by Nick Virgilio, dedicated to his younger brother who died in Vietnam

Deep in rank grass,
through a bullet-riddled helmet:
an unknown flower

Keiko Imaoka has posted an interesting analysis of the significance of 5-7-5 to the Japanese, and the emergent “free-form” style of English haiku such as Virgilio’s.

The 5-7-5 syllable rhythm in Japanese haiku is not the matter of arbitrary choice that it may appear to be to a non-Japanese haiku writer. Various combinations of 5 and 7 syllables have dominated the Japanese literary scene for most of its history, tanka (5-7-5-7-7) being the most prominent example. To most Japanese, words phrased in these configurations have a remarkably mnemonic, at times haunting quality, so much so that many war and political propaganda have utilized this form :

hoshigarimasen(7) katsumadewa(5) : “we want nothing till we win (the war)”

kono dote-ni(5) noboru-bekarazu(7) keishichou(5) : “Do Not Climb This Levee – The Police Department”

Nice insights. I may have to revisit my security awareness posters and slogans and see if I can achieve some sort of consistent mnemonics. Hmmm, if seven is lucky and thirteen unlucky…