Carpe Diem Celebrates Its 8th Anniversary October 2020: Carpe Diem 1830 Storm

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the 2nd post of our celebration month. Today I have chosen a theme that fits the season.

It's Autumn and that's the season in which (at least in my country) storms often beat Mother Earth. Trees uprooted, leaves coloring and fall, dancing through the streets and rains and thunderstorms scourge nature. Autumn ... the season known for it's wonderful moon and detachment.

Write a haiku (classical or non-classical) in which the spirit of the prompt/theme is, or use the prompt self, it's all up to you.

Here is a picture to inspire you, this picture is titled: "The Essence of the Way is Detachment"

Here is mine:

detachment
a storm rages through my heart
cleanses my mind

© Chèvrefeuille

It's a bit different than the most of you will think about, but this is my feeling ... that fits the theme and the inspiration the picture gave me.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 7th at 10:00 PM (CEST). You can add your submissions through clicking on our logo hereafter.

Carpe Diem #1800 New Beginnings ... first leaf falling

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope all have had a wonderful weekend and that you all are capable to do a new week here at CDHK. This month is themed "New Beginnings" and today I have chosen a nice prompt for you to work with.

Today I love to challenge you to create Japanese poetry themed "first leaf falling", autumn is in my opinion one of the most beautiful seasons and it's, according to classical sources of Japan, the best season to see the moon and praise her beauty. Autumn ... gives me always the feeling of departure and letting go ... Leaves are coloring and finally fall ...

light of the full moon
silverly beautiful ... so fragile
leaves are falling

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 26th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #103 The Quest For A New Masterpiece Continues ... Start Of Autumn

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday September 22nd at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new weekend meditation, that special feature that gives you more time to contemplate and meditate before you post your responses. This weekend I love to challenge you to create a new masterpiece, so The Quest For A New Masterpiece Continues.

Maybe you know what I mean with this challenge. Go and find that gem, that beautiful diamond ... your masterpiece, your evergreen like Basho's "Old Pond". Go ... and create your masterpiece themed "start of autumn" and share it with us all here at our wonderful Haiku Kai ... where we are almost creating haiku together for seven years.

Start Of Autumn

nights become longer
while Mother Nature starts to color
loneliness grows

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday, September 22nd, at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until September 29th at noon (CEST). Have a great weekend!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #101 Photoshopping Haiku "Criket Silence"

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday September 8th at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at our new (belated) weekend meditation. This weekend I love to challenge you to "photoshop" haiku. Let me give you all the "short" explanation of "photo-shopping haiku":

Photo-shopping sounds awfull but, I think it's possible to "photo-shop" haiku and tanka too. Just a little change can make the difference between a good haiku (or tanka) and an excellent haiku (or tanka).

I love to make photos, but I am not a photographer that likes color. I am more of the black and white and sepia photos, because in my opinion the photos are more beautiful ... more vintage.
Maybe it's because of my age (56 yrs) or of my melancholic mind I don't know, but I do know that we can re-make "photo-shop" a haiku (or tanka) into a vintage one just by retouching of a small part. So this new feature, that I first titled "vintage haiku", I have "re-titled" into "photo-shopping haiku".

Let me give you an example:

autumn has come
visiting my ear on
a pillow of wind

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

As I start "photo-shopping" this haiku by my master, Matsuo Basho, than I think 'I can bring more softness, tranquility, into it by changing a small part of this haiku into:

whispering into my ear
on a pillow of wind

In this example I only let the first line un-touched:

autumn has come
whispering into my ear
on a pillow of wind

© Chèvrefeuille

I think this "small" re-touch makes this haiku more soft, lovely and tranquil.

I think, no I know that you all understand the goal of this "photo-shopping haiku", try to create a "better" version of a given haiku. Maybe you only change a few words or maybe you think this haiku becomes "better" as "re-make" it into a tanka. You are free in the choices you make.

Autumn Silence

This weekend I love to challenge you to "photo-shop" an autumn haiku created by Jane Reichhold and taken from her online version of "A Dictionary of Haiku".

cricket silence
between scraping sounds
autumn begins

© Jane Reichhold (Source: A Dictionary of Haiku; Section Autumn, subsection Celestial)

A wonderful haiku by our beloved Jane, she is still missed. "Photo-shop" her haiku to honor her.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday September 8th at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until September 15th at noon (CEST). Have a great weekend full of inspiration.

Carpe Diem #1556 fleeting autumn (yuku aki) ..

