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.
frosty morning light
delight descends like rich rain
visible breath cloudsLisa J. Roberts
Weary, home-shaped face—
you pillowtalk your worries,
I dust their dead leaves.Lisa Williams
Rain-soaked asphalt road
City-light colors diffused
On the wet like dyeJonah Wisner
Diffident waker
Fingers prattle windowpane—
Yes, morning rainfallJonah Wisner
on the river bank
crocodile comes to rest
deer comes for waterVasudevan
cool brisk autumn walk
squirrels and acorns scatter
under my bare feetJoan C Fingon
splattered padded walls
a string mop slaps at puddles
trailing red tendrilsBrett Troxler
salt and pepper sky -
another season's palette
leaves without a soundJulie Parker-kinsey
peak of spring season
birds busy in ploughing
lush green of meadowsVasudevan
inside-out flower
hides a sacrificial wasp
mysterious figKathleen Berlew