On Tuesday, February 22, 2005, at 05:14 PM, Alma Gaiz wrote: >> 17 syllables is a haiku, isn't it? > > Haiku is 17- > 5 > 7 > 5 > However, this can be discounted now. Haiku can be more or less > syllables. I write many, many haikus (a small collection just got in > my school's literary magazine). A haiku is more than syllable count. A more traditional Japanese haiku will have the appropriate number of syllables for each line; but each line will be a discrete concept, and the final line will likely have a reference to the natural world. I've read that some consider haikus in English to be OK if they have fewer than the listed number of syllables for each line. The reasoning was, English is a more compact language syllable-wise. Common words like pearls Poetry flows with meaning Each line a fountain Jacob