Introducing split sequence Haiku

Haiku come in many forms, and one that I have been experimenting with lately is the split sequence created by Peter Jastermsky. When you know the rules you can break the rules and for me creativity involves exploring and pushing boundaries. It's how art forms evolve.

So, what is a split sequence haiku I hear you ask... This is where you start with a traditional haiku, eg

a red tent

in the city square

snow swirls

and then you create three more haiku, so that you end up with a twelve line poem, like the following:

a red tent

a woman in the moon

first time

laughter

in the city square

fountains broken

library closing

down sale

snow swirls

sliding through town

heads down

rushing to get home

Then, to complete the poem you need to think of a title. Ideally this is not simply lifted from the poem but is inspired by it. I called this Dreams of better days.

Dreams of better days

a red tent

a woman in the moon

first time

laughter

in the city square

fountains broken

library closing

down sale

snow swirls

sliding through town

heads down

rushing to get home

There you go, a split sequence! What do you think?