[snippy_about_it]

I think there's something to do with what each line is supposed to say.

We don't need no stinkin' rules!!!

[snippy_about_it]

right wrong up or down
we don't need no stinkin rules
haiku done our way


Whatever, Robert Frost said poetry without rules is like a tennis match without a net - and it is true also for haiku. And Basho had his motto: "Learn the rules; and then forget them." Take your personal pick:

1. Seventeen syllables in one line.

2. Seventeen syllables written in three lines.

3. Seventeen syllables written in three lines divided into 5-7-5.

4. Seventeen syllables written in a vertical (flush left or centered) line.

5. Less than 17 syllables written in three lines as short-long-short.

6. Less than 17 syllables written in three vertical lines as short-long-short. (Ala Barry Semegran)

7. Write what can be said in one breath.

8. Use a season word (kigo) or seasonal reference.

THERE ARE 65 RULES JUST ON THIS ONE PAGE I FOUND, I ONLY LIST EIGHT HERE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. One site says there are over 700 rules. HA!!!!!