Seventeen-Syllable Prompt

Haiku is a three line poem comprised of seventeen syllables usually distributed as 5-7-5.

Americanized haiku tend to be much more flexible and may consist of 14-18 syllables with no strict syllable to line distribution.

That is, form inspires and extends a haiku’s content rather than inhibits or restricts it.

While haiku traditionally centers on nature and seasons, senryu expounds human nature, particularly character flaws, and uses satire and dark humor as its tone.

The American sentence, invented by Allen Ginsburg gave us, consist of seventeen syllables but no line breaks.

Diane Seuss uses the American sentence as the building block for each line of her sonnets.

For today’s prompt, use seventeen-syllable structures to draft a many-stanzad linked haiku/senryu (or combination of both) or “Seussian Sonnet” built from seventeen-syllable lines.

For inspiration:

“January haiku” by Frank Higgins

Haiku Contest Winners

“A Modern Sonnet” by Cleopatra Lim