graders at the Waterhouse Guild:
    Apples bloom on trees
    so I reach up and twist,
    snap a cripsy bite
    -trinity, 8
    Yum for fall and
    Apple cider apples
    rolling on leaves
    -Mikayla,8
    Those apples smell
    Like imaginary
    Sweet apple pie
    -Lizzy, 9
    Red, gold, brown
    are the colors of the lone
    fall leaf twirling
    -Veronica 10
    Orange yellow
    No more green,
    I wish it were spring
    -Charis, 6
    Apples in many
    Different colors, red, green
    Tart and sweet
    -Vanessa

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