Tokubetsudesu #50 one-bun

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to present a new episode of Tokubetsudesu (former Ghost Writer feature) to you and as you can see in our logo ... it's the 50th episode ... a little celebration worth. Without you all I couldn't do this ... so thank you all for being part of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

Maybe you can remember our special CDHK feature "Little Ones" in which I presented other little poetry form as for example tanka and cinquain, but there was never a kind of "little" haibun-like form until Hamish introduced kikobun to us in one of our Ghost Writer posts.

This week's Tokubetsudesu episode is inspired on an article I read in this year's summer edition of "Vuursteen" (Fire stone) the seasonly magazine of the Dutch Haiku Circle (Haiku Kring Nederland). In this summer edition, one of the editors, discusses the one-bun invented by Jim Kacian. The one-bun is an ultra-short haibun which has just one line of prose (including the title) and a (one-line) haiku. I will give an example of this one-bun written by Jim himself.

Credits: Universal Light

The light

of the most distant stars, which describes for us the size and age of the universe, won't reach us for aeons, leaving us to imagine ...

dark space the red shift of my mind

(c) Jim Kacian

A wonderful one-bun, but it leaves us with more questions and riddles. For example: What does Jim mean with "the red shift of my mind"?
I am not that familiar with physics, but I know the idea of "red shift"; it means that the red color of the stars shows us that the universe is expanding and that the light of the stars takes more time to reach our beautiful planet, but what does Jim mean with his words "the red shift of my mind"? Can our mind shift from us? Or our soul, our spirit? Or our mood or our attention? Can our thoughts depart from us? Or our memories, our feelings? I don't know .... I will give it a thought, maybe I will come up with an explanation ... or will I let go this idea and leave you with the mystery?

Isn't it a beautiful new "haibun-form"? I had to try it myself and here is my first ever one-bun:

Honeysuckle

shares its sweet perfume as this summer day runs to an end, while I enjoy the coolness and the warmth of her naked body next to mine ...

hot summer day the sweet scent of Honeysuckle and the one I love

(c) Chèvrefeuille

I found another example of a one-bun written by Jim Kacian which I love to share here too, to conclude this Tokubetsudesu episode.

The second week

traveling by myself I cross the continental divide, and everything that once ran in one way now runs in another, down and down

on the surface of dark water my face

(c) Jim Kacian

Well .... I hope you did like this 50th Tokubetsudesu episode and maybe you are caught by the one-bun as invented by Jim Kacian.

This Tokubetsudesu episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 3rd at noon (CET). Have fun ... be inspired and share your one-bun with us all here at our Haiku Kai.

Carpe Diem #175, Abraham (becoming 50)

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

Well ... today (April 20th) is the day on which I become 50 yrs. Halfway my life it's time to look back and to look forward, but looking forward isn't easy, maybe in our next month, May, when we have all prompts with the playcard deck of the Tarot, which can be used for divination.
But ... looking back is always possible, however I am more of NOW, now is the time to live, don't look back to your history, look at the now. Now is the day you live, but ... almost 50 yrs ago I was born in a town called Kampen (The Netherlands), an old trading city. I was born in what we call 'een volksbuurt', I think in English they call it 'a low quarter neighborhood'. My dad was a kind of farmer, he worked for the governments farm, and my mom worked at the post-office. When I was born, my older brother was already four and was for sure my big brother who watched over as a Lioness over her cubs. Our neighborhood was a nice place to live and our neighbors were wonderful people. When I was five we moved to Lelystad, a complete new city in the polder in the middle of our country. There I grew up and nowadays I am still living in that same city.
As I became older my quest to find myself, my own personality, started with leaving church. I couldn't live with the politics in the sermon and I became an Evangelical. After a few years in an Evangelical congrecation I decided to leave the church again. It was in that time that I became interested in Eastern philosophy and I learned about haiku.
As I already have told, this year I have my 25 yrs anniversary as a haiku poet. Haiku is my passion, is my love. A few years earlier I had become a nurse and since 2011 I am an Oncology nurse. I do my work with passion and out of unconditional love ... my work is my life and I enjoy it very much.
Somewhere in 2006 I wrote my first English haiku, as I have shared here earlier in one of our Specials and in 2010 one of my haiku, which I contributed to a haiku contest, won a honorable mention ... that was my major breakthrough in the International haiku world. In late 2011 10 of my haiku were selected for an International Anthology 'Spasms of Light' published by Wonder Haiku Worlds, an International Platform for haiku poets.
And now ... 50 years after I was born in that little old trading village, I have several internationally known weblogs about haiku, Carpe Diem is one of them. I will ... have a sneak preview to the future here. I hope that Carpe Diem will grow further and I hope that I can prepare these episodes for a long time.

Carpe Diem
community of haiku poets -
what a joy!

Credits: Abraham (and his son Isaac)

Why is this episode called 'Abraham'? Well ... in my country we have a saying 'Abraham zien', which means 'you saw Abraham'. It's a cultural saying for becoming 50 (women that turn 50 have a same sort of saying, but than it's 'you saw Sarah'.) It seems that this saying is based on a verse in the Gospel of John and it means 'you have gathered wisdom and respect'. I think that's true. I hope to become 100, but that's not up to me. Only God knows that.

I am fifty now
gathered wisdom and respect -
like Mother Earth

like Mother Earth
full of life and full of dead
halfway eternity

halfway eternity
going on with my life
I am fifty now


I hope that you liked this post and I hope that I have told you all a bit more about myself. This prompt will stay on 'til April 21th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our new episode of Carpe Diem, Bluebonnet (provided by Jennifer of A Full Cup of Tea ) later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Carpe Diem #50, Circle of Life

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We have a little party today. It's our 50th prompt (counted without the Specials) and this prompt is a feast 'Circle of Life'.
It's the title of a song by Elton John for Disney's 'Lion King'. The 'Lion King' is a wonderful musical and movie. I have sought on You Tube for a nice video on this prompt.

Isn't it a wonderful song? It is for sure very inspiring ... so I hope to see and read wonderful haiku. I am grateful that I may host this daily haiku meme Carpe Diem. It's really a joy to write haiku and share them with you. Thank you all for your continuing participation and sharing ... it makes me humble and also proud.

circle of life
Mother Nature's purpose
for all her inhabitants

circle of life
blooming flowers, decaying,
will bloom again

Credits: decaying flowers

This prompt will stay on 'till November 22th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our new prompt 'beach' later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Have fun! Thank you for being a participant in Carpe Diem for already 50 prompts.