Today, poets across America are celebrating National Haiku Day. I’m happy to see Big Haiku isn’t bowing to pressure to move the date around to create a three-day weekend. No, wait–this is the line!

Poets, always drunk
Think it’s ALWAYS the weekend
Why don’t they get jobs?

I don’t mean for that to sound anti-poetry, gang. Loyal Scaiaholics know how important poetry is to me, so I’ll probably keep writing haiku as they pop into my head.

​For instance, I’ve spent most of the morning staring at my laptop parked near a nature preserve. This calls to mind an annual trip to the North Texas Tollway Authority’s data center, where crews watch video screens for back-ups, then type warnings on the message boards.

The screens flicker bright
Shed some light on the subject
Let’s do some typing

​Flipping through some notes on my phone, I’ve also got a haiku about pencils. I can’t be sure this is an original Scaia, though. I feel like I may have seen this before. Still, though, it’s an excellent piece that’ll make you feel ways about pencils:

Wood surrounds graphite
The handle turns fast, gears grind
Now, I see your point

But listen, everybody, apparently, Americans don’t necessarily observe the format for haikus. Some website is telling people, “Oh, you don’t need to write a poem that’s five syllables, then seven syllables, then five syllables. Just go ahead and write something that’s roughly five syllables, then seven syllables, then five syllables.”

That’s not a haiku. That’s a paragraph!

Haikus get sloppy
Tighten up, everyone
That’s by Archie Bell

I’m glad Houston took his lead and tightened it up.

And now, I see Big Haiku has moved the holiday around. Frankly, this seems like a scam.

​National Limerick Day is next month. Limericks are an Irish creation, invented by Edward Lear. National Limerick Day is his birthday, so I doubt it’ll be changed.

As a poetry enthusiast, I’ll start drinking green beer now to prepare.