Haiku Humour

It may sound simple to write haiku, I mean they are just 17 syllables at best, but truthfully writing good haiku is harder than it looks. A fundamental aspect is humour or lightness, and perhaps many of us forget or overlook this when writing haiku.

Here are two examples by me, now I am not claiming that these are great, but they have a playful air...

monday morning...

not my cuppa tea

give me an expresso!

the daffodils

have lost their bloom...

those bloody snails!

Ok, some people may be upset by example one, as perhaps that is in danger of reading more like a run on sentence, and lacks the cut so characteristic of haiku. What do you think? If this is the case then I apologise. I think the need to be funny overtook my strict adherence to the rules.

One of the masters of haiku, Kobayashi Issa was well known for a lightness of touch with his poetry. For instance:

Even with insects --

some can sing,

some can't.

That is a wry observation, and it makes me smile. Yes, some creatures are more melodious than others, just like people!

Or how about this?

Mosquito at my ear --

does he think

I'm deaf?

Humour then, always important, in amongst the musings about seasonality, spring blossoms and autumn leaves.