Haiku? What’s a Haiku? – Creative Writing – Spring 2021

ACN's Creative Writing course taught by American faculty member, Lillian Rosa spent this semester exploring various aspects of creative writing with haiku poems at the forefront of their studies. In this post, you'll find a selection of their tremendous and impressive work this semester. Great work, Creative Writing students!

According to Britannica dictionary, a Haiku is an “unrhymed poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. The haiku first emerged in Japanese literature during the 17th century, as a terse reaction to elaborate poetic traditions, though it did not become known by the name haiku until the 19th century.”

Originally, the haiku form was restricted in subject matter to an objective description of nature suggestive of one of the seasons, evoking a definite, though unstated, emotional response. The form gained distinction early in the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) when the great master Bashō elevated the hokku to a highly refined and conscious art. He began writing what was considered this “new style” of poetry in the 1670s, while he was in Edo (now Tokyo).[1]

In addition to learning about the different literary genres, their styles, rhetoric, etc., ACN’s Creative Writing course combines the theoretical with the practice to stimulate the students’ creativity and, perhaps, introduce them to their inner, and as yet unrevealed, writer.  One of these exercises, which was meant strictly to stimulate their creativity, was to write their own Haiku poems.  Following is their (inspirational) work!

Spring Semester 2021 – Creative Writing

A little toadstool

alone in the dark forest

knows only the moss

Soft light touches me

dappled through the canopy

warmth after winter

Rain on the rooftop

water droplets on windows

softly now to sleep

—Emma Kristine Beard

Whimsical dreamscape

a beautiful happenstance

in the break of spring

Incandescent haze

crestfallen in the garden

underneath the moon

The evergreen fields

weeping willows whirl the wind

like a fever dream

–Cecily S. Buch

Surfers are silent,

down the tall, crashing blue wall

they run like water

Geckos are adorable

in the lush cool green grass

they run so fast

–Cathelin Sunniva Eidsvåg

He looked in my eyes

and he saw the broken soul 

that I tried to hide

The rain poured down hard

making the ground breathe again

while the sun came out

March has yet to pass

shadows of summer arise

dancing with the moon

Looking at the sun

his eyes shone like diamonds

soul free from hiding

–Julie Einvik Grønvold

Winter

The snowflake fell down

silence heard out in the night

cold beneath my feet

Spring

A seed about to grow

the wind lingers in the trees

life born all over again

–Anonymous

Met you on a date

in the backyard of your house

in seventh grade

Pay attention to

what you learn in the classroom

or else you will fail

In the dark corner

where her little body lays

she favors quiet

Remember your dreams

like they are reality

then you will find peace

Haikus are easy

but sometimes they don’t make sense

geometrical

–Emilie Ness Kolnes

A grand alien

in a known house, I thought

here, my own stranger

no sounds around

only loud blaring phones

weird days it is

–Tiril Margrethe Søderstrøm Lindberg

The fur is so soft

A visitor with a shot

Blood is freezing cold

Thirteen years of life

Shovel in a frozen ground

Friday the 13th creeps up

The freezer is dark

The fur is soft, eyes squeezed shut

Tight wrapped plastic bag

–Kamilla Waagen

FOUR SEASONS

AUTUMN

Autumn night brightens

Revealing its hidden side

Mist brings the raw grey

The friend of the moon

Companions for a lifetime

They will watch with grace

Autumn night will glean

But things will rapidly morph

Watch veracity

A fallen blossom

Accepts crimson maple leaves

It will rise again

Holy foliage

Carry gold in its pockets

A burnished secret

WINTER

The first, light shower

Crystals dance on their way down

Greeting friends to join

The powdery flakes

Hide the vulnerable treasure

Hoping for rescue

Waiting for daylight

Tucked away again this year

Quiet, it keeps them tarry

SPRING

Hope lights the moon now

The friends are gathered again

Spring has come to stay

A bluebird has heard

The dream of spring has checked in

A wild and free start

Sun shines on secrets

Brighter than a daffodil

They fly up so high

SUMMER

So much life ahead

Perfection in every way

Healthy hopes staying

Days bask in the sun

The long-awaited season

Swim in the colors

Soft serve gone hastily

Light, small drops drip from an oar

Troubling the mirror

–Kaja Severeide Østmark

The heating sunlight

Filtering through the leaves

Soft breeze on my skin

–Thea Rismyhr

“ I was inspired by the word Komorebi (木漏れ日) as it always brings me a strong feeling of the transition between winter and spring”

Still staying at home

Do not know how to remain

Still staying at home

–Jim Westgård

The breeze from the wind

gently brushing through the trees

a landscape so pure

a fresh green garden

owned by a soul filled with hope

reborn and ready

darkness is scary

fear not but step out and look

may the stars bring hope

–Vanessa Rusten

[1] haiku | Definition, Format, Poems Example, & Facts | Britannica