A Haiku

Haiku A haiku is a particular type of Japanese poem. Many experts say that the first haiku was written by Basho in the seventeenth century, but it may well date from earlier. The poems consist of three lines adding up to a total of seventeen syllables (or sounds). The first and third lines have five syllables each and the second line seven. One thing that is very different from many forms of poems is that the lines do not need to rhyme. Traditionally haiku are about nature and include a kigo -a word associated with one of the four seasons.