Haiku for people

Recently, one of my pals handed me this book, a collection of poems By Vikram seth. Frankly, I wondered if I would even read a page of it...My only experience with poetry until then had been in the early part of my childhood with the Jacks and Jills, twinkling stars etc. (in fact, i don't even know the difference between Poetry and poems). However, reading this book was a pleasant surprise. The language was simple enough for even someone like me to get it (duh!) and the rhymes were simply exhilarating. Overall, the diverse subjects, especially the humor involved left me in a state of delirious ecstacy whenever i read it (yeah.... I loved reading it again and again).

Amidst this new found interest and between my strings of seraches on google, I happened to catch this really unique form of japanese poetry called Haiku. It is supposed to be a traditional form of poetry, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Reading it was surely addictive (as you will soon find out).
Here's a sample from HAIKU FOR PEOPLE

A sudden shower falls -
and naked I am
ridingon a naked horse!

A whale!
Down it goes, and more and more
up goes its tail!

For more of this cool stuff and for some instant gratification... here's Everypoet