An argument for haikus

Word limits are often the noose that hangs creativity.

Consider; you're writing away merrily, thinking you've smashed every important point in an argument, or hit every plot in your story. Then you realise you have a deadline that requires 1000 more words, so you rush out something at half-enthusiasm to purely fulfil an expectation.

This expectation has stifled the ability for haikus to be published in this 'Poems' community. I'm aware that the minimum word count of 100 words is far lower than any other community, but the very fact that syllable based poems (rather than word based) are rejected shows a certain irony within this band of poets.

Poetry has always been about making art, about being true and being pure. What is purer than a haiku? Simple syllables being used to express profound emotion, usually surrounding issues of nature or the soul. Haikus are something many of us will have come across in poetry books, or compilations, or even whilst scrolling online. You've probably written one or two in your time, even if it was just in kindergarten. They evoke introspection and encourage the use of a thesauraus, at the very least. As an art form to encourage the brain and heal the body, they are perfect.

So why, I wonder, does this community have a word limit that forbids haikus? Of course, one could publish a collection, but often the individualism of the haiku is what gives it its potency.

The word limit is likely to prevent spam admissions, people looking for a quick buck or to troll world-weary readers. However, this haiku conundrum does make me wonder if there should not be a tag that allows haikus only - a separate community, perhaps.

But there again we see a problem. Poetry is consistently about bringing people together, about admissions of the purest kind. To separate one of the oldest sub-forms purely because of a word count seems both detrimental and ironic.

I would be fascinated to hear others' thoughts on this. Whether I'm just talking nonsense, unnecessarily segregating a specific form of poetry, or whether others might agree.

Regardless, I think we can all agree that poetry is something that should, at its heart, run freely.