50 Haiku Writing Prompts For Your Inner Poet

• Jan 15, 2026
• 5 min read

• Tags: Poetry, Writers, Writing Tips

The haiku is a popular form for many poets—unlike free verse, it follows a particular structure and has a word limit within which the poet must convey profound ideas or paint a mental picture for the reader. While this can be a challenge, it also tests your writing skills and ability as a poet. After all, brevity is the soul of wit!

Are you interested in haiku writing? If so, here are 50 prompts for you to unlock your inner poet!

Slow living

The Japanese are known for their love of minimalism and mindful living. Drawing from these values, here are some prompts for haikus on slow living and being grateful for the little things:

1. Baking bread at home

2. A quiet summer afternoon

3. An evening walk in a drizzle

4. Cooking for your family

5. Reading in bed at night

6. Knitting by the fireplace

7. Kintsugi (the Japanese practice of repairing broken objects with gold)

8. Being happy with old, cozy clothes

9. Writing in your journal by the window

10. Bare feet on damp soil

Gratitude

The Japanese believe in offering thanks for their blessings and good fortune. This is often done by kneeling on the floor and bowing. What better way to honor your blessing than to write haikus about it? Here are some haiku writing prompts on things to be grateful for:

11. Moving out of an old house

12. Being indoors during a storm

13. Warm socks on a winter night

14. Wabi-sabi (the Japanese concept of beauty in imperfection)

15. The love of your pet

16. Looking after an ageing parent

17. Looking after an ageing pet

18. Watching the first leaves of your plant sprout

19. Having a warm, homemade meal

20. The love of a grandparent

Nostalgia

Memories of good times gone by tend to evoke feelings of nostalgia and poetic impulses in people. Here are some prompts to help you go down memory lane:

21. An afternoon in your childhood bedroom

22. Your first love

23. A day spent in the lap of nature

24. A cherished memory with your sibling(s)

25. Cherished memories with a family member who is no more

26. A memory of a rainy day

27. The birth of a new family member

28. The day you brought home a new pet

29. A childhood scent that gave you comfort

30. A childhood memory that makes you feel safe

Nature

Haiku, as a genre, tends to be heavily influenced by nature. Here are some nature prompts to help you paint a beautiful picture with your words:

31. A reflection in a puddle

32. A flower or leaf falling in the wind

33. A tree filled with ripe fruit low enough to pluck

34. A calming waterfall

35. A garden filled with flowers in spring

36. The melancholy of fall or autumn

37. The first snow of winter

38. Twilight on a winter evening

39. The sight of cows or sheep coming into the pasture

40. A flock of birds taking off into the sky

Daily life

It is possible to find poetry in the mundane, and there just might be some sources of inspiration lurking in your daily life! Here are some haiku prompts that will inspire you to turn the ordinary extraordinary:

41. Your commute to work

42. The ritual of grocery shopping

43. The ritual of cooking a meal for one

44. Your nighttime ritual

45. Getting dressed for a party

46. The scenery you see while driving

47. Your experience in a bookshop

48. The feeling of waking up late on a weekend

49. The ritual of reading a child to sleep

50. The feeling of coming home after a long day at work.

Now that you have 50 prompts across genres, it’s time to put on your thinking cap and get writing! We wish you the very best with your poetic journey!

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Tanvi

With a foundation in Life Sciences, Tanvi enjoys curating technical writing tips tailored for ESL students. When she's not translating complex concepts into bite-sized nuggets, she can be found playing with dogs or painting landscapes.