Haiku charter

This charter describes what is written here and how the place is kept.

Forms

Whatever form is chosen, a poem has at most 17 syllables over three lines at most.

• Free. Up to 17 syllables, with no constraint on how lines are split.
• 5-7-5. Three lines of five, seven then five syllables. The counter checks each line.
• Senryū. Same measure as haiku, with an eye on human quirks and tenderness.

The season, or kigo, is an optional label. It anchors the poem in passing time and lets readers find it on the seasons page.

How syllables are counted

In French, the counter follows classical poetic metre. A mute e at the end of a word counts before a consonant, it is elided before a vowel or a silent h, and it does not count at the end of a line. When a word admits two readings, for instance “lion” in one or two syllables, the counter keeps the reading most favourable to the author.

In English, the counter applies the usual syllable-splitting rules and knows a few common exceptions.

An automatic counter can be wrong about a rare word, a proper noun or a foreign word. If this happens to you, write to us. We will enrich the exceptions dictionary for everyone.

The spirit of the place

Look before you write. Prefer the image to the explanation, the concrete to the abstract, and let the reader draw the conclusion. Numbers are written out in words. Links, addresses and advertisements have no place in a poem.

A haiku of your own

Every published poem must be your own composition. A haiku belongs to its author, who may remove it whenever they wish.

Respect

Each poem speaks to strangers. We remove content involving hatred, harassment, incitement to violence, pornography, invasion of privacy, commercial solicitation or anything the law forbids.

Moderation

Any member can report content with the Report button. The team reviews every report. When a poem is hidden, its author is told the reason for the decision and may reply to the contact address. Accounts that seriously or repeatedly breach this charter may be suspended or closed.

Last updated on November 9, 2026