everyone should read haikus

classical japanese poetry is largely inspired by nature, the shinto religion, and personal expression. the earliest japanese poets were from aristocratic backgrounds.

waka
means japanese poem or song
coined to differentiate japanese poetry from chinese poetry, which was read by educated japanese.
this exists in long form, choka, or short form, tanka.
tanka consists of 31 syllables arranged 5-7-5-7-7, set out as vertically aligned characters.

renga
are collectively written linked verses
constructed in reaction against aristocratic classical tanka.
this form of poetry included ordinary speech, chinese, slang, buddhist terminology, obscenities.

haikai
is the tendency toward inelegant, comic subject matter - including sex, money, domestic life, and other commonplace experiences

hokku
is the opening poem in a renga, and

haiku
is an autonomous hokku.
it consists of 17 syllables, arranged in 5-7-5
and generally has 2 different parts to imagery. this shift is emphasised by kireji, or cutting word, which usually sits at the end of one of the phrases.
another component of the haiku is kigo, or seasonal word. many japanese words describing nature have connotative meanings.

fuga
is the injection of poetic significance to the ordinary, and this is used to convey

wabi
simplicity

yugen
beauty, mystery and elegance

sabi and shiori
melancholy and tranquility

these, to convey makoto, or the poetic truth of words.