A haiku ...

pine trees

combing soft sounds

from the wind

© 1995

This little Aha! moment violates the accepted syllable count of 5-7-5, but some followers of the form feel that if the sentiment can be expressed in fewer words, please do.

I have even been told that some of my haiku, adhering strictly to the prescribed 5-7-5, are too wordy. So be it. I am all for brevity, even if I don't always seem to practice it.

This haiku moment -- I remember exactly where I was when it presented itself to me and I became fully aware of those sounds I had heard, but not really listened to, all my life -- made its first appearance in Frogpond in 1995. It was subsequently included in New Pocket Poems #4, 123 haiku poems, published by Bottom Dog Press.