Poetry for you
My coffee is cold.
My arms are warm.
I credit the sweater.
—
Did you know that haiku need not follow the prescriptive 5-7-5 pattern? I learned this in Translation Workshop from a guy who translated Japanese poetry. I’m not sure how the 5-7-5 trope got so popular around here, but in Japanese haiku, it really just needs to be a very short poem that crystalizes a particular moment, feeling, or situation.
It’s still fun to write 5-7-5s sometimes, but it’s also nice to know that haiku can be other things. Plus, words that end in u are fun to say. I also enjoy ecru.
