two centres and often generating an implicit comparison, equation, or contrast between the two separate elements. The hokku author must compose a syntactically complete verse capable (alone among the verses of a linked poem) of standing alone, probably because the hokku, as the first verse of the renku or renga, sets the stage for the rest of the poem, and therefore should not leave itself open to overt modification in the next verse. The conventional way of making sure that a hokku has such linguistic integrity is to include a kireji. In English haiku and hokku Kireji have no direct equivalent in English. Mid-verse kireji have been described as sounded rather than written punctuation. In English-language haiku and hokku, as well as in translations of such verses into this language, kireji may be represented by punctuation (typically by a dash or an ellipsis), an exclamatory particle (such as 'how...'), or simply left unmarked. Examples The examples below are laid out as follows: Haiku in Japanese Rōmaji transliteration Literal word-for-word translation Translated poem Mid-verse ya End-verse kana References Japanese poetry Japanese literary terminology Articles containing Japanese poems