by The Creature on Fri Jun 08, 2001 4:14 am
<I>Since the Creature is busy trying to develop brain cells, I thought I might take a break and answer this one.<P>Structurally, a haiku is composed of three nonrhyming lines, the first and third with five syllables, the second with seven. Most of you are following the structure.<P>But these aren't true haiku, because true haiku also has a thematic aspect. It has been described as "a moment of intense perception" in which the poet deals both with nature and with humanity. A true haiku will therefore contain a nature reference, preferably one which places the poem in one of the four seasons, and it will reveal some aspect of the human condition.<P>In short, 5-7-5 unrhymed is the surface component, while a short, sharp flash of nature and human nature is the thematic.<P>--The Creature's narrator</I>