to 'ku or not to 'ku - 5-7-5 discussion

You will appreciate this...

My "little" brother gave me my new favorite t shirt for Christmas. it reads:

Haikus are easy

but sometimes they don't make sense

refrigerator

I love this shirt because it gives me the chance to "evangelize" about'ku. when someone gets the joke, it gives me an opening to say, "but what's really funny is that that's not a haiku either..." ...I'm SUCH a geek.

I enjoy using the 5-7-5 structure to write 'ku, which may or merry not be haiku at all. My priorities change from one verse to another. Sometimes, for me at least, it is just a game. I trend to stick to the 575/353 count if it suits. But I agree that the nature element and ah-ha moment is what actually qualifies a short poem as a haiku. If I ever submitted haiku for publication, the line counts would be the last criteria, not the first, in choosing which to send.

As for people, I'm not afraid of using them in a piece: usually that becomes a senryu.