Carpe Diem #1691 Troiku Month (20) The Snow Of Yesterday

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Troiku Month here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Today I love to bring in a little bit of the zen buddhistic background of haiku. Not by giving you a lot of information, but just by a small piece of text I ran into today.

A tradition among Zen monks was to write a last haiku when they were about to pass out of this life to the next. This haiku by Gozan was written by him at the age of 71 in 1789.

the snow of yesterday
that fell like cherry blossoms
is water once again

© Gozan (1789)

It shows the circle of life a popular belief in Zen Buddhism. It also has the metaphorical meaning of transience as well with the cherry blossoms lasting a week, and snow melting almost immediately upon touching the ground.

Cherry Blossom With Mt. Fuji in the background

This kind of "death haiku" or "jisei" was and is still used by a lot of haiku poets around the world. For example ... Jane Reichhold wrote her last haiku short before she died, so even in modern times the jisei is used. Here is Jane's jisei:

with the moon

night too disappears

into the ocean

© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

It's a nice tradition and I hope it will be that forever ... I hope that when I have left this world one of my haiku, my jisei, will be there forever on my tombstone or plate on my urn. Ofcourse I don't have written it yet, because I was planning to become at least 100 yrs (smiles).

Well ... I have given you two haiku. First I would ask you to only use the haiku by Gozan, but feel free to create a Troiku with both haiku. It's your choice ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 4th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1690 Troiku Month (19) butterfly

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful Troiku Month. This month it's amazing to see and read all your responses on our daily task to create Troiku. Every day I give you a haiku to work with, but not today. Today I will give you the "free hand" or in other words: I only give you a theme, Butterfly, to work with. Create a haiku themed Butterfly and create a Troiku with that haiku. So a kind of free-styling.

Butterfly (photo-credit: Charlie Neibergall)

I hope you all will appreciate this episode of "free-styling".

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 3rd at noon (CEST). I hope to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1689 Troiku Month (18) Ancient Cypress

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our Troiku Month. Today I have a wonderful haiku for you to work with by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016). I think you all know her and you will know that she once was a co-host  here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. She is still missed, but ... I believe her Spirit is dwelling here at CDHK. Please try to create your Troiku in honor and in loving memory of her.

Here is her haiku to work with:

ancient cypress
leaning over the light
at sunrise

© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) (Extracted from her never published gathering of haiku titled "Ocean Sanctuary")

Ancient Cypress

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 2nd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1688 Troiku Month (17) Breathing Silence

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Troiku Month. Sorry for being late, but I had a busy evening at work, so my excuses for that.

I will give you only the haiku to work with and I hope you are all inspired to create a Troiku with it. Here is the haiku to work with:

alone on the beach
only the cries of seaguls -
breathing silence

© Chèvrefeuille

It's one of my submissions for the silence retreat back in 2016.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 1st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1687 Troiku Month (16) Heat Waves

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Troiku Month. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend full of inspiration and that your muses have helped you to create your weekend meditation. Today here in The Netherlands we have had the first day of a heat wave. Tropical temperatures are normal here nowadays. Today it was at least 30 degrees Celsius and some parts of my country almost 35 degrees Celsius. This week that kind of temperatures will be here every day with a top on next Wednesday were they even expect 40 degrees Celsius. Not my kind of heat by the way, but well ... the weather does what it wants.

For today's Troiku I have chosen a nice haiku by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) themed "heat waves". I thought that it fits the weather here in the Lowlands.

heat waves
bringing to the desert
an ocean view

© Jane Reichhold (extracted from "A Dictionary of Haiku", the online version)

Heat Waves

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 30th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1686 Troiku Month (15) Nightingale

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our beautiful Troiku month. This month is running towards its end, but we have still 10 days to go. Tomorrow Summer will start and I hope it will be a wonderful Summer, but I hope it will not be as hot as last year. The Netherlands suffered than from a very hot summer with tropical temperatures. Well we will see.

Today I have a nice haiku by Chiyo-Ni, one of the most famous classical haiku poetesses we know. She is renown by that wonderful haiku about the Morning Glory, but that's not the haiku I have chosen.