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last episode of CDHK November 2018 in which we celebrated the beauty of autumn. We have had wonderful prompts this month and I hope you all did like this special theme-month "the leaves are falling". It was a joy to create this month for you and I am looking forward to our upcoming month, December.
In December we will go on a journey straight through the Americas. We will "ride" the Pan American Highway from Canada to Argentina and I hope this journey will be an awesome one. Are you going with me?
Next month I will use another linking widget. That linking widget is of "Mr. Linky" and is used very often on other websites and on other parts of our CDHK Family community. The "Mr.Linky" widget has no time period, so I hope you all will respond as usually within a week. I will try the "Mr. Linky" widget a month and than we will evaluate it.

Fleeting Autumn (yuku aki)

To end this celebration of autumn with I have a nice classical kigo, fleeting autumn (yuku aki), for you to work with.

Let me give you a little background on this classical kigo:

In autumn, the feeling of sadness and loss is expecially explicit in most of the kigo related to its parting. The coming winter season was a hard one to live through in the times without electricity and central heating of the Edo period.

So many haiku about "fleeting autumn" were written in a sad tone, but there were also haiku that were positive, because after the dark period of the year nature will come alive again ...

fallen leaves
come flying from elsewhere:
autumn is ending

© Shiki

the stream hides itself
in the grasses
of departing autumn

© Shirao

And a last one in which the sad feeling is almost senseable:

the pampas grass
waves good-bye, good-bye,
to departing autumn

© Issa

I love to end this episode with a few poems by myself, first a Troiku:

walking on the heath
in the light of the full moon
the scent of autumn

walking on the heath
feeling one with a Shepherd
in contact with God 

in the light of the full moon
laying down in the meadow
the River of Heaven 

the scent of autumn
feelings of departure and loneliness
tears in the puddle

© Chèvrefeuille

And a tanka:

autumn departs
in deep silence willow leaves fall -
tears on this grave
as the willow is green again
another year has gone

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you did like this final episode of November.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 6th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our first weekend meditation of December later on.

Carpe Diem #1555 Renga With Basho ... still it sways

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai were we are celebrating autumn as you can read in the theme "the leaves are falling". Today I have chosen to challenge you with a new "Renga With Basho ...". As you all know I see him as my sensei and I am honored that I may give you the opportunity to create renga with my sensei. You can choose your own "line-up" and of course your own "hokku" (starting verse). You have to add your two-lined stanza of approximately 14 syllables. Please try to "close the chain" by creating an "ageku" (closing verse) that associates with the "hokku".

Lactarius Hatsudake (Photo © Ruben Walleyn)

Here are the six haiku to use:

mushrooms *
not yet that many days
of autumn dew

pine mushroom
with its ragged top it's
like a pine tree

moon past full
the beginning of a little more
darkness

morning glories
in the daytime a lock lowered
on the gate **

chrysanthemum flowers
bloom at the stonemason's
between stones

Glistening Dew (image found on Pinterest)

glistening dew
not spilling from bush clover
still it sways

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold, taken from "Basho, The Complete Haiku")

* The mushroom here is the Lactarius Hatsudake it bleeds a reddish liquid that changes into green when broken. In spite of this spooky attribute, the mushroom is edible. One does not know from the poem whether the autumn dew that Basho mentions is actual dew or this fluid.

** Remarks on Closing The Gate: "... if anyone comes, I have to make unnecessary talk. If I go out to visit anyone, I feel bad for disturbing him. I should be content without any friends. I should feel wealthy in spite of my poverty. A fifty-year-old man writes this for himself as precept for his edification".

Six wonderful haiku I think. Full of intensity and beauty. A real joy to work with I think and I am looking forward to all your beautiful responses. By the way ... I love to create a new exclusive CDHK E-book in which I will gather all your wonderful renga created with Basho. I hope you all will be okay with that.

Cover of our new exclusive CDHK E-book "still it sways" renga with the master

This episode is NOW OPEN for your responses and will remain open until December 5th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1554 Haunted Houses (modern kigo)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

"Listen to the wind", he whispers. "Listen ... do you hear them? The weak voices of my ancestors in this ancient family home". I tried to listen hard and than ... there it was a soft whisper "leave this house, leave this house". I looked at him and he nodded. "Yes ... it's one of my ancestors ... my roots are in the native races here in the US". "Do you mean ...?" "Yes I am an indian. Here in this house my ancestors stayed for a while, but than soldiers came and the owners of the house saved us".

