What is monoku?
A monoku is a haiku written on one line. Readers use the wording to decide where to pause. Some examples include a word that can be understood in two ways.
Reading without line breaks
In a three-line haiku, line endings suggest where to pause. A monoku removes those line endings. You decide where to pause based on the sentence structure and meaning.
For example, “spring rain through the open door the smell of earth” can be read with a pause after “rain” or after “door”. Try both using the controls below.
Try pausing in different places
Select where to pause, then read the line aloud. Compare which words the pause groups together.
spring rain through the open door the smell of earth
Read the whole line without a deliberate pause. It describes rain outside and the smell of wet earth coming through the door.
Compare the examples
What happens when the line breaks go?
These versions use the same words. Read each aloud and compare where you pause with and without line breaks.
low tidethe boat slips outof its reflection
The line breaks separate the tide, the boat’s movement, and its reflection. Read with a short pause at each break.
Compare the examples
Two meanings of “still”
“Still” can mean “not moving” or “continuing”. Select each option to compare these meanings in the same poem.
river stones still warm from the sun
In this reading, “still” describes stones that are not moving. Read it as if the phrase were “river stones are still”. “Warm from the sun” then describes their temperature.
Try a word with two meanings
A pivot is a word or phrase that can connect to the words on either side. In “river stones still warm from the sun”, “still” can describe stones that do not move or warmth that remains. This is one option for a monoku; a clear description without wordplay can also work.
Practice example
Describe a change without wordplay
melting snow the gate opens a little farther
What does “a little farther” let you discover about the gate?
Read an explanation
Snow may have blocked the gate. As the snow melts, the gate can open farther. The poem describes the thaw through its effect on an everyday object.
This example uses a straightforward description. It works as one line without needing a word with two meanings.
Compare the examples
Compare three one-line examples
Read each example and identify how the description changes from the beginning to the end.
spring rain follows the roots into the dark
The poem describes rain soaking down into the ground beside the roots. The sentence reads continuously without a marked pause.
Try your poem on one line
Take a short haiku you have written and set its words on one line. Remove any words that only explain how its images fit together.
Read it at different speeds and pause in different places. Check whether this changes how you understand a phrase. Keep the one-line version if you prefer how it reads.
The next chapter shows how to write a haiku from start to finish, with notes and each revised draft.