Two of my favorite haikus after 30 days of writing them
Featuring Batman, The Office, and a riddle
Kon'nichiwa!
I once wrote 30 haikus in 30 days.
You know what a haiku is — I know that. But I’ll give you your friend a refresher…in the form of a haiku.
Haikus are three lines
and seventeen syllables
telling one story.
The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven, and the third line is five.
Easy enough.
To spice things up, I gave myself one rule: I had to use the Dictionary’s Word of the Day in each poem.
The playful exercise proved a few principles for me, like
Imposing restrictions can be a forcing function for creativity,
You don’t need a high word count to create a deep thought or emotion,
And the most influential input for creativity is the act of showing up.
After 30 days of showing up, here are two of my favorite haikus.
A haiku for a smile
Stapler in Jell-o,
a waggish smirk in Scranton,
the Big Tuna strikes.
A haiku for a riddle
Boxed delivery,
serry with strangers, head down,
no stairs, no stares. Floored.
Do you know what common activity this haiku is describing?
Reply to this email with your answer. If you get it right, I’ll send you a postcard.
✌️
— Luke
P.S. One more I like…
Hurry takes a toll;
slow down to enrich your life.
The shunpike awaits.
For paid subscribers only: Below is a PDF with all 30 haikus and content I’ve enjoyed lately — including a mysterious princess, how to microdose movement, elderly people on TikTok, and more!
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