Haiku Examples (5-7-5), Classic and Modern
The fastest way to learn haiku is to read them. Here are examples to study: a few classics everyone should know, and many more from the poets we publish.
A good example does two things at once: it shows the 5-7-5 form in action, and it shows why the form matters. Read each of these slowly. Notice the turn between the two images, and how the poem never explains itself.
Classic haiku
These are the poems most readers meet first, the touchstones of the form, from the Japanese masters.
an old silent pond…
a frog jumps into the pond—
splash! silence againMatsuo Bashō
o snail
climb Mount Fuji,
but slowly, slowlyKobayashi Issa
a summer river being crossed
how pleasing
with sandals in my handsYosa Buson
Haiku about nature and the seasons
Most classical haiku carry a season word. See how a single image, a crow or a first snow, sets the whole poem in a time of year.
on a bare branch
a crow has settled—
autumn nightfallMatsuo Bashō
the first cold shower—
even the monkey seems to want
a little coat of strawMatsuo Bashō
Modern haiku from our pages
Haiku is a living form. Below are recent haiku from the poets we publish, each linked to its own page. For thousands more, read the free online issues.
turning pinwheels
edge these communal gardens
covered in plasticLiza Linder
blue spruce caught staring
at magpies with poised intent
lured by season's fameKenneth Boyd
cooling wind currents,
hail strikes the fresh rose blossoms —
the sultriness veilsDouglas Lim
Ninety Seven cheers
Witty, loved, red haired songstress
Earthly Shangri-laMadeline Lipton
our untroubled sea
every splash and ripple
part of the stillnessDaniel Gustafsson
Eyes peering through glass
Behold new buds of blood red
Rain and wind teasingLaurie Beringer
Baby in my arms—
These maple shadows flowing
Over river stoneChristopher Galano
powder snow adorns
graveyard angel statue's wings
with ermine garlandsDennis Maulsby
nuthatches chuckle
as if flitting tree to tree
was really their aimNorbert Kovacs
empty house finch nest
our hanging planter birdless
without a goodbyeJoseph N. Schmidt, Jr.