Haikus in Bed

For the love of poetry, write haikus!

1. The day Summer bloomed (5)

a mosquito sucked and sucked (7)

the pop off my arm. (5)

2. Here I am trying (5)

to write my way through this life (7)

with two worn-out hands. (5)

3. How does one write a novel? (7)

How does one triumph? (5)

One must remain a student. (7)

4. Strong young men do fail. (5)

Men can be strong and still fail. (7)

What men need is luck. (5)

About Haikus in Bed…

Haikus in Bed is a small project in which I write haikus in the comfort of my bedroom. These four haikus were composed one evening while curled up in bed watching Gilmore Girls and are inspired by Substack writer

Jason McBride

, who weekly creates an amazing range of haiku comics. He also uploads haiku prompts, which is where I got a couple of my ideas from. I'd never been a fan of haikus, primarily because I found them difficult to write, but a month ago, after reading a couple of Mr. McBride’s comics and his comment section full of haikus written by his readers, I was eager to try my hand at them again.

“Crabs can see the stars (5)

do they dream of swimming in (7)

the celestial sea?” (6) - Jason McBride

Stock image

It’s been comforting to be reminded that poetry can be brief and comical while still being effective, which is precisely what I need from literature nowadays. Thanks to Jason McBride's Weirdo Poetry, composing haikus has helped me re-explore this!

I'd love to read your haikus in the comment section below! You may use the 5-7-5 standard or free verse haiku format. Here’s a prompt: Write a haiku (or haikus) in which you advise a loved one or yourself.

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That’s all for now, Victorians! Thank you for reading, and I look forward to reading your haikus! I’ll see you all next week!

- Victorian Voices, Somiah Nettles xx