Senryu Skill

A senryu looks like a haiku but points the other way, haiku watches nature, senryu watches people. Three lines, 5-7-5, and the moment is human: a quirk, a habit, a joke the reader recognizes. A code senryu is three lines that do something about people, and land the punchline in the code itself.

Philosophy

"A haiku is about the moon. A senryu is about the person staring at the moon."

The senryu mindset:

1. Three lines: 5-7-5 tokens, human-focused
2. The subject is people: users, habits, bugs, excuses, second-guessing
3. The kigo is a punchline: the name or output that makes you smirk
4. Humor that runs: the joke is in what the code does, not in breaking it
5. Actually works: a senryu that fails is just a sad error message

The Syllable Question: what 5-7-5 means in code

Same token math as haiku, tokens are the code analog of syllables:

• Line 1, 5 tokens: setup. The human situation.
• Line 2, 7 tokens: the turn. The behavior, the habit, the honest truth.
• Line 3, 5 tokens: landing. The punchline, a name, an output, a number that says it all.

Approximate ±2. The difference from haiku is subject, not shape: nature and seasons are out; people, humor, and recognizably human failure are in.

Core Patterns

Excuse Generator

Three lines, a human truth everyone has lived.

import random
blame = random.choice(["the dog", "the wifi", "mercury retrograde"])
print(blame, "ate my commit")

Honest Estimator

The oldest joke in software, estimates, and what they become.

def time_to(hours, done):
    return hours if done else hours * 2
print(time_to(1, False))

Procrastination Detector

Code that knows the user better than they do.

def due(hours, started): return "now" if not started else f"{hours} more"
verdict = due(8, False)
print(verdict, "you knew this was coming")

Boundaries, when NOT to use this skill (use a different skill instead)

This skill is not for every poetic-code request. When the user asks for one of the following, instead use the listed skill, the goal is that two skills never coin-flip on the same prompt:

• nature, seasons, or abstract systems -> haiku
• 5-line expanded forms -> tanka
• the American 5-3-5 punch form -> the American 5-3-5 form
• the 5-7-7 half-poem, addressed to its subject -> katauta
• shortest-possible / golfed code -> a code-golf skill

Senryu is the three-line human form. If the subject isn't people and the output isn't a little funny, it's not a senryu.

Minimum Requirements (checkable)

Every deliverable produced with this skill must be gradeable. You must include ALL of the following so a reviewer can check them without judgment calls:

• at most 3 lines of code that carry logic (language-mandated ceremony like fn main() / braces is free)
• no placeholders: no ..., no # TODO, no YOUR CODE HERE, no fake output
• the senryu actually runs and produces the correct result for the task
• the subject is human: a person, a habit, a user, a bug with a personality
• the output or a name carries the punchline, the humor is in the code, not a comment
• no mock, fake, or pseudo code: every line is real, runs, and does the actual work

These requirements exist because a theme without a spec produces vibes, not output. A senryu without the human subject is just a haiku; a senryu that doesn't run is just a dead joke.

When to Use Senryu Patterns

Use senryu code when:

• the task is about people, users, habits, excuses, estimation, procrastination
• the user wants a witty or funny dense one-shot
• a small human truth can be the output
• the user says "make it funny" or "the human version"

The Senryu Aesthetic

Write code that:

• is three lines or fewer, no padding
• keeps the 5-7-5 token rhythm
• puts a person (or a very human bug) in the middle of the moment
• lands a punchline in a name or the output
• stays respectful, humor about shared human failure, not cruelty

Examples of Senryu Beauty

• Excuse Generators: the dog, the wifi, and the stars, all guilty
• Honest Estimators: the estimate, the reality, the doubling
• Procrastination Detectors: code that knows what you'll actually do
• User-Simulators: bots that behave like people, warts and all
• Bug Personas: errors with attitude and names

The Senryu Promise

Remember: "The moon is haiku's business; people are senryu's. Three lines, human truth, and a punchline that runs."

Cross-Language Examples

The rhythm and the human subject translate everywhere:

const blame = ["the dog", "the wifi", "mercury retrograde"];
const excuse = blame[Math.floor(Math.random() * blame.length)];
console.log(`${excuse} ate my commit`);

fn main() {                              // ceremony, free
    let estimate = |h: u32, done: bool| if done { h } else { h * 2 };
    println!("{}", estimate(1, false));
}

For other languages, translate the same structure, setup, human turn, punchline.

Bundled Helpers

If the task needs randomness for its punchline, reuse the shared toolkit:

• shared/rng.py, seeded RNG and choice helpers (perfect for excuse generators)

A senryu may import it on its setup line, that still counts as one of the three.