Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry forms like haiku and tanka. It’s a warmhearted family of haiku poets created by Chèvrefeuille, a Dutch haiku poet. Japanese poetry is the poetry of nature and it gives an impression of a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water. ++ ALL WORKS PUBLISHED ARE COPYRIGHTED AND THE RIGHTS BELONG TO THE AUTHORS ++ !!! Anonymous comments will be seen as SPAM !!!
This month we are going to discover the beautiful mysterious nature. I hope to inspire you through nature, as a true haiku poet, and bring the deeper meaning of nature closer to you. There are a lot of great thinkers that created all kinds of ideas about the spiritual meaning of trees, flowers and so on. This month ... I hope to tell you more about this and I hope to inspire you to create wonderful new haiku, tanka and other Japanese poetry forms.
I don't have the prompt-list ready, but I hope to publish it later this week. For this first episode I have a wonderful tree for you ... the Birch ...
"Listen closely and you will detect whispers of transformation and growth in the midst of the birch groves within your soul."The birch is a very strong tree and is able to adapt to its environment. If a forest has been destroyed by fire the first tree you will see return is the birch. The birch is a pioneer and takes root again to revive the landscape, it will even be a more beautiful landscape than it was before it was destroyed.
In this strong tree we can see a metaphor for our lives. If something has disturbed your life, for example death of a beloved one, than the birch will "push" you to go on with your life, to explore your emotions and how to give them a place in your life.Or if you loose your job … than birch can help you to find new goals in your life or to settle in a new job.The birch sings to us: "Shine, take hold, express your creative expanse, light the way so that others may follow".Birch in this way seen can be your prophet to help you to find your way or a new path for spiritual growth.
The birch is great symbol of renewal, but it also is a symbol of stability and structure. The Celts saw the birch as the keeper of long-honored traditions.
Paradoxically, while the birch is a brilliant symbol of renewal, it is also symbolic of stability and structure. The druids also held the birch as the keepers of long-honored traditions.
It's a wonderful tree, so strong and beautiful ... we just have to honor it.
birch alley brings light to the world starting again
Well ... I hope you did like this new (first) episode of July. Sorry for not having the prompt-list ready, but I hope to publish it later this week.
This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 5th at noon (CET). I hope to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!
Share your inspired haiku with us all here at our Haiku Kai.
Dear haijin, visitors and travelers, Today our last stage on our Europe Ginko. We will end our ginko in Portugal, which became a member of the European Union (EU) in 1986. Let me tell you something about Portugal's history.
The
territory of modern Portugal has been continuously settled, invaded
and fought over since prehistoric
times.
The Iberians, Celts, Phoenicians, Carthaginians and
the Romans were
followed by the invasions of the Visigothic and
the SuebiGermanic
peoples,
who were themselves later invaded by the Moors.
These Muslim peoples were eventually expelled during the
Christian Reconquista.
Portuguese nationality can be traced back to the creation of the
First County
of Portugal,
in 868. In 1139, Afonso
Henriques was
proclaimed King
of Portugal,
thus firmly establishing Portuguese independence, under
the Portuguese
House of Burgundy.
In
the 15th and 16th centuries, under the House
of Aviz,
which took power following the 1383-85
Crisis,
Portugal expanded Western influence
and established the first
global empire,
becoming one of the world's major economic, political and
military powers. During
this time, Portuguese explorers pioneered maritime exploration in the
Age of Discovery, notably under royal patronage of Prince Henry
the Navigator and
King João
II,
with such notable discoveries as Vasco
da Gama's
sea route
to India (1497–98), Pedro
Álvares Cabral's
discovery of Brazil (1500),
and Bartolomeu
Dias's
reaching of the Cape
of Good Hope.
Portugal monopolized the spice
trade during
this time, under royal command of the Casa
da Índia,
and the Portuguese Empire expanded with military campaigns led in
Asia, notably under Afonso
de Albuquerque,
who was known as the "Caesar
of the East".
Flag of Portugal
The
destruction of Lisbon in
a 1755
earthquake,
the country's occupation during the Napoleonic
Wars,
the independence
of Brazil (1822),
and the Liberal
Wars (1828-1834),
all left Portugal crippled from war and diminished in its world
power. After
the 1910
revolution deposed
the monarchy, the democratic but unstable Portuguese
First Republic was
established, later being superseded by the "Estado
Novo" right-wing authoritarian regime.
