Haiku About Writing and Poetry

Haiku about writing tend to define the form by comparing it to a thing. Christopher Morgan writes, THE HAIKU IS THE VASE, then the earthquake, then THE ASHES ON THE FLOOR, which makes the form a container, a disaster and an aftermath in one sentence. Risa Denenberg dreams IN HAIKU as rain that TAPS AT MY WINDOW in TART SYLLABLES, a phrase that makes syllables taste of lemon.

Writing is also a way of touching. Biff Rushton gives the poem a lover: YOUR SKIN A SONNET, read EVERY LINE SLOWLY. Rebecca Wener’s poem is about absence, NOW THAT YOU ARE GONE, and the words HAVEN'T STOPPED COMING while THE SILENCE STILL HURTS. The poem has a long title, How to Fill the Spaces That You Left Behind, and that title turns three lines of lament into instructions.

Titles that add a line

A title is a free line outside the count, and these poets use it. Wener’s reads as advice. Rushton’s is Every Line, and the poem continues from it. Many poems in this archive have no title and are marked Untitled, which is a choice too.

Quarrels with the page

Luke Roe turns on an argument, YOUR ANGRY LOGIC being A FAILED POEM, with steam over a building as the verdict. Vic Kerry sounds relieved to have left: I ESCAPED and does not plan on returning to those INK COVERED PAGES. The title is Bibliophobia, which is a diagnosis in a single word.

Questions readers ask

Do haiku have titles?

Some do and many do not. In this archive a haiku may carry a title, as Wener’s does, or none at all. A title is not part of the 5-7-5 counting that people ask about, and it can add a line of meaning.

Can a haiku be about writing itself?

Yes. Morgan’s vase, Denenberg’s rain and Roe’s failed poem are all about the craft, and the best of them make a point you could hold in your hand.

More themes to read

Art and MusicDesireLoss and GriefHumorFaith and SpiritAll themes

Last reviewed November 2026. Poems are the work of the poets credited and link to their pages in the original issues.