acrostic haiku tutorial

the acrostic haiku (originally created by *Mattiello, a link follow in the comments) is a challenging form. one must first choose a word containing letters in multiples of 3 (since haiku have 3 lines). this word then is used as the acrostic, and theme, for the poem:

U
N
D
E
A
D

then, a liaison must be chosen to link each 3 letter segment of the word together. the liaison must be a word related to the theme set by the arostic and MUST begin with the last letter in the first 3 letter group and end with the first letter in the next group (in this instance the liaison is 'decompose'):


U
N
D
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
E
A
D

finally, one writes the necessary lines to complete each haiku, each line beginning with the appropriate letter, and keeping with the theme set by the acrostic:

Unstoppable hordes,
Necrotic somnabulists:
Dedicated rot.
e
c
o
m
p
o
s
Each of us that falls
Adds to their swelling numbers.
Death is not the end...


for acrostics of more than 6 letters, the process is the same: bridging the gaps between letter groups with liaisons and writing the haiku for each letter group. for 3 letter acrostics, the liaison must either end with the first letter of the acrostic or begin with the last.