SHADOW HAIKU

A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5 syllable count. Often focusing on images from nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression.  Haiku began in thirteenth-century Japan.  In contrast to English verse typically characterized by meter, Japanese verse counts sound units known as " on " or morae. Traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of five, seven and five on respectively.  Among contemporary poems teikei (定型 fixed form) haiku continue to use the 5-7-5 pattern while jiyuritsu (自由律 free form) haiku do not.
A Classic EXAMPLE:
An old pond!
A frog jumps in--
the sound of water.
 For more detailed information about Haiku, visit the website, 
HOW TO WRITE A HAIKU POEM:   http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem