Carpe Diem Ghost Writer #24, Hamish Gunn's analyzed a haiku.

!! I publish this GW-post earlier than I normally do, because I am in the nightshift !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's time for a new episode of our "Ghost Writer" post and this week I have chosen for a post written by Hamish Gunn of Cabin Fever. He surprised me with this GW-post, because he analyzed a haiku written by myself. Thank you Hamish for granting me the honor to be part of your GW-post.
I hope you all will like this GW-post and I am looking forward to your haiku inspired on this GW-post. Have fun!

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TREE OF LIFE

In my years of living in the wonderful deserts of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia one of my memories is the visits to the Tree of Life in the desert of Bahrain, a tree that thrives despite no water source, and within the designated area of the supposed garden of Eden, thus adding more mystique to its official moniker, Tree of Life. To me, it is an ideal location, theme and topic for a simple but profound haiku. What does the ”Tree of Life” mean to you? Please title your haiku Tree of Life to help guide you and ensure you won't need to use those words in your haiku.

Tree of Life in Bahrain (© Hamish Gunn)

Quite a few times Chèvrefeuille has alluded to the deeper meaning in haiku, and his haiku. Try to bring that into your haiku about the Tree of Life. That deeper meaning is not there in the first reading, or maybe not even in the second. But have it there.

In this haiku by Chèvrefeuille for example, in his 'Carpe Diem lecture 1':

the fence looks bright
in the early hazy sunlight -
crystal cobweb

(c) Chèvrefeuille

We see the intense image, but also a story. Why 'early'? It helps the imagery, but also evokes youth, as does the bright, and therefore freshly painted fence of the new home. The crystal cobweb further nudges the scene of a newly married couple – the precious stone of wedding ring – but the cobweb is the warning, the path that will not be easy, full of traps. The effect, then, is of a wonderful morning in a new home, with cutting, dark edges to the innocent scene.

Tree of Life Bahrain (© Hamish Gunn)

Can we do similar in our Tree of Life haiku...and possibly tanka? Try to give the haiku depth as well as imagery. Thank you again Kristjaan. Nobody has a website quite like yours, and nobody ever will.

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A wonderful GW-post I think and again I love to thank Hamish for writing it. 

It is said that the Tree of Life, in the middle of the desert, in Bahrain is the last tree of the Garden of Eden. If that's true ... than life once started there with Adam and Eve ... our overall ancestors. It must be possible to write a haiku in response of this GW-post by Hamish Gunn!

the Garden of Eden,

entrance to paradise,

will there be Bonsai?

© Chèvrefeuille

Well I hope you did like this GW-post and I hope it will inspire you to write haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun ... go for it ... pick up the challenge which Hamish handed us in this GW-post.

This GW-post will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 12th at noon. I will (try to) post our next episode, dragonflies (instead of our CD-Special 106), later on. !! I will not do a CD-Special this time, because of lack of time, sorry !!