The haiku I have chosen to challenge you with is a beauty too and she wrote it in honor of Matsuo Basho, who she saw as her teacher, her master. She wrote this on a haiga with a portrait of Basho and it is a real beauty, but maybe it will not be easy to create a Troiku with.

to listen,
fine not to listen, fine too...
nightingale

© Chiyo-Ni (1703-1775)

Nightingale

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until June 27th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1685 Troiku Month (14) pink sakura blush

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Troiku Month. This time I have chosen a haiku by one of our long time members, Kim Russell. She is a great haiku poetess and has shared a lot of beautiful pieces. The one I have chosen is in my opinion a masterpiece ... She created it back in 2017 and it was themed "cherry blossom". It was a submission for one of our kukai.

I think she will be honored that I use her haiku for today's Troiku challenge. As you all know I love haiku about cherry blossom I have written a lot in honor of their beauty. In our Carpe Diem Library you can find an anthology of my cherry blossom haiku titled "Fragile Beauty".

Here is the haiku by Kim to work with:

pink sakura blush 
spring’s kimono falls to earth
silk snatched by a breeze

© Kim R. Russell (2017)

Cherry Blossom

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 26th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1684 Troiku Month (13) Fireflies

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Troiku Month. I have had (again) a very busy day, so I will only give you the haiku to work with. This time I have chosen a haiku by Jim Kacian, one of the best modern haiku poets in my opinion.

steamy night
fireflies
out in the rain

© Jim Kacian

Fireflies

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 25th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1683 Troiku Month (12) White Valley Clouds

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

My apologies for being somewhat later as usualy, but I am at work and hadn't time to create our new episode earlier. So, because I am at work, I will only give you the haiku to work with and create your Troiku with it.

after the rain
breathing deeply
white valley clouds

© Jane Reichhold (Taken from: "A Dictionary of Haiku")

White Valley Clouds

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 24th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1682 Troiku month (11) The Wind Of Fuji

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and that the weekend inspired you and gave you the time to relax. I had a very busy weekend at work, but I survived it (just joking). A new week is in front of you and as you all know we are creating Troiku this month.

For this first regular episode of this new week I have chosen a haiku by my master, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) and maybe you know it, because I think we have had this haiku earlier here at CDHK.

Here is the haiku to work with:

the wind of Fuji
I've brought on my fan
a gift from Edo

© Basho

Fuji no Yama and Sakura

A very nicely crafted haiku by Basho and I think it gives you the opportunity to create a wonderful Troiku with it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 23rd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1681 Troiku Month (10) moonlit night

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all enjoy this month full of that beautiful new creative way of haiku-ing ... Troiku. To me it's an honor to make this month, because I invented that new creative way of haiku-ing. It makes me proud to see and read all of your wonderful Troiku. Tahnk you all for that.

Today I have chosen a haiku by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902). Shiki was the poet who gave haiku its name and he brought haiku into the 20th century. He wrote wonderful haiku in which he often used the modern industrial inventions of his lifetime e.g. steam engines. In the haiku I have chosen you can find that too.

This is the haiku to work with:

the wild geese take flight
low along the railroad tracks
in the moonlit night

© Masaoka Shiki

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 20th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1680 Troiku Month (9) Pink Flowers Bloom

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful Troiku Month. Today I love to challenge you a little bit more, so say ... a kind of Hineri (with a twist) episode. I challenge you to create a new haiku (or take one from your archive(s)) and create a Troiku with it. So today I don't give you a haiku to work with.

Ofcourse I have picked up that challenge myself and this is what I came up with:

pink flowers bloom
between green dewy leaves
a double peony

pink flowers
as far as man can see -
purple sea

between green dewy leaves
hides a little green frog
for the blue heron

a double peony
in full bloom in my garden -
a dawning sun

© Chèvrefeuille

Peony

A nice haiku (and troiku) I think (how immodest) and I loved creating it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 19th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1679 Troiku Month (8) spiderweb

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at our new (belated) episode. My apologies for being this late with publishing, but I had a very busy evening shift, so I hadn't time to create this new episode. Today I have a modern haiku for you created by Calvin Olson in 2016. It's a nice haiku to work with I think.

