The Fall Fifteeners as Haikus

A few months ago, I realized that I had spent two years writing an eighty-thousand word novel when I could have done the exact same thing in the space of a haiku (a syllabic poem in which the first line is five syllables, second is seven, and the third is five. In case you tested out of elementary school and missed this day).

Observe: 

THIS MONSTROUS THING: a haiku My brother is dead. And it was super my fault. These gears might fix it.
— Mackenzi Lee (@themackenzilee) March 10, 2015

So I asked my fellow Fall Fifteeners to break down their books into haikus to share. So in case you are a person who doesn't have the attention span for a full novel, here are some of our books in seventeen syllables.

Macy’s got a secret
Sebastian’s got her number
Can they make it work?

When you feel alone
And someone sees right through you
It can shake your world

Wishing for normal
But Macy thinks it’s too late
Because she’s damaged

Two damaged people
One intense conversation
Hope is on the way

-Natasha Sinel, The Fix

Bang bam boom kapow
boom boom ba-chinga, ba-doom
crash crash kabam crash

-Mike Grosso, I Am Drums

Jane is such a bitch.
Maisey's a loser. Bree's lost.
No one's who they seem.

anxiety love
death kissing cheat dresses lies
can't wait for the prom

you never see the
pain behind the smiles they wear
in the crowded halls

-Ami Allen-Vath, Prom Bitch

A house with no doors
Is just the beginning. Now,
run from the lightning!
-Ryan Dalton, The Year of Lightning

Reaper took my soul
Angels want to banish me
O'er my dead body

-Sarah J. Schmitt, It’s a Wonderful Death

The City of Light
is ideal, whether she wants
to love or to die.

-Ann Jacobus, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

In kitchen she hides
Someone watches, plans, and waits
She fears no escape

-Shannon Grogan, From Where I Watch You

Feathers, escalas,
the things we both were born with
make us enemies.

-Anna-Marie McLemore, The Weight of Feathers

Mackenzi Lee is reader, writer, bookseller, unapologetic fangirl, and fast talker. She holds an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults. Her young adult historical fantasy novel, THIS MONSTROUS THING will be published on September 22 by Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins. She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently calls Boston home. Visit her online at her website, blog, or Twitter.