Haunted House (photo © Seph Lawless)

Just a small (impromptu) story to introduce our modern kigo, haunted houses, to you. This modern kigo I have extracted from Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku", from the section autumn and the sub-section autumn occasions.

And here is my challenge for you today. Create a haibun, haiku or other Japanese poetry form inspired on the following two haiku by Jane Reichhold:

deserted house
wild roses still have a view
of the remote coast

vacant stares
from the vacant house
no one looks

© Jane Reichhold

I love those old houses were you can hear the wind blow through the chimney, bare branches knock on the windows ... spooky ... ghostly maybe ...

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

Carpe Diem #1553 waving the pampas grass (crossroads)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I had a very busy day today, because I had to arrange some things for my new job at the University Hospital were I will start Friday December 7th at the Hematology unit. But now back to our prompt for today. As you have read in the title I have a nice crossroads episode for you.

I have found two nice (modern) haiku by two different haiku poets that died in the last century. I will give you the two haiku and than I challenge you to create a fusion ku with it and if you like ... you can also create a Troiku with your fusion ku, but that's not necessary.

Pampas Grass (© Stacey Mollus)

Waving the pampass grass,
At the Shinjuku station,
I said goodbye.

© Yamaguchi Seison(1892-1988)


The migratory birds
Make the wind blowing down to Asaka
From mountains frequently.

© Kawahigashi Hekigoto(1873-1937)

Two nice haiku by two not so renown haiku poets to work with. Enjoy the fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 3rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1552 autumn colors along the highway (CD Imagination)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last week of this wonderful month full of celebration of autumn. Recently I told you that we will go on a journey again here at CDHK. Next month we will ride the Pan American Highway (from Canada to Argentina) straight through the Americas. So to bring you already in the mood for this journey I have a wonderful image for you taken somewhere along the Pan American Highway. So today I hope to inspire you with only an image ... so this is a CD Imagination Without Limits challenge.

Here is the image for your inspiration:

Autumn Along The Highway (image found on Pinterest)

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

Carpe Diiem #1551 Dew Of The World (Revise That Haiku ... Hineri)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Maybe you remember our special feature "revise that haiku" here at our wonderful Kai. It's a "tricky" feature, because I challenge you to "revise" haiku by renoen classical and nonclassical haiku poets. So ... it's possible that I ask you to "revise" haiku written by one of the "big-five" (Basho, Buson, Chiyo-Ni, Issa and Shiki) and that's exactly what I am going to do this episode.

I will give you two haiku, one by Chiyo-Ni and one by Issa, and the background to "revise", but that's not all what I am asking of you this time (it's a hineri, with a "twist", episode). I also ask you to create a "fusion"-haiku with your two revisions and to create a Troiku with that "fusion"-haiku. A tough challenge I think, but I am sure that you all can do it, because you are all very gifted and talented haiku poets. Are you ready?

Let me give the three parts of this "revise that haiku ... hineri" challenge:

1. Revise the both haiku;
2. Create a "fusion"-haiku with the revised versions;
3. Compose a Troiku with your "fusion"-haiku.

cup-shaped flower (Drymocallis Convallaria)

Here are the haiku including the background. (Taken from: Haiku Volume 3, Summer-Autumn, by R.H. Blyth):

koborete wa tada no mizunari beni no tsuyu

the dew of the rouge flower,
when it is spilled
is simply water

© Chiyo-Ni

The reddish-yellow flower is cup-shaped and hold rain or dew in the same way as the camellia. There is great "virtue" in the expression tada no. If we translate it "only" water, we get the feeling of disillusionment without the insight into the nature of things, into what Carlyle says "the great Fact of existence". The poet, like the great man,

fly as he will, he cannot get out of the awful presence of this Reality. Though all men should forget its truth, and walk in a vain show, he cannot. (Carlyle, Heroes and Hero Worship)

Lotus

hasu no ha ni kono yo no tsuyu wa magarikeri

on the lotus leaf,
the dew of this world
is distorted

© Issa

This expresses Issa's view of life, his world-view. The dew is of its nature perfect, but when it falls on the leaf of the lotus, it loses its spherical beauty and lies there twisted and deformed. This is the fundamental concept, or rather, intuition of Mahayana Buddhism, the original goodness of man, original, not in time, but in essence, in its nature.

