Brief Definition
A Monoku is a type of poem which is made up of a single horizontal line. Traditionally considered as a haiku writing, it is currently accepted as a variant of the haiku form of poetry. Monoku emerged as an independent style of poetry in the 1970s.
Unlike the Haiku which is made up of three outlines with a total of seventeen syllables, Monoku features a single line consisting of seventeen syllables or even fewer.
It contains a pause brought about by speech rhythm with slight or no punctuation. The first letter should not be capitalized – but instead written in lower case.
Familiar examples of Monoku are:
Pig and I – spring rain by Marlene Mountain
An icicle – a moon drifting through it by Matsuo Allard
Listen to the pause – silence is golden by Jack Jordan
As is evident, a Monoku is about as economical as a composer can get. However, even with a short one-liner, the poet can communicate and paint a picture in the reader's mind. With this in mind, it is up to the reader to interpret the Monoku, and quite a few meanings are probable.