HIKU an explanation

 Simply stated hiku are 'haiku-in-english '

however

haiku is a Japanese poetic

traditional

   phonetic

 & cultural

      poetic

an imagist

  tristich

vertical

 or horizontal

inherently

  enigmatic

  a caesura

& surprise

ending

 a sense

  of pause

aesthetic

     insight

 flowing

   from perception

    seventeen

inherent

 onji sounds

   happening

     in

                                       the   momentary

 now

haiku a Japanese term for their cultural poetical tristich( see note 1 below)which is completely different to hiku albeit the 'mother' form from which haiku-in-english developed.

Whereas

HIKU is a relatively recent reference to the 75year old established ' haiku in English. '

being an imagist tristich like its elder cousin,without a title,and with a similar economy of words ,inherently enigmatic & with a caesura or an ellipsis and surprise ending. A similar sense of pause ,the aesthetic insight flowing from perception gained from 'one breath length ' composition that flowed from the Japanesese 17 onji sound inherent in the Japaneses haiku. Without 'invented' syllabic( 5-7-5 ) line restrictions of the 'haiku in english 'is the 'free verse' version of the '5:7:5 haiku in English'. similar but different ,a present tense poetic ,the - hiku is the written or recited equivalent to arts 'gestural spontaneous happening' . Creativity the key in a hiku verse freed from strict syllabic constraint within its triplicity of format(tristich)& yet inherently enigmatic & often with a caesura and surprise ending( VERSUM )to give a 'turning' to the line. The flexible hiku maybe a horizontal single* line,(often broken line at the caesura),a vertical line(usually a painting(haiga) ,a couplet** or a tristich* with shape-like variations. & doubled as below

hiku=haiku-in-english 

Doubled= 2 separate stand-alone untitled hiku - capable of unifying into a six-liner

momentarily

wait  hesitate and dream-

        imagination cries

          
unshackled 

      conception awakens-

         formulates

NOTE 1. JAPANESE HAIKU

fuller details of  the cultural  Japanese haiku can be found on both the net & many books in depth  to explain further 

Yasuda's Introduction to his 'The Japanese Haiku ', Charles Tuttle Co, Rutland 1957 ISBN 0804810966

Classic Haiku: The Greatest Japanese Poetry from Basho, Buson, Issa, Shiki and Their Followers 

by Tom Lowenstein (Editor)

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1844834747