Haiku is a poetic form which developed in Japan toward the
closing of the seventeenth century.
Basically it consists of three phrases or lines of five, seven, and
five syllables, i.e. 5-7-5.
Every word in a haiku, rather than contributing to the meaning,
like words in a novel or sonnet is an
experience.
It is usually inseparable from the changing seasons and
nature.
A haiku is like a vortex of energy, a haiku moment is a moment of
absolute intensity in which the poets grasp of his intuition is
complete and the image he describes lives its own life.
The art of haiku is to frame
reality in a single instant that will lock the poet and the reader
into sharing the same experience.
When we happen to see a beautiful sunset or lovely flowers we are
often so delighted that we merely stand still. The state of mind
might be called ah-ness as we, the beholder, can only give a
one-breath-long exclamation of delight: Ah!
The object has seized us, we are being held, and we are aware only
of the shapes, the colours, the shadows, and the blendings.
From Haiku, The poetry of Zen
