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The nine mental conditions affecting the composer of haiku

The Great Master has experienced all these.

Tohi

(Thrombus of haiku insight) being in a perfect haiku generating situation but absolutely nothing happens—also called block seventeen

Writer imprisoned
And unable to escape
From Block 17?

Ntohi

Haiku just seem to flow—opposite of tohi

Hihu

Haiku Hunting—mentally scanning the textual landscape for five and seven syllable chunks (The Future’s Orange - 5!).

Sharpen your pencil!
Reload your pen!  It’s time to
Go Haiku Hunting!

Moth

Thinking of a perfect haiku but by the time one has found pen and paper it is lost or goes clohi (q.v.)

Clohi

(Crash landing of haiku insight) a valid or valuable haiku idea that will not go into shape

He-he

Starting on a serious or insightful haiku and then some irony or pun bubbles up and forces a smile and a more light-hearted result

Bluh

The opposite of he-he—a dark haiku results

Hiding in Shadows
Dripping with your blood.  Beware!
The Dark Haiku Strikes

Syllabosis

The morbid counting of syllables (nine so far) in text even when not reading or writing haiku

Quick!  Call a Doctor!
The symptoms are clear.  The man
Has Syllabosis

Aha

Haiku that arrive fully formed—absence of clohi

Here it is once more:
Basho’s frog is sitting here;
Waits to make a splash.


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