Weekly Prompt: Write a Sixku

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the third instalment of my Weekly Prompt, a series that invites you to stretch your mental muscles with micropoetry and microfiction!

Before I proceed, let me share two lovely poems written by

MIME

and

Sara Etgen-Baker

in response to last week’s theme: In the eye of the beholder.

NB: If last week’s theme inspires you, you can still write something just for fun and share it in the comment section below that post.

And now, onto the new prompt. This week, you are invited to write a sixku.

The Sixku (pronounce ‘sis-ku’) is a poetry form that I created in 2019.

Rules

Sixku are six-word, untitled poems based on the Haiku, my favorite form. Each piece must be inspired by and contain a photograph. A reference to nature is encouraged. For example: season, weather, month, time of the day, etc.

Three mandatory lines:
Line 1 = idea 1 (one or two word(s))
Line 2 = idea 2 (two or three words)
Line 3 = twist, surprise (remaining words)

A seventh word is acceptable, only if it is an article or preposition (e.g. ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘up’, ‘down’…). Do not abuse this exception, though.

Complete sentences and punctuation are optional and the use of the past tense is allowed.

Example of sixku

Photo credit: Cendrine Marrouat

Stately mountains
within reflection
look troubled.

©2019 Cendrine Marrouat

For more examples of sixku, click here.

Now time for you to give the Sixku a try. Here is a photo to inspire you:

Photo credit: Cendrine Marrouat

Rules:

• Write your sixku in the comment section below, in a post, or in a note. Please tag me (@haikushack) so I know you are participating.

• You do not have to use my photo. However, the sixku is a form of ekphrastic poetry. As such, an image (properly credited) must be used in combination with the words.

• Deadline for submissions: March 30, 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET).

• What I don't want: Nothing sexually explicit, gory, or graphic. Please, no swear words either.

Note: If you find this post after the deadline, you may still share your work in the comment section below. I’ll be happy to read it.

I cannot wait to see your sixku!

Cendrine

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NO AI TRAINING - Any use of my content to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text or images is expressly prohibited. I, the author, reserve all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

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