Senryu (also called human haiku) is an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Senryu is usually written in the present tense and only references to some aspect of human nature or emotions. They possess no references to the natural world and thus stand out from nature/seasonal haiku.

The 5/7/5 rule was made up for school children to understand and learn this type of poetry. For an in depth description of Haiku, please visit the Shadow Poetry Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka section. There is much more to senryu than the madeup 5/7/5 version.

Example #1:

Brilliant words flowing
From those never knowing, how
many lives they touch....

Copyright © 2001 Connie Marcum Wong

Example #2:

A folded napkin
Is not intended to be
A permanent thing.

Copyright © 2001 Dendrobia