Democracy was restored after the Portuguese
Colonial War and
the Carnation
Revolution in
1974. Shortly after, independence was granted to all
its colonies,
with the exception of Macau,
which was handed over to China in
1999. This
marked the end of the longest-lived
European colonial empire,
leaving a profound cultural and architectural influence across
the globe and
a legacy of over 250 million Portuguese
speakers today.
Now we know a little bit more about Portugal's history, but history is not a big part of haiku, nature however is. So let us take a look at the nature of Portugal.
Portugal has a long beach-line it is almost surrounded 1005 by water and the West Coast of Portugal is really stunning.
West Coast of Portugal
waves come and go
hidden between mountains -
love on the beach
Wow ... what a beautiful country Portugal is. I know I have said this often this month, but as I look at these images ... than Portugal is like paradise.
In every episode of our Europe ginko I introduced haiku poets from the countries we visited. So in this last episode of this month I will do that too. I have searched the Internet but couldn't find haiku poets from Portugal, but I love to share a few haiku in Portugese, so I had to "take the airplane" to Brasil. In Brasil they speak Portugese. So I have a series of Brazilian haiku for you.
Esta corola de
lírio
Quer continuamente
Me voltar as costas
This lily’s
corolla
wants continuously
to turn its back to me
Sem pedir, o
vento
Derruba as flores do chão . . . Eu nunca ousei.
Without
asking, the wind
Sheds the flowers on the ground . . .
I never dared.
Well ... it has become a nice last episode I think, however it is sad that I couldn't find Portugese haiku poets, but I hope you did like the Brazilian haiku.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 4th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, the first of July ... , later on.
By the way I hadn't time to create the new prompt-list for July, but we are exploring the mysterious, mystical and magical nature.
Share your inspired haiku with us all here at our Haiku Kai.
It's my pleasure to bring a new episode of our Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu feature. Last week we traveled back in time and this week I love to do that again.
This week I love to challenge you with a quote. There was a special feature at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, titled "Use that Quote". As you will understand the goal is to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on a quote.
I love to challenge you with a quote by Lord Byron: " There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where
none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more."
This Tokubetsudesu episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 3rd at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, Portugal, later on. For now ... enjoy the challenge.
Share your haiku inspired on the quote by Lord Byron with us all here at our Haiku Kai.
Welcome at the penultimate "stage" of our Europe Ginko. It was really a joy to create this month and we have seen a lot of Europe, virtually. Today we will visit Poland. Poland, once part of the Warsaw Pact, became a member of the EU in 2004. Let me give you a brief overview of Poland's history.
The
establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966,
when Mieszko
I, ruler
of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland,
converted to Christianity. The Kingdom
of Poland was
founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a
longstanding political association with
the Grand
Duchy of Lithuania by
signing the Union
of Lublin.
This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth,
one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and
17th-century Europe. The
Commonwealth ceased to exist in the years 1772–1795, when
its territory
was partitioned among Prussia,
the Russian
Empire,
and Austria. Poland
regained its independence (as
the Second
Polish Republic)
at the end of World
War I,
in 1918.
flag of Poland
In
September 1939, World
War II started
with the invasions of Poland by Nazi
Germany and
the Soviet
Union (as
part of the Molotov–Ribbentrop
Pact).
More than six million Polish citizens died in the war. In
1944, a Soviet-backed Polish
Committee of National Liberation was
formed and, after a falsified referendum in
1947, it took control of the country and Poland became a satellite
state of
the Soviet
Union,
as People's
Republic of Poland.
During the Revolutions
of 1989 Poland's
Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new
constitution establishing itself as a democracy. Despite the
large number of casualties and
destruction the country experienced
during World War II,
Poland managed to preserve much of its
cultural wealth. (Source: Wikipedia)
I once had a colleague from Poland and she told me that she missed her country, of course. As I asked her why she missed her country, she told me that she not only missed her family, but also the beautiful nature of Poland. As a haiku poet that triggered my attention and I think she is right ...
Tatra Mountains Poland
Look at these gorgeous mountains ... awesome don't you think so too?
reflections mountains with their top down clear blue water
It's not all mountains and hills of course in Poland, but as I was doing research for this episode I ran into a wonderful image of a Polish winery on a hill-side. I didn't know that Poland had a winery culture, but the wineries are really beautiful.
