Carpe Diem #118, Stork (provided by Ese)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,


What a joy it was to read all of your posts on the Special by Chiyo-Ni and the related episode of Carpe Diem's Imagination. Really a joy ... I have read haiku worth to a haiku master as Chiyo-Ni was and they are all covered with some of your own emotions and thoughts.

Today we are sharing haiku on 'Stork' provided by Ese of Esenga's voice. I think this is a wonderful prompt and I hope to read wonderful haiku. Let me tell you something about the White Stork.

The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The White Stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends do not form over water.

A carnivore, the White Stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

In my country parents are telling their children as an answer on the question 'where do the babies come from?' that they are brought in by the White Stork. Maybe that same story is familiar to you (smiles).

white stork
entering the nursery -
cry of a new born


cry of a new born
resonates through the night  -
stork flies away

Well .... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with Carpe Diem.

This prompt will stay on 'till February 12th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our new episode, 'windmill' (provided by YerPirate), later on around 10.00 PM (CET).