Just some rules about haiku I think I should mention before I begin.  There must be a story in the haiku, and this is the hardest step to master.  Haiku must have contingency and double foci, which shows how everything is connected in the world we live in.  Transiency, nothing lasts forever (it could be life, or just the fact that it will be in a different place later).  Suffering, which is self explanatory; but it can be simple loneliness to a dead carcass.  Haiku must be about nature in some way.  Haiku must have a seasonal reference, either direct or vague.  You must avoid ego in haiku; you cannot only focus on your interest, but you can have what you like if it is balanced by something you do not like.  You must use plain language, not vivid and imaginative language.  These are just some of the basic rules I thought I should point out before readers go “What the heck is this crud?”

     Rain falling from the
darkened summer skies above;
     birds stay in their nests.

     Those little puddles;
how do they reflect the bright
     sun up in the sky?

     Shoveling the slush
while the rain pours down on me;
     cats beneath the tree.

     Geese walking along
on the salt covered concrete;
     shoes stuck on a branch.

     While the icicles
hang from the car’s front bumper,
     I fear the black ice.

     The autumn moon is
shining with great radiance;
     mosquitoes sucking.

These haiku were written by me to show everyone that haiku are much more complex then we have previously thought.  We teach children to write haiku in elementary school, but “real”, or traditional haiku are far to complex for a young child to interpret for themselves, much less write by themselves.  I hope you enjoyed the haiku I have written.