Polish winery
in front of the fireplace dreaming of wonderful Poland with the one I love
I really didn't know about Polish wine. I thought the Polish were of Vodka and Beer, but in the last few decades the Polish have discovered wine and the producing of it.
Next to the wine ... will there be haiku poets in Poland?
Poland has its own International Haiku contest, so there will be haiku poets living there I think. I found a few examples of haiku by Polish haiku poets:
All haiku examples from Poland retrieved from HERE:
Poland ... a fantastic country ... worth visiting once ....
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, a new Tokubetsudesu, later on. For now ... have fun!
!!! I couldn't retrieve a possibility to come in contact with the above haiku poets, but as always I have credited them all !!!
Share your inspired haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form with us all here at our Haiku Kai.
This is the last CD-Special of this month. This month all the CD-specials were by Joyce Lorenson, she was the winner of the "New Life" kukai. Joyce is a very gifted haiku poetess and maybe you have already read her exclusive CDHK E-book "A Glint of Mica" which you can download at the right side of our Kai.
cover of "A Glint of Mica" by Joyce Lorenson
I think this E-book has become a beauty. In "A Glint of Mica" you will find haiku and haiga by Joyce. For this last CD-Special I have chosen the "title"-haiku of her E-book "A Glint of Mica" to share with you here.
a glint of
mica
the swaggering strut
of a raucous magpie
As you all know the goal of the CD-Specials is to create a new haiku in the same tone, sense and spirit as the one given. So here is my attempt to try to write a haiku in the spirit of the haiku by Joyce:
screaming peacock walking around the farm like a watchdog
I hope you did like this CD-Special and that I have inspired you together with Joyce.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode, Poland, later on. For now ... have fun!
Share your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form, inspired on the haiku by Joyce with us all here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to write and share haiku.
It's my pleasure to start with our Third Renga Party "Summer Moonlight". This Renga Party has 10 participants and the "hokku" is written by Dolores Fegan.
This Renga Party we are creating a traditional "summer" kasen-renga of 36 links. You have to try to respond within 24 hours by writing your link (stanza) in the comment field. As you have written your comment please ask in your comment your successor to write his / her link by "saying": Your turn (name of successor).
Between [ ] you find how much lines you have to write and which "theme" you have to use.
Some of you have to write two links on a row, because of a "turn" in the kasen-renga. The following participants have to write two links on a row: Candy, Kim M. Russell and Nimi Arora.
I hope that this Renga Party will be a success. Have fun!
Summer Moonlight
SUMMER MOONLIGHT
A Traditional Summer
Kasen Renga
Started - Finished:
June 27th
Written by / between: Dolores Fegan (DF); Joyce
Lorenson (JL); Rallentanda (Ra); Kyle TM (KTM); Christy Draper (CD); Candy
(Ca); Kim M. Russell (KMR); Nimi Arora (NA); Humbird (Hu) and Chèvrefeuille
(Ch)
[SU = summer; A = autumn; W = winter; SP =
spring; Misc. = non-seasonal references -- usually about people or feelings or
places; Love = well you can decide... Moons are always autumn unless you name
it a summer or winter or spring moon]
Here is the line-up for this Renga Party:
HOKKU:
1. summer
moonlight
steals my sleep again
I stroll down the lane (DF)
2.[2] [SU]
Joyce Lorenson 3.[3]
[Misc.] Rallentanda 4.[2]
[Misc.] Kyle TM 5.[3] [MOON
/ A] Christy Draper 6.[2] [A]
[also write link #7] Candy 7.[3][A]
Candy 8.[2]
[Misc. / Love] Kim M. Russell 9.[3][Misc.
/ Love] Nimi Arora 10.[2][Misc.
/ Love] Humbird 11.[3]
[Misc.] Chèvrefeuille 12.[2]
[Misc.] Dolores Fegan 13.[3]
[MOON / W] Joyce Lorenson 14.[2] [W]
Rallentanda 15.[3]
[Misc.] Kyle TM 16.[2]
[Misc.] Christy Draper 17.[3]
[FLOWER / SP] Candy 18.[2] [SP]
[also write link #19] Kim M. Russell 19.[3] [SP] Kim
M. Russell 20.[2] [Misc.] Nimi
Arora 21.[3] [Misc.]
Humbird 22.[2] [Misc.]
