Article image

14 Hilarious Haikus

The Japanese literary art form known as haiku endeavors to capture the essence of its subjects in just a few lines. But the mandated brevity still manages to convey a lot of depth. And although these unrhyming poems are often solemn or contemplative, they can also be a vehicle for clever and surprising humor, dishing out cutting self-deprecation and lighthearted observations about the mundanities of everyday life.

Traditionally, haikus are structured as three lines: The first line contains five syllables, the second seven, and the third five again. The form isn’t technically set in stone, however, as poems from the genre’s most celebrated authors, such as Kobayashi Issa, often lose their structure in English translations. While Issa was known for his hauntingly stark musings on life and nature, he was also known to display a levity and wit that transcended the boundaries of the frequently stoic form.

Haiku, beyond its traditional constraints, thrives on nuance. From traditional authors  to modern comedians, these funny haikus make it look easy to express profound humor within roughly 17 syllables.

The technical brilliance of haikus

Haikus are easy. / But sometimes they don't make sense. / Refrigerator.
Anonymous

Share Quote

Facing a new year

New Year’s Day — / Everything is in blossom! / I feel about average.
Kobayashi Issa

Share Quote

Trying to say less

To freeze the moment / In seventeen syllables / Is very diffic
John Cooper Clarke

Share Quote

Is there an echo in here?

I’ve said it before / And I will say it again. / I’ve said it before.
Ariel Elias

Share Quote

Living in the present

The future is now. / No, now. No, wait, now. No now. / Time to reminisce.
Paul Lander

Share Quote

Is that Groucho Marx?

Thought I saw Groucho. / Moustache, glasses, funny walk. / Close, but no cigar.
Elayne Boosler

Share Quote

Aches and pains

Doctors always say / Just listen to your body. / Mine screams constantly.
Colin Mochrie

Share Quote

Home life

Just tidying up / Before the cleaning lady / Who is also me.
Peyton Price

Share Quote

The perfect ending

To end this poem, / I need one more magic line: / Abracadabra!
Kate Miller-Wilson

Share Quote

Door tutorial

When life shuts a door / Just open it. It's a door. / That is how doors work.
Anonymous

Share Quote

Listening in

I’m a member of / Eavesdroppers Anonymous. / Not that they know yet.
Milton Jones

Share Quote

From the dog

I do not believe / That your fixation with my / Playing dead is fine.
Jamie Coleman

Share Quote

Stumped

There’s nothing sadder / Than writing a haiku and / Getting writer’s block.
Ayo Edebiri

Share Quote

Ode to New York City

The full moon rises / A city sleeps peacefully / Rats rats rats rats rats.
Aubrey Plaza

Share Quote

Featured image credit: hisa nishiya/ Shutterstock

Author image
About the Author
Nicole Villeneuve
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.
Play more header background
Play more icon
Daily Question
Fill in the blank: "Take ___ slowly. Don't blame yourself for being slow." - Yoko Ono

More Inspiration

happiness theme icon

Live for each second without hesitation.

separator icon
Elton John
motivation theme icon

One shouldn't just hope to be treated well: one must insist on it.

separator icon
Abraham Verghese
hope theme icon

Don’t be afraid to be confused. Try to remain permanently confused. Anything is possible.

separator icon
George Saunders
love theme icon

Only one mountain can know the core of another mountain.

separator icon
Frida Kahlo
wisdom theme icon

Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.

separator icon
Pope John Paul II
happiness theme icon

If it is true for you, it is true for someone else, and you are no longer alone.

separator icon
Colson Whitehead
motivation theme icon

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.

separator icon
David Foster Wallace
hope theme icon

Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.

separator icon
Dorothy Thompson
love theme icon

Injustice makes the rules, and courage breaks them.

separator icon
Ursula K. Le Guin
wisdom theme icon

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, but it empties it of its strength.

separator icon
George Seaton Bowes
happiness theme icon

Success isn’t about how your life looks to others; it’s about how it feels to you.

separator icon
Michelle Obama