SPRING 2016 HAIKU CONTEST

DISTANT PLANETS? STARSHIPS? ALIENS?

It’s time for our Spring semester haiku contest! Only this time, we’re trying something a little different. In conjunction with The Martian, this semester’s One Book One Campus selection, we’d like space, sci-fi, or just plain science-themed haiku.

WHAT IS A HAIKU?

A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form.  Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this:

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

Here’s another way to visualize the same thing:
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5

Here’s one example:

Red rock, barren land
Moisture hiding in the soil
Our next home awaits.

And another:

Curiosity
Crosses over Martian sand
Sending back selfies.

And one more:

Is there life on Mars?
David Bowie once asked us.
Planet Earth is blue.

Please be sure to submit your poem(s) under the haiku selection so viewers can easily find your work.