Haiku is a poetic form and type of poetry from the Japanese culture. Haiku combines form, content, and language in a meaningful, yet compact form. Haiku poets write about everyday things. Many themes include nature, feelings, or experiences. Usually they use simple words and grammar. The most common form of haiku is three short lines. The first line usually contains five syllables, the second line seven syllables, and the third line contains five syllables. A haiku doesn’t rhyme. A haiku must “paint” a mental image in the reader’s mind. This is the challenge of haiku- to put the poems meaning and imagery in the reader’s mind in ONLY 17 syllables over three lines of poetry.