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So, you want to write a haiku poem? Some think it’s very easy to do. After all, it’s only 3 short lines. But if you want to write a haiku, you need to know the basics. Let’s get started!

First of all, forget about the 5-7-5 syllable rule. Modern haiku poets here in the west rarely use it. The Japanese used it because their language somehow fit it quite nicely. Fortunately for us, we don’t have to think about how to fit what we want to say into a certain number of syllables.

What’s important when writing a haiku is to understand the haiku spirit and basically, this really has to do with looking at things in nature with reverence. To understand that the beating wings of a humming bird is a small miracle itself is to begin to understand haiku for it seeks to capture the “small” things and make them big.

Now we can look at a certain technique I like to call macro-micro technique. Basically, this is when the first part of the haiku poem, the fragment, takes a macro view of the world. For instance, if we begin a haiku with something like this: “winter twilight,” we’ve established the background or mood of the haiku… the macro view.

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\\ tags: Haiku, Poetry

A picture is worth a thousand words. And in haiku, an image allows the reader to use imagination to “see” with. Haiku lessons should help you understand this. For example, take this haiku poem by Bruce Ross:

sunset –
a cormorant glides
inches above the water

Here we have an image of a cormorant gliding above the water. But notice that the poet isn’t telling us…he’s showing us! This makes all the difference! This is also what makes haiku poetry so special. The image is just there for us to see. There’s no judgement or bias on the part of the author to tell us about the image. On the contrary, by writing in a “present tense” descriptive style, Ross shows us exactly what he saw.

We also have an image of what time of day it is. By using the word “sunset,” Ross shows us that the day is about to end. Instead of telling us in a hundred words or so, he shows us with just one word!

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\\ tags: Haiku, Poetry

A while back I heard haiku poetry referred to as a description with a weather report. And while this may not always be the case, it’s pretty much true!

Haiku poetry uses the concept of macro and micro very well here. For example, if I started a haiku out with the fragment “cool spring day,” what we have here is a macro description of what kind of day it is – a weather report if you will.

Now, if I add a specific descriptive phrase to it like “a hummingbird darts out of sight,” we have a micro view of something happening on this day. Combined, we have this haiku:

cool spring day –
a hummingbird
darts out of sight

Good haiku poetry need not be more than a description of the general ambiance of the day and something that is taking place during the day. As long as what is taking place is happening in “a present moment” the haiku will be OK. The problem some people have is that they remove themselves from the thing “as it’s taking place” and describe something that already has or will happen. Not very haiku like at all.

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\\ tags: Haiku Poetry, Poetry

The penultimate question is, are you getting tired of using the same descriptions?

Likewise, are you getting tired of reading the same descriptions?
If the answer is yes, read on.

In general, poets tend to stick to one or two genres when writing. This is because we find these subject areas comfortable for our style. In effect, we begin to use the same descriptions and images over and over. In turn they become comfortable and it’s a cycle thatâ��s hard to break.

So I ask you to join me in breaking the cycle, and quitting the addiction of overused ideas.

What poets can do -

The next time you feel a “comfortable” poem brewing, jot it down in accordance, but refrain from posting right away. Instead, grab a thesaurus or go to thesaurus.com.

In your poem, you may notice your usual description words, only this time you may want to look up a more creative way of expressing it. However, before you jump in with a random complex words ensure you know the meaning (a dictionary is great for this) and that it fits within the context of your poem.

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\\ tags: Poetry

First of all, poetry is a serious subject. Few have ever perfected the area of poetry, and the few people who have are recognized as some of the greatest poets of all time. One of my teacher’s in school once said, “It is hard to put yourself out there where people judge under their own standards.” That quote made me think about, instantly, the posting of poetry. It is a brave thing to do.

No matter what, writing a poem is an accomplishment. Many people out there would spend hours merely thinking of the line. One day, I was sitting in the cafeteria after school and I was writing a poem and my friend came up to me and asking what I was writing about. I told her and she said it was amazing how people could write a poem, when she couldn’t even write a line. And, I insisted she could write at least a line, and I found out that in fact, I was wrong. She could not write a line for the life of her, and it in fact was a task to write ONE measly line. That is why in order to write a poem you must feel satisfied with whatever you can accomplish. You must put your heart and soul into the words being written on paper (or typed on the computer), and when you don’t put your heart and soul into a poem, it shows.

There are steps on how to write a poem, how to write this style and that style, etc…, but I believe that it is important to know what to NOT do rather than to know what TO do. Which is why I have taken to writing this article?

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\\ tags: Poem, Poetry

If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words, Then How Many Words Does It Takes To Paint A Picture?

