RHYME AND HAIKU

Day 20 Prompt – RHYMING WITH HAIKU

One of the first things I learned, after I decided I was going to study and write haiku, was that rhyming should be avoided. And I almost threw a tantrum! That’s my favorite thing to do when writing poetry.

Eight years later, I understand enough to agree, rhyming probably should not be a priority when writing haiku, but I don't think it should be completely abandoned. My recent poem on the topic, intended as humor, could just as easily be interpreted as having been written by the poetry police:

some roses are red
violets really aren't blue
haiku doesn't rhyme

 

© 2021 Cheryl L. Crockett

 

So, where do I really stand on this topic? If you have read my previous prompts from earlier this month, this will come as no surprise: I refuse to hamper anyone’s creativity by telling them what not to do, especially in an artistic setting. I would never want to stand between anyone and them potentially writing the best haiku ever, by telling them they shouldn’t use rhyme.

CAUTION: I will warn everyone against combining ammonia and bleach for cleaning around the house, because I don’t want people to harm their health by breathing toxic fumes. This is chemistry, not poetry. Protect those lungs so you can live to write poetry another day.

Remembering a music theory and composition class I took long ago, I learned that it was frowned upon to harmonize using perfect 5^ths (or something like that). Then, a few years later, I began to recognize historic musical styles, as well as popular songs, rising to the top of the charts, featuring the very thing I was taught not to do!

Then, I observed what happened next. Nobody got sued, nobody went to jail and nobody died!

While I have developed my own personal habit of making rhyme a low priority in writing my haiku, I refuse to impose that as a rule on others. If I read a rhyme in someone else's haiku, I am likely to enjoy it as much as I would enjoy one that doesn’t contain rhymes. And if anyone happens to ask me, I will tell them:

“Do you! Write your best haiku.”