use strict;  my $poem

= "Strict haiku";  
my @word = split(/\s/, $poem); 
print (( shift @word ) , " is good.");

[download]


"use strict; my $poem" is the title of the poem. It is a strict 5/7/5 haiku if you pronounce it:

use strict my poem

equals strict haiku
my word equals split poem
print shift word is good

Remembering that po-em has two syllables. I bet it sounds better when pronounced by a computer. (My computer doesn't seem to feel like talking right now, though... I must have broken something.)

Peace,
LassiLantar

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: A "strict"ly formatted poem.
by eventualdave (Beadle) on Jul 28, 2004 at 13:33 UTC
    five/seven/five good
    But the thing is, syllables
    do not make haiku

    first impressions, scenes
    these are what haiku describes
    fleeting images

    haiku needs kigo
    like cherry blossoms for spring
    or snow in winter

    a good effort, though
    Perl, after all, has been called
    write-only language
[reply]
      True =). I don't mean to oversimplify the form, which, although I love to read good examples of, I'm not very good at writing. I've never had a writing teacher who told me much about haiku more than what everybody knows, so I'll admit that I'm pretty ignorant on the subject. What is kigo?

      Peace!
      LassiLantar

[reply]

        Kigo is a word suggesting the season the scene is taking place in. Sometimes it's obvious, as in this haiku from Basho:

        The first soft snow!
        Enough to bend the leaves
        Of the jonquil low.

        Sometimes not so obvious (Basho again):

        In the cicada's cry
        No sign can foretell
        How soon it must die.

        And sometimes it's downright obtuse (once more, Basho):

        No blossoms and no moon,
        and he is drinking sake
        all alone!

        Of course, these haiku have the correct number of syllables in Japanese, but not necessarily in English.

[reply]
Re: A "strict"ly formatted poem.
by EdwardG (Vicar) on Jul 28, 2004 at 19:50 UTC

    Reminds me of -

                           <> !*''#
                       ^"`$$-
                       !*=@$_
                       %*<> ~#4
                       &[]../
                       |{,,SYSTEM HALTED

    [download]

    Waka waka bang star tick tick hash,
    Caret quote back-tick dollar dollar dash,
    Bang star equal at dollar under-score,
    Percent star waka waka tilde number four,
    Ampersand bracket bracket dot dot slash,
    Pipes curly-bracket comma comma CRASH.

    _____

    The above poem appeared in the May/June 1990 issue of Infocus magazine and has since been floating around the net. The original authors were Fred Bremmer and Steve Kroese of Calvin College & Seminary of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

     

[reply]
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