As a young child, I enjoyed writing poems that rhymed. As a teenager, I dabbled in free-flow. As an adult, I am exploring a more structured form of poetry, called Japanese Haiku.

A haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables. The first line is 5 syllables, the middle is 7 and the last is 5 syllable count.

My first attempt was written in mid-summer, while I was relaxing on my backyard deck.

Sitting in sunroom

Listening to summer sounds

Sunday evening bliss

My next attempt was inspired by three photos I took while celebrating my aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary at a lovely resort restaurant on Stoney Lake, Ontario in the hot, hazy days of August.

Three signs of summer

Bird feather, kayak, boat dock

My best-loved season

While biking the country roads, I would occasionally stop to snap a photo. Again, I was inspired by nature in my next haiku.

Sun on tall grasslands

Droplets on foliage tips

Green midrib in leaf

In September, while hiking the trails at Kawartha Highlands, just north of Buckhorn, Ontario, where I live, I stopped to take a photo of the pond.

Pine trees, water, rocks

Best of Canadian Shield

Right in my back yard

Lastly, I was inspired to write a haiku in October while walking the trails around the college where I work.

Red, orange, yellow

Colourful season of fall

Green, blue and grey too

I find the haiku a fun poem to play with. But it’s not as easy as it may seem! Try it out yourself and see what I mean.