Based on Japanese verse form, American haiku contains three lines with a five/seven/five syllable structure. While haiku is so much associated with the land of its birth, it was a favorite of Kerouac and the Beat poets, who popularized the verse standard in America and used it to express their wanderlust and melancholy. Poets since have used it in a much more lighthearted way.

If there was one musician who comes close to the style of the Beats, it's Bob Dylan. The prolific singer and songwriter looms large over the music scene to this day. His songs can tell a whole story, and they...