DearHaijin, visitors and travelers,
Before we go on with our "harvested' prompts from "Manuscript found in Accra", by Paulo Coelho, I would love to say something. Yesterday a comment given by Magical Mystical Teacher made me think. MMT says: [...] "A small observation: Participation in commenting on other people's posts seems to have fallen off recently..." [...] I first didn't understand what MMT meant to say, but after a reaction I gave I saw the meaning of this. And I think MMT is right. As we have submitted our haiku we all hope for comments on it and I think MMT is right. When we are submitting our verses we have to comment on others, because that's why we share our haiku here. As I look at myself ... I too haven't always commented on the haiku of our contributors. Of course sometimes you have no time to comment, but maybe then you can try to comment later. As your host it's a lot of work to prepare every episode. By the way I love to write these posts, but I don't have always time to comment immediately, but I do visit all of you. On wordpress I sometimes like only the posts, but on blogger I have to comment every time, because there is no liking possibility. Please my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers try to give your comments on all of our contributors work if you can. If you don't have the time, then try to comment later. OK ... I hope that you all understand this and that we all will do our best to comment on every post. Thank you all for your work, your effort to write and share your haiku with us here on Carpe Diem.
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| Credits: sacrifice |
Sacrifice? The first thing which came in mind was the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who gave His life for the world, but as I look at my work as a oncology-nurse ... sacrifice has another meaning. As I look at the family of my patients when their beloved is in his/her last phase of life they give everything to be at their site ... that's real sacrifice ... giving up your own life to be their at the bedsite of your dying beloved one. My haiku for this episode is inspired on that kind of sacrifice.
own life on hold
to be there next to his brother -
what a sacrifice
what a sacrifice
all her beloved ones gathering
around her death bed
Maybe a sad set of haiku, but in my opinion this is what sacrifice means. I hope this short post will inspire you all to write and share your haiku with Carpe Diem.
This prompt will stay on 'til July 9th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will (try to) post our next episode, Ambition, later on today around 8.00 PM (CET). Our linking widget for 'sacrifice' is now open for submissions!!
Oh that was a difficult prompt. You did well, but I don't want to go with religion on this...
ReplyDeleteAh,,,but not everyone wants comments! Your visit is wonderful for me - I don't like to take more of people's time than that. Interesting philosophy there, by MMT - If you write a haiku you automatically deserve to be praised. Doesn't work like that. We must be discerning, otherwise we fall. I think the person who deserves much, much more recognition is you Kristjaan. I have neglected you Kristjaan but basically if I am not here am at my business, If I don't sell I don't eat. And if am not at business or here am running the Ligo haibun challenge, at http://www.yakutia-coppercure.co.uk heehee! ...WHICH makes me realize, more than ANYONE how much work you put into his DAILY!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, we are adults, not in school, writing for praise must be earned. There is an awful lot of love going around,that sometimes needs pruning for beauty to shine.
Honestly, Pirate, I'm not seeking praise, but I do welcome honest feedback. If I write something that sucks, I need to know about it so that I can improve it! What I object to is working hard on a poem, handing it to the world, and being greeted with...silence.
DeleteIf you don't want comments, that's fine, although I admit that I find it frustrating not to be able to comment on your blog.
It's my greatest desire that everyone participating in these challenges do it for the love of stretching one's mind, the love of learning about the world, the love of observing a moment and the love of writing at art rather than the need or the want of daily kudos and attaboy comments.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather go a long dry spell without comments (and I often do) than get insincere comments aimed at getting me to visit someone's site.
Friends, if any of my work doesn't strike you or is less than admirable or is just ho-hum. Please know you do not have to comment. Your silence speaks to me. Sometimes it tells me to try again.
One basic zen/Buddhist principle is not needing approval in everything you do. I am working on this. It's hard not seeking applause and approval, but I write because I need to write. It brings me joy.
Don't get me wrong. I love your comments. I love writing comments too. I love all the sharing. I just have to work at not needing them.
And know, that when I comment on your work I mean it. It's sincere and it's not me trying to get you to come to my website. I truly like what you write.
Thanks Lolly and Managua for your warm comments and thank you Managua for your kind words according to me. I love to write this daily episodes and it's just a joy and a recognition for me that you all are so busy with posting your haiku for this daily haiku meme. I am so grateful that you all have the effort to write and share your haiku.
ReplyDeleteOfcourse it's great to get nice comments, but also to me, your visits and your contributions are my pleasure and joy ... that's to me more important then comments.
Just have fun and feel free to share ... and feel free to visit the weblogs and contributions of all our participants and if you like to comment then feel free to do that. No obligations, just free will ... have fun.
Namaste
I don't mind not getting comments...I would just prefer comments that help me go in the right direction. Of course I love hearing if something is good but I don't want to hear it's good if it's really not. So, like Lolly, I'd rather have silence than an obligatory comments. I tend to overshare when I do comment so please let me know if that is bothersome.
ReplyDeleteWhile I feel starting haiku with Nahaiwrimo was not the best start, I did read something there yesterday I'd like to share. It had to do with Matsuo Basho's philosophy of writing haiku. He wrote as if each one were his last. That thought really helped me with the conception of writing haiku...whether I can do that or not. FWIW. Thanks to those who do visit me!
