Journal Entry #1

Haiku

Hot coals burning feet
Salty water gives relief
Ground moves from beneath


Limerick

There was an old baker named Gino,
Who lost all his dough at the casino.
After his very big Vegas loss,
Through the state of Nevada he crossed,
To get a job making bread in Reno.

Form Discussion

The haiku and limerick are two types of poetry with contrasting forms, which attribute to their meaning. A haiku being so short, and without a rhyme scheme, tends to portray a very serious and/or vivid tone to the poem. By definition, haiku's discuss nature in a 17 syllable, 3 line poem. This form leads the poet to be very selective in his word choice to depict the picture in his/her mind. On the contrary, a limerick has 5 lines and a defined rhyme scheme. Limerick's form of having a middle rhyming couplet be one beat shorter than the other three lines gives it a melodic flow. This form gives the entire limerick a jovial, happy beat, allowing the tone to follow. Furthermore, rhyming in itself allows the poem to accentuate humor.