CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI: Carpe Diem #565, cutting wood

Friday, September 19, 2014

Carpe Diem #565, cutting wood

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy ... to have some spare time to create a new episode of our wonderful haiku kai. This month we are discovering modern kigo for autumn as compiled by Jane Reichhold in her "A Dicitionary of Haiku", a great saijiki in which you can find several modern kigo.|
Today our prompt is "Cutting Wood" and it immediately brought a haiku by Jim Kacian, our featured haiku-poet of August, in mind:

chopping wood-

someone does the same
a moment later

To re-read this episode of CD-Special click HERE. It was our first CD-Special in August and I recall that you all shared wonderful haiku on this haiku e.g. by Björn Rudberg:

axes sing -
quenching winter’s dirge
of dying embers

©Björn Rudberg

Or this one by Nimi:

With each strike
the groan resonates -
Chopping wood

Both are beautiful and so different from each other. In my response on that haiku by Jim Kacian I wrote:

deep silence
in the forest I only hear
a Woodpecker

Credits: Cutting wood

As I am preparing this episode another haiku came in mind. This time one by Yosa Buson and here it is:

ochikochi ochikochi to utsu kinuta kana

near and far

here and there the beating sound
of fulling blocks . .

In ancient Japan, fulling blocks to chop wood on were also used for washing clothes. Another one also by Buson goes as follows:

kangetsu ni kiwo waru terano otoko kana

Under the winter moon
chopping up firewood,
the man of the temple

All wonderful haiku on "cutting wood" and I think it's great to look at what Jane Reichhold uses as an example for this modern kigo.

the mountain path
being drawn through the woods
a sound of saws

Or what do you think of this example, also by Jane:

chain saw stilled
the sound of the ocean
comes into view

Isn't it a beauty. The chain saws are stilled and you can immediately hear the sound of waves, the song of birds or the rustling of leaves. Awesome.

after the rainstorm

again the sound of roaring chain saws -

dripping raindrops

Awesome! What a wonderful prompt we have today. I hope you all will be inspired to share your haiku with us all here at our Haiku Kai. Keep on going ... let's do some "wood cutting" (smiles).

This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 22nd at noon (CET). I will publish our next episode, crow, later on. For now ... have fun!