Haiku

In a search for something that wasn't literature, and yet still considered Oulipo, I started listening to one of my favorite bands, Tally Hall. Before long, the song Haiku came on, and it got me thinking. Looking up the lyrics, and breaking down the lines, I realized the song was in fact a Haiku (albeit, with lines going 5-7-6 instead of 5-7-5). Thinking further, I thought, "Could a Haiku be considered Oulipo?" And why not? It's a form of writing with a set of constrictions that define the literature itself. Below is a video of the song and a copy of the lyrics, complete with line breaks.



I have been trying/
To write a haiku for you/
Some things I just can't do/

Maybe you're beyond/
Ancient Asian poetry/
Or maybe it's just me/

I have been trying/
To get this haiku just right all night/
For you; all right I'm through/

Maybe this poem/
Was lost in the sauce we spilled/
That never got refilled/

I've never thought much/
Of formulaic verse anyway/
And rhymes are not my forte/

I have been trying/
To get this haiku just right all night/
For you; all right I'm through

I'm trying not to try too hard/
But you're hard to write down write/
So I pen these tried attempts/
At haikus for you tonight/

Lah dah dee diddum/
Lah dah dah dum do ditto/
Dum doo lah dee doh/

There, that's sufficient/
I wrote a haiku for you. Well I tried at least, and that's not so bad/
I'm working here; can that be said for you?

I'm trying not to try too hard/
But you're hard to write down right/
So I pen these tried attempts/
At haikus for you tonight/

Words don't work like Webster say/
They trip me up all night/
I'm trying just to write for you/
But you're hard to write down right/