Zakiya Alston gets help counting haiku syllables from her mom, Christine Miller, on July 14. (Clare Becker – The Evening Sun)

Poet Laureate JoAnne Diodato bowed to the children attending the Haiku in the Streets workshop at Guthrie Memorial Library, asking “Now, who knows how to say hello in Japanese?”

The seven participants repeated “konnichiwa” to each other as they began the July 14 workshop on haiku poetry and the culture from which it originated.

Some of the students were as young as second grade, Diodato said, and the earlier you introduce children to poetry, the more likely they are to enjoy it as they grow up.

“Haikus are a more approachable form because it’s short and involves topics kids already have experience writing about,” Diodato said, adding that a haiku is a three-lined poem with a five-seven-five syllable pattern that communicates an emotion or experience related to nature.

A participant looks at the Japanese symbols for the seasons during the Haiku in the Street class taught by JoAnne Diodato on July 14. (Clare Becker – The Evening Sun)

“Making poetry fun shows them it’s not just something stuffy to learn about in school.”

It may sound easy, but expressing a thought in 17 syllables is pretty tough, Diodato said as she watched the kids help each other spell words and count syllables.

Once the poems were completed, group members went outside to decorate the library’s sidewalk with colorful chalk renditions of their work.

Eight-year-old Bella Crotty, who attended the workshop with her sister, said even though she doesn’t normally like poetry, the lesson was fun because she got to write her poem outside with chalk. Each line of her haiku, which was written about her favorite summer shoes, was in a different neon color and decorated with hearts.

Logan Reed was also excited to share his work with library-goers, commenting on how nice the sidewalk looks now with the group’s decorations. It gives people something to enjoy on their way to check out books, the seven-year-old said as he chalked out his haiku about reading.