Haiku on Hawaii

I had forgotten, since our last trip that there is a town on the island of Maui named Haiku. I knew of it since I believe this is the town where we started and finished our bike ride down Haleakala Volcano on Christmas Day in 2015. But, I was not writing at the time of that trip. I had not yet started my daily blog (2/2017) so the things I noticed were not reflected upon like they are now.

I love to write Haiku. Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. It is brief, traditionally containing three lines in the syllabic patterns of 5-7-5. Haiku evokes an image in the reader’s mind. The writing is brief yet highly descriptive and should offer a surprising contrast in what you are describing. The other thing Haiku should evoke is emotion. Haiku are often based on observations of nature. Modern haiku do not have to follow the 5-7-5 syllabic rule. Many contemporary English writers of Haiku use the guideline to remain extremely brief but do not follow the syllabic count rule. While I’ve always followed the traditional rule of writing haiku, I am ready to try a more modern style.

The town of Haiku on Maui is not named after this form of Japanese writing. But, the word haiku in the Hawaiian language means, “talk abruptly” or “sharp break.” I smiled when I learned this meaning. It does, indirectly, highlight what creating haiku entails. Brevity. Emotion. Imagery.

While on vacation I did not write creativity. Yes, I kept up my blog. I feel my readers expect it and I thank them for their loyalty by writing consistently. But, I did not write poetry, an essay, or any other form of writing that is truly creative. I did, however, store images, thoughts, and phrases for future use. Now that I am home, I will start to pull those components together to create some new poetry, including haiku.

Experimenting with modern haiku:

magical Maui
powerful ocean tides
sweeping life away


green sea tutles
swimming gracefully
until humans appear


bamboo forests
musically play with windy currents
no one hears

© Drafts, Carol Labuzzetta, 2022.

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