As you all know this month it is Troiku month and the goal is to create a Troiku (more about Troiku you can find in the menu) with a given haiku. Today I love to challenge you with the following haiku:

Spiderweb anchored
To a tree, a bush, the ground
Centered spiral shines

© Calvin Olson (2016)

(* Calvin's weblog is worth a visit, he has written wonderful haiku)

Spiderweb

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 18th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1678 Troiku Month (7) Unlocked Fence

Dear Haijin, visitors and travekers,

Years ago I particiated in a haiku challenge that run for a month. Every day there was a new theme and one of those days the source for inspiration was a photo by Siva's Artwork. I will give you that photo later on but first I will give you the haiku to work with.

The haiku to share was part of a haiku suite of three haiku inspired on the above mentioned photo. The first haiku of that haiku suite I will give you to work with. The other two I will give you also, but the following haiku is the haiku to use:

unlocked fence
walking towards the countryside
finally free

© Chèvrefeuille

Here is the above mentioned photo:

Unlocked Fence

Before I give you the other two haiku which are part of the above mentioned haiku suite, I love to share my thoughts that brought me to that haiku suite.

[...] "What does this image tell me? What do I see? I see a fence, it's open. Is it a fence that closed a concentration camp or ... something else. Could this open fence stand for freedom of thought, freedom to live your own life. It looks like an opening to reach out to freedom. On the fence I see a Star of David, the Jewish symbol. In the distance I see a farm ... it looks like this was a concentration camp, the most of them were situated on the countryside. Further I see fallen leaves, brown colored so the season must be Autumn or early Winter. The sky is grey, it's a sad mood this image brings up to me, but also a happy mood, because the fence is open and freedom beckons." [...]

And as promised, here are the other two haiku of the haiku suite:

brown leaves
rustle through the corridor
David's Star rises

closing the garden

no one to disturb my thoughts -

Virginia Creeper

© Chèvrefeuille

Virginia Creeper

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 17th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1677 Troiku Month (6) Chasing A Fly

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new "regular" episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai where we are challenged to create Troiku this month. I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend, I had a very relaxed weekend and could (finally) find some time for myself. It has been a good decision several months ago to create our weekend meditations to have some time for myself. Thank you all for respecting that choice.

This week I love to start with a recently written haiku by myself. It has a small story ... last week we were "terrorized" by a fly, two days long he "terrorized" our home and on the 2nd day I decided to catch him in a kind of Zen way. Silently sitting and only follow it with my eyes. At first I thought that wouldn't work, but after a few hours the fly came to sit on my knee. It felt safe I think, but I caught it in my hands and let it go free outside in the garden.

Chasing A Fly

After that situation I wrote the following haiku/senryu:

chasing a fly
in silent meditation mode
eyes fixed

© Chèvrefeuille

A wonderful haiku/senryu to work with I think. Well ... have fun!

By the way did you know that the fly has a deeper meaning? I didn't know that, so I think a lot of you will not know that too. So let me give you the deeper meaning of the fly.

Much like the butterfly, fly symbolism it letting you know that quick and abrupt changes in your thoughts, emotions, and endeavors are afoot. Moreover, these rapid changes in all aspects of your life, are happening now. Therefore, you should be prepared to move quickly even in unfavorable and uncomfortable conditions. Similar to the rabbit, fly meaning can also signify that an exponentially growing source of abundance is available for you right now. Thus you must use your keen eyesight to see the way. In other words, never give up.

Alternatively, the fly symbolism could be reminding you that your persistence in reaching your goals will bear fruit sooner than later. Moreover, this will happen even if it means that you have to annoy others or be selfish for a while. In other words, you do have the ability to accomplish your goals.
(source: fly symbolism)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 16th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired and have fun!

Carpe Diem #1676 Troiku Month (5) the aroma of pine

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful Troiku month. I am so glad to see participants return to CDHK in this Troiku month ... it makes me proud and humble.