Two wonderful haiku ... and I hope that your "revisions" will be as beautiful. I am looking forward to your responses on this tough challenge. If possible, please share not only your Troiku, but also your "fusion"- haiku and your revisions.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 29th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... good luck! Enjoy this tough challenge!

Carpe Diem #1550 Harvested Fields (modern kigo)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I had a farewell-party tonight so I am a little bit late with publishing our new episode. As you all know the hospital were I work is closed during bankruptcy. The lung-unit (were I was working most of the time next to the chemo-therapy-unit is closed. All our patients have been transferred to other hospitals in our region. Next Friday we will give our last chemo-therapies and than the chemo-therapy-unit will close too ... than the hospital is only open for policlinical visits. So I have a kind of vacation now.

This month "the leaves are falling" and we are celebrating autumn with haiku, tanka, classical and non-classical kigo (seasonwords) and more. For today I have a modern kigo for you taken from Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary Of Haiku", autuumn section, sub-section terrestrial: "harvested fields".

Harvested Fields (image © Johannes Plenio)

And I have two haiku by Jane Reichhold, whom I still miss as will a lot of you, to inspire you:

autumn blooms
soft white cotton balls
a harvest field

brown harvest field
the balls of white cotton
polka dots

© Jane Reichhold

Two beauties I think to awaken your muses.

Here is one from my archives:

at dawn
farmers harvesting their fields -
overcoming winter

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope I have inspired you and if I didn't, than I hope Jane did it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 28th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1549 a pillow of wind (Renga With Basho ... Hineri)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are celebrating autumn, the most wonderful season in my opinion, with all themes about autumn. Today I have a nice "Renga With Basho ... Hineri" for you. As you all know 'hineri' means 'twist' and in this Renga With Basho ... Hineri I have made it even more difficult I think.

First this by the way: Through all the circumstances at the hospital I am far behind with visiting and commenting on your submissions. I hope to visit you all a.s.a.p. but I cannot tell you when and how.

As you all know Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) was a great renga-master and has written a lot of "hokku" to start a renga with and all his "hokku" became renown as haiku. For today's episode I have chosen six haiku themed autumn by Basho of course all were taken from Jane Reichhold's "Basho, The Complete Haiku" as I do every time as I create an episode of "Renga With Basho ..."

Because of our "autumn" themed month I have chosen all autumn haiku to create your renga with. As I said above this is a "Renga With Basho ... Hineri" episode, so with a twist. This time you have to use the fourth haiku as the "hokku" (starting verse) and ... and this is a new challenge I think, the sixth haiku must be the sixth haiku in your renga too. The other four haiku you can line-up in your own choice. Of course I also challenge you to make the "chain" complete with your "ageku" (closing verse). You have to add the two-lined stanza with approximately 14 syllables.

Here are the six haiku to use for your "Renga With Basho ... Hineri", let us take pride in the honor to create a Renga with the master:

autumn's wind
mouth at the sliding door
a piercing voice

asleep
the good-looking bush clover
has a flowery face

that handsome man
clearly is no longer living
a rain-hidden moon

Japanese Cedar (bonsai)

autumn has come
visiting my ear on
a pillow of wind *

is it a spider
with a voice crying
the autumn wind

end of the month
no moon hugging an ancient cedar
in the storm **

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold; taken from "Basho, The Complete Haiku")

* this one must be your "hokku"
** this one must be your 6th haiku

A wonderful series of haiku to work with I think. I am looking forward to your renga with Basho. Have fun!

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 27th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1548 orchids (ran) (classical kigo)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai were we are celebrating the beauty of autumn as you can read in the logo "the leaves are falling". This month it's all about the beauty of autumn and today I have a nice classical kigo for autumn to work with. Our theme for today is "orchid or (ran)".

I have sought all the sources which I use for our classical haiku masters and especially the sources on Buson and I ran into a wonderful haiku on Ran written by him in 1777. I love to share that haiku with you all here:

yoruno ran kani kakureteya hanashiroshi

orchids in the night
in their fragrance hidden --
the flowers white.

