Haiku Poetry:


Some are generated by a computer program, and others were written by a human.
Can you tell the difference?
If so, which do you think is better?

1)							2)
A windy river drifts					After the summer rain
The liquid bitter rock					A flowing breeze struggles
On a frosty rain                                        Mist on the grass
3)							4)
A shady cool brook					A hidden rain
Eyes closed but mind aware				A flower shouts of a sky
The sound of water					Clear gusty tree
5)							6)
A summer river					        Cool breeze on warm skin
A tree has stopped on a rock				Rolling mountains and valleys
Playful autumn morning				        Eagle gazing down



Click here to mail me your response.
I will cut and paste the responses in this space:
. From: K.J.S., English major and professional journalist: In reading these six examples of Haiku poetry, it's obvious that although all meet the formatting and verse requirements for Haiku, those generated by a computer lack the logical, descriptive syntax of the English language -- suggesting they are comprised of randomly-generated words. Poem #1 illogically refers to a "windy river" and "liquid bitter rock," and neither phrase makes much sense. Likewise, Poem #4 contains "hidden rain," a "shouting flower," and "clear gusty tree" as examples of illogical descriptions. Poem #5 is the closest example of a true Haiku poem, but the reference to a "tree stopped on a rock" seems awkward. On the other hand, Poems #2, #3 and #6 contain logical and descriptive passages, suggesting they were indeed penned by a human being. Poem #2 refers to "flowing breeze," "mist on the grass," and "summer rain" -- all logical, poetic phrases. Poem #3 boasts of "shady cool brook" and "the sound of water"; and Poem #6 logically describes "rolling mountains" and "cool breeze on warm skin." These poems were clearly written by a person and do not contain any random word pairings.
From: S.A.M, person with whom I share a toothbrush rack: Ok, I think numbers 1,4 and 5 are computer generated. The human ones are much better, and make more sense. I particularly like 3 and 6.