Do not reveal the whole of your subject.

The art of haiku lies in creating a full and rich image using only a few words, and the only way to do that is by having the reader participate in creating that image. Give two or three hints, vivid hints to be sure, that sketch an outline that the reader will complete with his or her own imagination.

When people say something is “deep”, it’s because whatever they are experiencing creates meaning that extends far beyond the individual meanings of the words and images that went into making it. In other words, there is implicit meaning; or, one is able to “read between the lines”.

The only good haiku are deep haiku.


Let me close out this tip by presenting this haiku by Michiko Nakamura:


水仙の咲く日溜まりに今日の雪
すいせんの さく ひだまりに　きょうのゆき



fresh fallen snow
greets a daffodil patch
coated by sun



Meditate for a moment on the interplay of images here, and consider how their arrangement and contrast naturally lead the reader to imagine a complete scene.

Chay Schiller