By Sienna Beck / New York City
I started writing haiku not that long ago. I owe it to the molar that stayed put for three years. From the tooth fairy, I received a stationery kit with all types of notepads. The biggest pad it came with had three lines and three sections, and I noticed it was perfect for haiku.
I learned about haiku last year. There are posters outside my school library with descriptions of all types of poetry. But I sort of forgot that, but recently, the book Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives by Dav Pilkey revived my memory of haiku, and that memory stayed with me until the night of the tooth fairy's visit. I was wondering what to do with the paper with 3-lined sections and bam: instant haiku blast. I wrote one page, then the back, then more and more until I had a total of 22 haikus. I discovered I had a gift for poetry, and I've been writing haiku nonstop since!
Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry based on syllables: five syllables, seven syllables, and then five syllables again. It can be a pain when you’re trying to convert a sentence into five, seven, or five syllables: like trying to convert “I really want a dog, but my mom says no” to seven syllables: “I want a dog. Mom says no.” Or to five syllables: “I want dog. Mom, no.” Most of the time, you can’t get the message through. But, well, that’s haiku!
For my end-of-year Insider column, I have written two haikus for each month of the year. I’ve selected the highlights of each month and written a haiku for each.
I hope you have happy holidays, and I look forward to writing for you in the New Year!
January
Bad, bad New Year’s Day.
Willa got Covid-19.
Don’t let me catch it.
Daddy’s birthday! Yay!
We made lots of cards and stuff.
It’s a joyful day!
February
Valentine’s Day, yay!
I got a lot of candy!
I’m not sharing it.
We went on vacay!
We flew to Miami! Whoosh!
It became real hot.
March
In March, I went to
Orlando and Disney World.
It was really great!
We went on the rides
(And ate a lot of snacks. Yum!)
We had a great time!
April
April brings school break!
Statue of Liberty, and
I ran my first race!
I was very fast.
It wasn’t that big a deal.
It was very short.
May
In May, I went to:
Niagara Falls (it’s wet!)
Mist turned to rainbows!
Grandpa got a prize.
The French Legion of Honor.
I am proud of him.
June
Here’s something I did:
I went to Rome in hot June.
I had a great time!
I walked so, so much.
I climbed the St. Peter’s Dome.
Also, school ended.
July
In July, I went
To Greece and Turkey (Real fun!)
We saw famous mosques.
It was Mom’s birthday.
We swam in volcanic pools.
We ate fine seafood.
August
In August, I did
A lemonade stand (Soooooo good!)
And Olive turned 6.
She had a party
At the playground with her friends.
The snacks were good, too.
September
September! School starts!
Willa turned 8 and also
We took vacations.
We went to this place,
Super-cool Colonial
Williamsburg! Yay!
October
October is cool!
I went to Philly. I saw
Independence Hall.
I turned 10 on the
10th of October. 10/10!
I feel super old.
November
In November, I
Celebrated Thanksgiving.
Went to the parade!
Yum, we ate good food.
I played with all my cousins.
It was a great day!
December
December- made it!
Celebrated Hanukkah,
Ate lots of sweets. Yum!
We light hot candles
For eight days on Hanukkah.
We eat latkes too.
Sienna Beck is a future author. She would like to become president when she is older. She lives in New York City (the best city in the world!) and spends her days ping-ponging between her two sisters, Willa and Olive.