Carpe Diem 760 stargazing

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I like to gaze at the stars, not only in summer, but through the whole year, but especially in summer stargazing, as is our prompt for today, is a great activity. Together with the one you love for example, or just with friends, No clouds at the night sky, the sultry summer night, the sweet perfume of trees, flowers and bushes. Just an awesome feeling ... surly worth doing sometimes (or more than sometimes).

On Shamrock Haiku I found a wonderful haiku written by Konstantin Kedrov about stargazing:

tired of stargazing,
I look down –
puddle full of stars

© Konstantin Kedrov

And I remember a beautiful tanka by Greg Wolford, one of our CDHK family members, which he wrote in response on our first episode of "On The Trail With Basho Encore":

upon bale of hay
stars twinkle in the distance
memories flash by
times filled with our hopes and dreams
and innocence reigned supreme

© Greg Wolford

Stargazing it looks like everyone likes it and so do I as I told you above. There is no night for me without gazing to the stars. I love to point my children and grandchildren to the constellations and the individual stars like e.g. Venus.

Of course the classical haiku poets like Basho, Buson, Issa and Chiyo-Ni for example wrote haiku about stargazing especially around the Tanabata Festival (a traditional Japanese stargazing festival) on July 7th for example this one by Issa:

kakurega mo hoshi machi-gao no yo nari keri

at the hermit's hut, too--
an upturned face awaits
the stars

© Kobayashi Issa (Tr. David G. Lanoue)

And I just had to share a haiku by Basho, which he wrote while gazing at the stars on Tanabata:

sazo na hoshi   hiji kimono ni wa   shika no kawa

surely star-lovers
using as a rug
a deer skin

© Basho

full of stars

Well ... we are still discovering the beauty of the modern kigo as gatered by Jane Reichhold in her saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku" and today our prompt is stargazing and these are her examples:

coming inside
after star gazing
my glow

our galaxy
in a folding chair
a star gazer

© Jane Reichhold

Awesome to read all those wonderful examples of haiku on stargazing ... all those different styles ... thoughts and ideas behind it .... just awesome.

I had to share a haiku by myself, but I wasn't inspired enough, so I have an "oldie" for you all which I wrote in response on a haiku by Kala Ramesh (one of our featured haiku-poets):

late summer night
wind chime resonates through the night -
stars shine bright

© Chèvrefeuille

And now it's up to you my dear friends. I hope this post will inspire you all to write an all new haiku or tanka.
This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until June 24th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, pines, later on.

!! PS. There will be no Time Glass episode this Sunday (06/21) because I haven't time !!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #68,

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my privilege and my joy to present another Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge to you. It's really a great feature, because it gives us the opportunity to respond on a haiku written by one of Carpe Diem Haiku Family members. In a way the Tan Renga Challenge is a way to connect with each other through haiku. And I know for sure that you all enjoy this Tan Renga Challenge a lot.

This week I have a wonderful haiku written by Ese of Ese's Voice which she submitted in response on a haiku which I gave by our featured haiku poet, Iio Sogi (1424-1502). Ese wrote this one in response on the first CD-Special by Sogi.

the endless night

unable to count the stars
in the frozen pond

(c) Ese

Isn't it a beauty? I remember that I commented on this haiku with a kind of adoration ... Ese's haiku was a beauty (and still is) and I was immediately "in love" with it ... I felt a kind of Biblical sphere in it and I think you will have that same feeling.

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to compose/write the second stanza of two lines respectively counted 7-7, but that's not an obligation as you all will know, towards this "hokku" (starting verse) by Ese by associating on the images in her haiku. With that second stanza you continue or complete the Tan Renga.

Here is my attempt:

the endless night
unable to count the stars
in the frozen pond                   (Ese)

it seems so easy to count the stars,

but try to count your blessings                (Chèvrefeuille)

I thought I will go further on my thought of the Biblical sphere and came up with this second stanza. I like it.

This Tan Renga Challenge is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday January 16th at noon (CET). Let your muse inspire you ...