Poetic Musings: Writing Haiku by Alan Pizzarelli

tonite

nothing to write

but this

The Haiku Anthology, 1999

Alan Pizzarelli

Commentary: Technically speaking, this haiku about writing is a 4-liner: three lines of text (Ls 1, 2, and 4) and one blank line, L3, used for a visual emphasis. This added line between "nothing to write" and "but this" enhances a sense of the emptiness the poet is feeling: right now, nothing on the poet's mind like the empty space as indicated by "this," which is used to identify a specific thing close at hand, i.e. the blank line. The use of an alternative, informal spelling of tonight, "tonite," in L1 could be read as an indicator of  the poet's mood, which is highly influenced by L2, "nothing" to write.

This is a fine "mood haiku about writer's block." Every writer has been there, and it’s inevitable: one stares down at a blank page, struggling to string sentences together.

My haiku below could be read as its sequel:

writer's block ...

at dawn I open the window

to release the silence

Cold Moon Journal, February 18 2023