Despite its deceptive simplicity the haiku is a sophisticated literary morsel, subtle and stimulating but drawing on the reader's own experience to augment what is presented. This has a two-fold effect: an evocative image connects the reader to universal experience — then beauty and insight produce an instantaneous awakening! The understatement in the haiku is expanded by experience in the reader, who thus contributes to the creative act.
— Kenneth Verity, Awareness Beyond Mind