Guessing Game

How soon can you guess the animal from the clues in this rhyming, descriptive haiku? I have a real fondness for rhyme, and have used it here even though, traditionally, a haiku does not rhyme. A haiku has 3 lines consisting of 5, then 7, then 5 syllables as each of these verses does, and is inspired usually by nature or emotions.   A string of haikus together like this is technically classed as a haikai.

I know – play this game.
I’ll describe an animal
You can guess its name.

Small fluffy creature
Which has a bushy tail as
Its special feature.

Can be grey or red.
Leaves the ground when you approach
And goes overhead.

When wintertime’s near
It will gather up acorns,
Ready for next year.

Scurries up the tree
Dropping a rainfall of nuts.
Ouch! They fell on me.

Time to have a guess.
Did you guess it’s a squirrel?
Of course you did! Yes?

If you want to know more about the haiku as a poem form, see the TEACHERS’ PAGE, DIFFERENT POEM FORMS, HAIKU which will give more details and some ideas of how to get started, and how to make them fun.  They are a good way to discipline yourself on finding alternative words, because they are so strict with the pattern of syllables that they use.  My example is not a typical traditional haiku, but my adapted style, so please feel free to find out more about the haiku origins and the usual way a haiku is written using the poem forms category above.

Tagged as: animal poem, children's poem, children's poems, haiku, rhyming poem, rhyming poems