Carpe Diem #944 willow

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I love to thank you all for your kind and loving words sprinkled on me in response of the Carpe Diem Extra episode about "publishing permission". Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Second, and I hope you don't mind, I have published a "publishing permission" statement at right side of our Kai, because (thank you Rall for this idea) than it's open and clear how I (can) act as I am creating our exclusive series of CDHK e-books. I am very sad that I have to publish this statement after more than three years being your host.

Okay ... to our new episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month we are exploring haiku writing techniques as used by Basho, my sensei, and today there is in a way a connection to our "flute" episode and maybe slightly to the "permission" discussion.

Here is the haiku by Basho which we will use to connect with the haiku writing technique for today:

one patch of a rice field
when it was planted I left
the willow tree

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

I think you all can remember this haiku from our "narrow road" series last December, because it's part of Oku no Hosomichi, that famous haibun by Basho. As I am creating this episode I realize that I used this prompt "willow" earlier at CDHK and the haiku I would love to share by myself I have already used in the "flute" episode ... so this will become a challenge to me.

weeping willow

The technique Basho uses in this haiku is known as "response to another's poem". It's a variation on the technique of literary reference, only in this technique the reference is to a usually well-known poem by someone else. This device is a good one to get poetic inspiration flowing by reading the work of others (as we do here very often e.g. your submitted poetry, but also the CD-Distillation feature uses this device) and then finding something else or new to say. In this example Basho refers to a waka by Saigyo from the Shinkokinwakashu:

along the way
where water is running
in the willow shade
I have stopped to rest
for a little while

© Saigyo (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

A wonderful waka I would say, but the haiku by Basho inspired on this waka is a real beauty if I may say so. I think this "response to another's poem" technique is a nice one and easy to use too.

For this episode I love to challenge you to create a (new) haiku or tanka in which you are referring to another poem and please share also the poem which you used for your inspiration. I am looking forward to your responses.

I have ran through the Carpe Diem Haiku Kai archives / pages and I found a nice episode which I wrote in September 2013. It was one of the earliest CD-Distillation episodes about "The Tale Genji". I love to share the poem by Lady Murasaki Shibuku (poetess/writer of the Tale) which I used there for the "distillation".

The evening sky itself
becomes something to cherish
when I gaze at it,
seeing in one of the clouds
the smoke from her funeral pyre

© Murasaki Shibuku

smoke rises to the sky

And this was the haiku which I created as a distillation of that poem. I think this gives you an idea what our technique for today means:

her spirit departs

with the dying of her pyre -
smoke rises to the sky

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 23rd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, a new CD-Special, later on. For now ... have fun!