© Buson

White Orchid

What a beauty don't you think? Look at those fragile flowers of the White Orchid ... gorgeous.
Unlike most flowers that have round-shaped petals, orchids have petals in geometrical shapes. No wonder, these beautiful flowers are used to convey special messages.
So, what all things do orchids represent? If you are an orchid lover, you'll be glad to learn that these exotic flowers are a symbol of love, beauty, and innocence in most cultures around the world. The word 'orchid' is derived from the Greek word orchids which means testicles, and the name originates from the shape of the root tubers of the plant. It is due to this reason that orchids have been associated with sexuality in many cultures. However, there's more to the meaning of orchids:

Perfection and Beauty

Because of their symmetry, and the straight lines on their petals, orchids represent beauty in symmetry, and are considered epitomes of rare beauty. In Victorian England, these lovely flowers were likened to a beautiful woman. Interestingly, even a woman's attire during the era had a striking resemblance to the flower. The people of ancient China considered these flowers as 'Lan Hua', or the epitome of human perfection.

Love

Orchids are considered symbols of love because of the fact that the plants grow easily, and bloom under most conditions. During the Victorian era, it was a custom to gift exotic and rare flowers to show love and affection. It was even believed that rarer the flower you chose as a gift, deeper was your love. In parts of Europe, orchids were used as a key ingredient in love potions.
A white orchid stands for innocence, beauty and elegance. A nice gift for one who’s dear to you. In ancient Japan as a warrior found an orchid it told him that he was brave.

Orchids (woodblock print by Rankafu)

Orchids have so much to tell us, but mostly we have them in our home because they are so beautiful and I only can “that’s so true”.

samourai warrior
enchanted by the beauty of orchids
bows his head in praise

in admiration
he gives his beloved girl
white orchids

© Chèvrefeuille (from my archive)

These haiku aren't my strongest ones, but I like the intention which they radiate through their words. So I am looking forward to your haiku on Ran (Orchids).

Well ... now it is up to you my dear haijin, visitors and travelers. Create your haiku, tanka or other kind of Japanese poetry themed orchids (ran).

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

Carpe Diem #1547 Renga With ... the big five haiku poets

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all will have a wonderful weekend in which you could relax, meditate and contemplate. I had a nice weekend myself and the weather was great. I ran into a gorgeous tree in all its autumn beauty ... and I love toshare that image here with you:

Amber Tree (© Chèvrefeuille)

Look at that beauty ... it's a feast for my eyes and I had never seen it. All those different colors on the same tree wow!

Okay back to today's episode. Today I love to challenge you (again) to create a renga together with the "big five", Basho, Chiyo-Ni, Issa, Buson and Shiki. Here are the haiku to use in a line-up of your own choice. You have to add your two lined stanza (approx. 7-7 syllables) to make the renga a story about autumn.

it is seen
in the papier-maché cat
the morning of autumn

© Basho

along this road
goes no one
this autumn eve

© Basho

when I go out of the gate
I also am a traveller
in the autumn evening

© Buson

autumn's bright moon
however far I walked, still afar off
in an unknown sky

© Chiyo-Ni

two houses!
two houses making rice-cakes:
autumn rain

© Issa

Small Wooden Drum (source unknown)

with the autumn tempest
the small drum
falls from its shelf

© Shiki

A nice series of haiku I would say. Enjoy this challenge and the opportunity to create a renga with the five renown haiku poets.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 25th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #59 Troiku ... autumn leaves

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday November 18th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

At the start of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai (than only titled Carpe Diem) I invented the Troiku, a new creative way of haiku-ing inspired on the Russian three horsed sleigh ... troika. During the years of CDHK Troiku became more and more a kind of Japanese poetry and I know several of you love to create Troiku. (By the way I hope to publish the submitted Troiku for the 2nd Troiku Kukai this weekend).

This weekend I love to ask you to create a Troiku starting with the following haiku as the "sleigh":

the scent of autumn
that sweet smell of decaying leaves -
after the rain - stronger

© Chèvrefeuille

It's a nice autumn haiku I created back in 2014, so I have taken it from my archives. The goal for this weekend meditation is to create a Troiku with it (more about Troiku above in the menu) and try to stay in tune with the scene ... autumn.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday November 18th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 25th at noon (CET). Enjoy your weekend!

Carpe Diem #1545 The Water Fowl (crossroads)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. Today I have chosen to give you a new challenge with our special feature "crossroads". I have found a few wonderful autumn haiku written by unknown (classical) haiku poets. Let me tell you what the challenge will be: Create your "fusion"-haiku from the given haiku and than create a Troiku with the "fusion"-haiku. This time I will give you three haiku to create your "fusion" with.

the water-fowl
pecks and shivers
the moon on the waves

© Zuiryu

scooping up the moon
in the wash bassin,
and spilling it

© Ryuho

Moon On The Waves

I kept hanging the moon
on the pine tree, and taking it off,
gazing at it the while

© Hokushi

Three nice haiku of autumn (sub-section: sky and elements) to work with.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 21st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1544 autumn lamplight (aki no hi)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Autumn ... in my opinion, the most beautiful season and today I love to challenge you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form with the given classical kigo, autumn lamplight (aki no hi). Here is an example:

sewing in the lamplight
I teach spelling to my child --
autumn rain

© Sugita Hisajo

And now it's up to you to create your haiku or tanka themed "autumn lamplight".

