To adapt the poem for the structure of a haiku, which line should be changed?

To adapt the poem for the structure of a haiku, which line should be changed?

• A. Absent, Comet, and Kitten
• B. Float to hover
• C. Butterflies, butterfly
• D. Mirror, birth

Answer: (B)

Haiku uses a three-line pattern of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. To fit that structure, each line must hit its target syllable count. The line that reads “Float to hover” has four syllables, which doesn’t meet the five-syllable requirement for an outer line. That’s why this line is the one to adjust when adapting the poem into a haiku. The other lines already align with the counts for their positions, or would require different tweaks if you were repositioning syllables, but the four-syllable line is the one that clearly needs a tweak to reach five. A simple revision could be “Float and hover near,” which adds one syllable and satisfies the 5-syllable limit.

Haiku uses a three-line pattern of 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, and 5 in the third. To fit that structure, each line must hit its target syllable count. The line that reads “Float to hover” has four syllables, which doesn’t meet the five-syllable requirement for an outer line. That’s why this line is the one to adjust when adapting the poem into a haiku. The other lines already align with the counts for their positions, or would require different tweaks if you were repositioning syllables, but the four-syllable line is the one that clearly needs a tweak to reach five. A simple revision could be “Float and hover near,” which adds one syllable and satisfies the 5-syllable limit.