More Examples of Haiku Poetry

Looking at examples of haiku poetry can help you better understand what haiku is. After all, it's by reading the words of others that inspire our own creativity. Take a look at this haiku poem by the author:

january sunrise --
a bluejay takes
a snow bath

As an example, this is a pretty good poem. I say this not because of my ego but because haiku, at their best, describe a moment in nature and leave it at that! It's simple, yet profound because it offers us a glimpse of something we may have missed. The famous painter Georgia O'keefe painted huge pictures of flowers because she wanted to show viewers the part of a flower that may have been bypassed. Indeed, beauty is to be found in the smallest and most obscure places imaginable!

Here's another example:

summer morning --
birdsong from the
sycamore

In this example of haiku poetry, we have the time of year and the time of day that "something" is happening. That something of course is "birdsong from the sycamore." The haiku poet's job is not to tell you about something that is happening, but to show you by writing in a present tense descriptive style. Now, the descriptions don't have to be sophisticated at all. They just need to show us something that is taking place in nature. Something as simple as "birdsong from the sycamore" works here because of the juxtaposition between the first line and lines 2 and 3.

We get a sense of macro and micro, of background and foreground and it creates a moment that can be cherished again and again. To create your own haiku poems, first read the poetry of people you like. I can't stress how important this is. You really learn by absorbing what you love. Then, when you write, you'll have something to draw upon!