It seems to me the whole purpose of a meme like this is to interact with one another. I welcome comments that let me know whether or not my poem hit the mark or missed. And I try very hard to comment in a way that offers support. To me, one of the defining aspects of haiku is to evoke a feeling in the reader(the feeling you had when you had the 'haiku moment' ) When that happens, I really enjoy sharing that information with the poet! That is what haiku is all about!(Not praise and back-slapping) I am here to learn --by reading your poems and from your reaction to my poems. I try to visit as many poets as I can, given my busy life.(Im sure all of us have busy lives!) It can be very disappointing to visit a blog day after day and receive no feedback or visits whatsoever. I suspect that is what MMT is referring to. Having said this, I agree with some of the above comments regarding sincerity. I would prefer someone say "What the heck does this mean?" rather than a nice but meaningless remark. But that is just me. So fire away or not - your choice! Either way, I love the opportunity that Kris has given me, to 'learn by doing' the art of haiku. Your hard work is most appreciated!!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't have said it better myself, Wabi! Thank you!
DeleteI some how have got the sequence of your Carpe Diem Haiku all wrong ~ It is Sunday in the USA July 7th and I just had joy for July 7th ~ ~ will catch maybe Wednesday ~ Happy Week to you ~ namaste, carol ^_^
ReplyDeleteI thought this would be so hard, and then I just started writing...
ReplyDeleteand a wonderful couple came to mind...I could remember meeting them in the 1970's...she gave him a run for his love on a daily basis, but he stayed true and loving til the day he died...years before her. He lived to be 90 and she much older !
Thanks for the comments above...I enjoy getting to know each and every one of you as time goes on.
Peace and love,
Siggi
The greatest teacher of haiku is your own study and observation of the art. This is how I've been learning to write haiku.
ReplyDeleteOur haiku poet of the month is Jane Reichhold. I have links to her site A-ha poetry and there you will find a wealth of information. I implore everyone to check it out. Ms. Reichhold is down to earth and accessible AND she talks about fragment and phrase theory. It's one of the biggest and valuable lessons I learned in the art of haiku next to learning about kigo.
You can read about it here:
http://www.ahapoetry.com/h_t_fragment.html
Kristjaan, please accept my small effort for your prompt, and thank you for hosting. Cheers ~ M
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point. I am behind with commenting and hoping to catch up soon. I think sometimes summer gets hectic, but it is part of the community here. I enjoy commenting and receiving comments because I learn from them and because it does make us more of a writing community.
ReplyDeleteI guess you could say, "No comments, no community!"
DeleteAs a regular blogger, I have felt that sometimes it isn't possible for you to comment on every post. I read about 40-50 posts a day and it isn't possible for me to comment on each of them. And there are times when you are not sure what you are feeling after you have read the piece and at other times, it seems your words are not enough to convey how you have felt after reading a post.
ReplyDeleteI love comments. I need them much more than the likes, because only through a comment can I feel that people are reading me and they are instructing me, guiding me in my journey of writing. We are all writers; writing is my passion and I guess it is your passion as well. In such cases, you would like to get some feedback from your readers. I think that is what MMT is asking for over here.
Thus, there are two sides to this very discussion. Writers write for their readers and hence want something in return and that something is just a few words that might tell them how their creation is being seen in the eyes of the readers. And the other side is that a reader who reads so many creations a day; it is not easy for him/her to comment every time around.
So, I guess the only approach that I undertake is that after reading a post, I try to think of saying something but if the words do not come to me, then I move ahead after liking the post. And it isn't compulsory always to like the post.. like it only when you find it likable. It isn't a game, we are talking about serious writing here.
Now for Kristjaan, I sincerely admire you for all the efforts you put forth to bring for all of us such wonderful prompts day after day. And a lovely set of haiku this time. They really touched my heart.
Regards,
HA
I enjoy the sharing of comments and as I generally read after I've posted my entry, it's part of the experience to see what others have done with the same prompt so whilst you're there, why not say hello?
ReplyDeleteAs has been said already, it makes for a great community feel ate Carpe Diem and the encouragement and suggestions help one grow as a writer (at least I'm hoping they are). That said, we are all busy people and so it isn't always possible to comment on everyone's posts every day.
It seems to me that karma works fairly well in such things.
Here's to us :)
Yes, we are dealing with serious writing here and appreciating each others creativity. Let us not forget the effort that goes into producing all that we write and so for me yes I love comments. They keep me grounded and make me aware that I'm getting better or not in my writing efforts. And so I do make time to comment all the time and yes I welcome comments too. Let us face it; no matter how much you many not like comments, it can be quite disheartening to write and not get a single person to visit. Who will read your work and appreciate and comment if all visitors to the blog just pass by without leaving a mark? Besides, it's all part of socializing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Kristjaan. I do appreciate your brilliant and lovely effort.
Perhaps we need some sort of haiku special in which we submit work specifically for feedback...as in some sort of mini-workshop or evaluate-my-work challenge.
ReplyDeleteMany of you express a desire for writing feedback and maybe not necessarily just praise. There is a big difference.
I don't often offer feedback because I assume people are just doing their own thing and are not serious about learning the fine art of haiku but rather just having fun. Plus, I am no expert so i just keep my mouth shut and my opinions about improvement to myself.
Good day Lolly, I like this idea for a haiku special in which work can be submitted for feed-back ... I will think it over and will see what I can do ... Thanks for this suggestion.
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