Today I have chosen a haiku by one of our haijin from the start of CDHK. I know that he is a great author and a great haiku poet and with this choice I hope to give him a feeling of joy. I have chosen a haiku by Hamish Managua Gunn, also know as pirate. In our CDHK library you can find an exclusive CDHK E-book created by him. The haiku I will use is taken from that E-Book.

the aroma of pine
and the young morning's fresh rain
reach my words

© Hamish "Managua" Gunn (Taken from "Shinrin Yoku, the art of forest bathing")

A wonderful haiku ... thank you my friend, thank you Hamish that you are a longtime participant here at CDHK.

the aroma of pine

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 13th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on.

Carpe Diem #1675 Troiku Month (4) spring snow

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This is our new episode of this Troiku Month. This month we are creating Troiku, that new creative way of haiku-ing, that I invented. Today I have chosen a haiku by a modern haiku poet. I never had heard from him, but he has written wonderful haiku, but also haiku inspired on war. Let me give you first the haiku and than a small explanation.

spring snow
purifies earth and heaven –
our enemies perish

© Mizuhara Shûôshi

In this Great Asia War, the attitudes of the enemy countries, in short, America, Britain, and other countries, are tremendously evil. In order to destroy such evil, our nation has arisen. From the very beginning of the war, our Imperial Army has severely damaged our enemies and incapacitated them. Yet you, the Japanese home-front citizens, should continue to unite your hearts with our Imperial Army to exterminate the evil.

Shuoshi wrote during the Great Asia  War as Japan conquered Singapore.

Spring Snow

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 12th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1674 Troiku Month (3) chestnuts by the eaves

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome ... a new episode in our Troiku month and I will keep it short, because of lack of time. Today I will give you only the haiku from which you have to create your Troiku.

For today I have chosen a haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), whom I see as my sensei. It's one of the 50 haiku he used in his wonderful haibun "The Small Road Into The Deep North" (Oku-no-Hosomichi).

Here is the haiku to work with:

people in the world
hardly notice these blossoms
chestnuts by the eaves

© Basho (Tr. Tim Chilcott

Chestnut Tree in full bloom

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 11th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1673 Troiku Month (2) my native town

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the 2nd episode of this new CDHK month in which we experimenting with Troiku, that gorgeous creative way of haiku-ing I invented several years ago. Today I have a nice haiku by a haiku poet we all know, because we have had haiku written by him very often here at CDHK.

Today I have a haiku for you to create your Troiku with written by Santoka Taneda:

my native town
far, far away--
burgeoning trees.

© Santoka Taneda

A nice haiku to work with and as you all know Santoka Taneda was a haiku poet who didn't used the classical rules of haiku, he was a free-styler and that's what we all are as we are composing Troiku.

So have fun ... free-styling ... go for it!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 10th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1672 Troiku Month (1) unexpected guests

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new month of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month I will challenge you to create Troiku, maybe a Hineri Troiku, but that's not sure today. As you maybe know ... I invented the Troiku back in 2012. It's a new creative way of haiku-ing, based on creativity and free-styling.
Troiku starts with a (given) haiku and than the goal is to create three new haiku with the separated lines of the (given) haiku. The first line you have to use as the first line of the first new haiku, the second line is the first line of the second new haiku and the third line of the given haiku is the first line of the third new haiku you have to create. Sounds difficult? Maybe ... above in the menu you can find an item about Troiku.

I will give you an example of a Troiku taken from our exclusive CDHK E-book "Flamingo-Clouds":

all day sunrise
what a joy to live in
my orange house

all day sunrise
Mother Nature is confused
the longest day

what a joy to live in
a world full of fantasy
patches of clouds

my orange house
save harbor for my children
‘till when will it last?

© Chèvrefeuille

I think this Troiku explains what the goal is this month. I will give you a haiku to work with and create your Troiku with. This month will be fun I think and I hope that you all will participate in this new challenging month of our wonderful Haiku Kai.

Field Flowers

For this first episode I have a beautiful haiku created by Jane Reichhold:

gathering flowers
unexpected guests
come to dinner

© Jane Reichhold (taken from "A Dictionary of Haiku")

A nice haiku to create a Troiku with I think ... looking forward to your responses.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 9th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.