Summer Solstice: Celebrate With Your N.H. Haiku

In honor of the summer solstice arriving Thursday, sum up this season by writing a haiku—the traditional Japanese poem—and join the celebration on New Hampshire Public Radio's Twitter account @NHPR

Use the hashtag #SummerHaiku.

The haiku was made famous (and inspiring and fun) by several great poets, including the 17th Century  Japanese poet Matsuo Basho. A haiku poem traditionally consists of three lines with a 5-7-5 scheme, meaning the first and last lines have five syllables, and the middle line has seven syllables, for a total of 17 syllables.

The summer solstice will officially be ushered in at 6:07 a.m. on June 21, in the Northern Hemisphere. It's the longest day of the year. Granite Staters will get 15 to 16 hours of daylight.

Here is a haiku contributed by one listener: 

Coming up stronger

The days are so much longer

Can a haiku rhyme?

Credit Dan Tuohy / NHPR