Chèvrefeuille 23.[3] [SU]
Dolores Fegan 24.[2] [SU] Joyce
Lorenson 25.[3] [Misc. /
Love] Rallentanda 26.[2] [Misc./
Love] Kyle TM 27.[3] [Misc./
Love] Christy Draper 28.[2]
[Misc.] Candy 29.[3]
[MOON / A] Kim. M. Russell 30.[2] [A]
[also write link #31] Nimi Arora 31.[3] [A] Nimi
Arora 32.[2] [Misc.]
Humbird 33.[3] [Misc.] Chèvrefeuille 34.[2] [Misc. /
SP] Dolores Fegan 35.[3]
[FLOWER / SP] Joyce Lorenson 36.[2] [SP]
Rallentanda (ageku or closing verse to connect the end with the start, like a
chain)
I am looking forward to your creative links .... have fun!
It's a wonderful month, travelling through the European Union is awesome and today we will visit one of the European countries which I visited myself once long time ago. Today we will visit Austria. Austria became a member of the European Union (EU) in 1995. Let me tell you a little bit about the history of Austria.
The origins
of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the
vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. From the time
of the Reformation, many Northern German princes, resenting the authority of
the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. The Thirty Years War,
the influence of the Kingdom of Sweden and Kingdom of France, the rise of the
Kingdom of Prussia, and the Napoleonic invasions all weakened the power of the
Emperor in the North of Germany, but in the South, and in non-German areas of
the Empire, the Emperor and Catholicism maintained control. During the 17th and
18th centuries, Austria was able to retain its position as one of the great
powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon as the Emperor
of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. Following
Napoleon's defeat, Prussia emerged as Austria's chief competitor for rule of a
larger Germany. Austria's defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during
the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control
over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into
Austria-Hungary. After the defeat of France in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War,
Austria was left out of the formation of a new German Empire, although in the
following decades its politics, and its foreign policy, increasingly converged
with those of the Prussian-led Empire. During the 1914 July Crisis that
followed the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, Germany
guided Austria in issuing the ultimatum to Serbia that led to the declaration
of World War I.
Flag of Austria
After the
collapse of the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire in 1918 at the end of World
War I, Austria adopted and used the name the Republic of German-Austria
(Deutschösterreich, later Österreich) in an attempt for union with Germany, but
was forbidden due to the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919). The First
Austrian Republic was established in 1919. In the 1938 Anschluss, Austria was
occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. This lasted until the end of World War II
in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies and Austria's former
democratic constitution was restored. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty
re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same
year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which
declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral.
I remember that I visited Austria as a young guy of 18 years, it was an educational tour to learn German. I was housed in the home of an Austrian family, the best way to learn German. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Austrian nature. I had never seen mountains in reality, I only knew mountains from pictures. It was amazing ...
As a haiku poet nature is one of the main themes, so it must be easy to create haiku about the Austrian nature ... the clean mountain air, the mountains, the mountain flora and fauna ... awesome. Let us take a look at the beauty of the Alps.
The Alps
clear blue sky embraces the mountains cry of an eagle
Austrian National Park (Hohe Tauern National Park)
In the
heart of the Austrian Alps, Hohe Tauern National Park provides endangered
animal and plant species with a protected habitat. 1800 km² in area, Hohe
Tauern National Park is actually the second largest in Europe. Here you can
experience Mother Nature at her most beautiful: Austria’s highest peaks and
biggest glaciers, meadows strewn with colorful alpine flowers, imposing crags
and refreshing waterfalls. A centuries-old natural and cultural landscape,
formed by the Ice Ages and the forces of the seasons, is just waiting to be
discovered.
Mother Nature dances in her Paradise the sound of water
As I was doing my research for this episode I ran into a wonderful, spiritual and mysterious almost mystical photo of the Alps. I just had to use it in this post today ... look for yourself.
And I found a few haiku by Dietmar Tauchner, a modern Austrian haiku poet, who has won several prizes and is also a member of the American Haiku Society. To read more haiku by Dietmar Tauchner please visit his website Bregengemme. (The German translations are my own)
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 1st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, the last CD-Special by Joyce Lorenson, later on.
Share you inspired haiku or tanka with us all here at our Haiku Kai. Have fun!
As I downloaded our new CDHK e-book "chained together" I discovered a few lay-out problems so I have erased the possibility to download this new e-book. I have to redo it. My excuses for the inconvenience.