Autumn Lamplight

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 20th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #58 Quest For A New Masterpiece "autumn"

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday November 11th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Time flies. It feels that time is fleeing faster than ever, but that's just a feeling I have. As you all know at the end of October (25th to be precise) the hospital were I am working has gone in bankruptcy. A time of uncertainty became part of my life as I have never felt earlier in my life, but ... what a joy I felt as I got a new job as an oncology nurse in a University Hospital in Amsterdam. I will start with my new job on December 7th and I am excited, because it's an opportunity once in a lifetime to get a job inwhich I can grow further. My new job gives me the opportunity to become a hematology nurse.
You all will understand that I am happy with how things have gone.

Okay back to our weekend meditation. This weekend I love to challenge you to go (again) on a quest for a new masterpiece. We have done that a few times earlier here at CDHK and you all did a great job.

This month our theme is "the leaves are falling" or autumn and so your new masterpiece must be an autumn haiku or autumn tanka. To create a masterpiece you have to "play" with the classical rules as we know them: Let me give you those rules again:

A moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water;
a seasonword (or kigo);
a cutting word (or kireji);
nature and man as part of it;
5-7-5 syllables (for haiku) and 5-7-5-7-7 (for tanka);
a deeper spiritual meaning (for haiku) and love (for tanka);
interchangeable first and third line (for haiku) and a pivot between the two "tanka-stanza".

All classical rules for haiku and tanka and maybe you can bring in one of the 'haiku writing techniques' or 'tanka writing techniques' I introduced to you here at CDHK. It's a lot to deal with to create your masterpiece, so a tough weekend-meditation this week.

Well ... a nice (but tough) challenge this weekend meditation. This weekend-meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday November 11th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 18th at noon (CET). Have a great weekend!

Carpe Diem #1541 Evening (modern kigo)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First this: I have a new job. Next month I will start as an oncology nurse on the hematology unit of an University Medical Center at Amsterdam. It's a new challenge for me and the perspectives are wonderful for the future. So ... you all will understand that I am happy.

Back to our Autumn month "the leaves are falling" ... Today I have chosen two nice haiku by Jane Reichhold taken from her "A Dictionary of Haiku" section Autumn, subsection Celestial. The challenge today is to create a short renga with the given haiku, both themed "evening", with a maximum of eight stanza and at least four stanza.

Autumn Evening

Here are the two haiku by Jane to work with:

evening comes
wrapped in sea fog
tied with webs

evening sea fog
descending into sun-dried grass
sweaty lovers

© Jane Reichhold

Two beauties I dare to say. I still miss Jane, as many of you will do too, but through my choices of themes and haiku I hope to honor her as long as CDHK will be alive and kicking.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 15th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1540 chrysanthemums

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Autumn ... a season full of beauty in the broadest sense of the word. I love the colorful leaves, the bright full moon, but the most I love the Chrysanthemums with all the colors like a rainbow. There are a few haiku on Chrysanthemums I love to share here for your inspiration:

Drinking the morning green tea,
The monk is calm.
The flowers of chrysanthemum.

Bloom quickly.
The ninth day is very soon.
The chrysanthemum.

© Matsuo Basho

how terrifying
her rouged fingers
against the white chrysanthemums

© Chiyo-Ni

Chrysanthemums Rainbow (Image by Jan Tyler/E+/Getty Images)

Before the white chrysanthemum
the scissors hesitate
a moment.

© Yosa Buson

Let's scatter
all the funeral chrysanthemums we have,
in the coffin  

© Soseki

All wonderful haiku by classical masters on Chrysanthemums. I love that image by the way it's really a rainbow of Chrysanthemums. And I think you all will know other beauties, but today I love to challenge you to create your own Chrysanthemums beauty ... have fun!

in the backyard
gazing at the Milky Way -
white chrysanthemums

chrysanthemum tea
a whole new sensation
tickles my senses

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 14th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Have fun!