This is a question that has been asked for many years. In using descriptions, metaphors, and imagery in your poetry, you give the reader a more balanced view of your feelings and emotions.

For example:
You could write a simple statement like “the river was dark against the night sky”, But by rearranging a few words and changing others, you could bring a whole new depth to the write. “The river was darkened by the moonless night” Sometimes, just by doing that you have improved the flow of the poem. When using descriptive words in a write you can change the emotional pull that the reader may experience. To make a statement like “she cried”, does not have the same effect on the reader as “her tears fell like rain”. By addressing the depth of her pain, you have put the reader in her shoes; Therefore, the reader has no choice but to feel the pain also.

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\\ tags: Poetry

The poetic ability of rhythm lies not only within the minds of a poetic society, but society in general. Ruling out the “To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme” theme is idealistic genocide.

The ability to write comes from your ability to think clearly. Intelligence (in a poetic society) can be defined in several different ways, but one of the best to my knowledge and in my own opinion. Intelligence defines the moments without thought or question. The moments in life where you’re looking at something and life goes completely blank. Neither a thought nor question is racing through your mind. And, for that one moment you just know it’s there because it’s meant to be there. It is because it was and will always be. Poetry is a talent, an expression of free speech and freedom. Martin Luther King Jr is a good example, his words didn’t rhyme, but they were poetic and had a big impact on today’s society. The poetic spirit keeps us going. Society would be worse off if it weren’t for poets and others who voice themselves. We redefine society and reality in poetic forms. We make even the most evil of things beautiful. We along with the media, find the so-called ‘truth’ and expose it to the world, but as follows; “the truth behind the truth is always a lie”-The Commenter.

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\\ tags: Poetry, Rhyme

Writers block. The most annoying thing in the world to the novelist, the poet, the literate.

Here are a few steps for poets on how to cure the fatal illness:

1. Get a pen and write down something, ANYTHING, to make sure your hand still works.

2. DO NOT ATTEMPT THE TYPE OF WRITING YOU ARE BLOCKED FROM.

3. Instead, write down something completely unrelated to what you are blocked from, this may be a diary type entry, some random words, the last insult you were told, the worst joke you’ve ever heard, the last instruction you recieved, a shopping list! ANYTHING at all. Make sure to fill about a page.

4. Get a highlighter and systematically highlight some of the words you have written. Perhaps every fourth word, all words starting with the letter T, all words that appeal to you etc…

5. Write these words down a page leaving spaces in between.

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\\ tags: Poetry

In parts 1 and 2 we discussed the links and features on the top part of your screen and on the right side of you screen. In this discussion we will now turn our attention to those special links and features on the left of our screen. After these three discussions you navigation skills here in the PnQ community should be less frustrating allowing you to relax more while enjoying a pleasant experience.

In the white space there is a list of different types of poems. When you click on one of these links it will then take you to the poems in that particular category. Are you in the mood for humor? If so, then select fun, humor. Are you looking to read a love poem? Then check out the love and romance. Each category is pretty self explanatory and will help you find just what you are looking through without reading every poem on the site. The explicit section, however, requires a member to be at least 18 years of age before entering and contains cursing as well as sexual poems.

When on the main page the first link in the community section is members. This link will provide you with every member registered at PnQ. As of now there are at least 40,693 members registered. You can search for members by rating, alphabet, or poems. If you know the name of a particular member you can enter it in the search box located above the members list and do a fast and easy search.

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\\ tags: Poetry

In Part one we toured the different links that can be found at the top of your screen along with the links and contents provided within them. In this portion we will tour through and discuss the links on the right side of your screen regarding your account and the functions within those links.

To begin with we will start with your poems. This link will simply take you to the poems that you have posted and allow you to edit, delete, feature (or demote if already featured) each poem. It also shows if you have any comments written by other members. The old comments are noted in blue () after the title of each poem while the new comments are noted in red (). Simply click on the number in the () to view the comments.

Featuring a poem simply means that you want it displayed on the front of you profile so other members will see that poem before the see those on the latest poems list. This feature is nice if you have a long list of poems and you want some of your older ones to be featured. Demoting a poem will simply take it of the featured list while allowing it to remain in the latest poems.

You quotes is simply a link that will take you to any quotes you may have posted and allow you to see the ratings of that quote. It also allows you to edit or delete your quote just like your poems.

The third link is submit poem. This link will allow you to submit your poems one at a time. Simply click on this link and fill in the text required. All poems submitted must be your original work or they will be deleted and your account may be suspended.

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\\ tags: Poetry