Carpe Diem, #6 special prompt #1

SPECIAL #1

Good day my dear Haijin,

Well ... here it is the first CARPE DIEM SPECIAL as you can see I have used another logo especially for this special prompt. I will give you here the haiku which is your inspiration source for today's Carpe Diem Special (see for more on this special prompt here) it's a haiku written by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) a haiku master.
Basho is a well known haiku master and even non haiku writers can tell you that Basho is a haiku poet and they even can tell you about Basho's 'frog's jump in' haiku. You can read more on Basho and his haiku on my Basho Revisited Weblog
This haiku he wrote in the Autumn of 1677:

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn winds

Well enjoy the fun ... use this haiku as a source of inspiration and share your new haiku (classical or non-classical) inspired on the one by Basho here on Carpe Diem.

This special prompt will be open for your contributions 'till October 7th 11.59 AM (CET) and the new prompt for October 7th I will post tonight around 10:00 PM (CET) and will be fragile

See you tomorrow ... 'till than ... have fun and enjoy writing haiku.

Carpe Diem, #5 moon

Dear Haijin,

Almost one week 'in business' with my daily haiku meme. I am glad to see that you've found the way to Carpe Diem. It makes me humble and on the other hand very proud. This is a adventure, but 'till now I am a lucky guy and I am happy with all the responses I got.

Today's prompt is moon the moon is a kigo (seasonword) of  Autumn, because the Japanese are saying that the moon in Autumn is the prettiest of all moons. I think that's true. I am a Japan lover and I do love the moon of Autumn very much.

Source: behind clouds

hiding behind clouds
she, the moon of Autumn, is stunning -
sound of whirling leaves

Just an impromptu-verse as I like to call the haiku which I write 'ins blauen hinein', without a 'trigger'. But it has become a nice one I think.

This prompt will stay on 'till October 6th 11.59 AM (CET).
The prompt for October 6th is SPECIAL! Basho 1. See for more information on the Special prompt the Carpe Diem Preview #1 I will give the haiku which is the one to use as an inspiration right now:

fragile twigs
breaking off the scarlet papers
autumn winds

Matsuo Basho (1677)

See you tomorrow ... for a new Carpe Diem, seize the day haiku.

Carpe Diem, #4 animal

Dear Haijin (haiku poets),

It's a pleasure to see that Carpe Diem, seize the day, has found his place in the hearts of my fellow haiku poets. Still I hope that more of them will find the way to Carpe Diem. Maybe you, my dear haijin, can make other poets enthusiastic for this new daily haiku meme.
Today it's October 4th it's World Animal Day, so the prompt/theme for today is animal ... write a haiku about animal(s) or about your pets ... share it with us here on Carpe Diem and enjoy writing them. Your haiku can be a classical or a non-classical haiku (or senryu).
This prompt will stay on 'till Friday October 5th 11.59 AM (CET). The next prompt will be ... moon ... and will be published on October 4th around 10.00  PM (CET).

colorful parrot
flourishes in the rain forest
high in the sky

high in the sky
a pair of courting parrots
enjoys the sun

Credits:Kissing parrots during courtship

This was my contribution to day 4 of Carpe Diem. Enjoy writing haiku, be inspired ... and share ... Please leave a comment after linking your haiku.

Carpe Diem, #3 responsibility

Day 3 of Carpe Diem. Welcome to this new day ... today I have used a prompt given by Mariya Koleva  and the prompt is responsibility. Not an easy one I think, but ... maybe you can use a synonym or maybe the meaning of the word. It's all up to you.

Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku (classical or non-classical) with us here on Carpe Diem.

This prompt will stay on 'till October 4th 11.59 AM.

Our prompt for tomorrow will be ... animal and will be online tonight around 10:00 PM (CET)

My contribution:

a haiku meme
I pick up the duty to give
every day prompts

Carpe Diem Preview #2, Kanshicho, the other way of writing haiku.

Today this episode of Carpe Diem Preview is about Kanshicho, the other way to write haiku. As you may know I am writing my haiku in the classical way with 5-7-5 syllables, but mostly I write my haiku in the so called Kanshicho-style. In this style the syllable-count isn't used. It looks more like, as Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) calls it, the tone of the Chinese verse.

Matsuo Basho, a haiku master, introduced in 1682, as a reaction on the Danrinschool, the Kanshicho-style in haiku. Kanshicho broke the classical 5-7-5 syllables count. A haiku in Kanshicho-style could follow a different syllables scheme, e.g. 6-10-3 or 2-9-5 syllables. In this Kanshicho-style the themes he used were detachment and the purity of living in poverty. In 1685 Basho let go this Kanshicho-style and re-wrote several haiku in Kanshicho-style to the classical way of writing haiku with 5-7-5 syllables.

Foxglove

I love the Kanshicho-style and I am using that style frequently in my haiku. I will give you some examples:

a lonely flower
my companion
for one night

Let us look closer to this haiku in Kanshicho-style the syllables-count in this one is 5-3-3, it could even be shorter ... look at the next re-written 'a lonely flower'.

lonely flower
companion
one night

Here the syllables-count is: 4-3-2

And it's even possible to make it shorter, but than you have to change the sequence of the lines. Look at this one:

night's
companion
one flower


By changing the sequence of the lines ... this haiku itself doesn't change, but the syllables-count in this one is 1-3-2.

Isn't it a wonder? Kanshicho-style haiku are wonderful and closer to the Western way of writing haiku. To enclose this Carpe Diem Preview I will write a classical and a non-classical (Kanshicho-style) haiku.

a Nightingale's song
the light trembling of leaves -
ah! that sweet silence

This is the 'back to basic' haiku with the classical syllables-count 5-7-5 (you notice that the second line counts six syllables, but the kireji (cutting word '-') counts also for a syllable.
OK we have seen this classical haiku 'a Nightingale's song' and now I will re-write it in the non-classical style of Kanshicho.

song of a Nightingale
the light trembling of poplar leaves -
ah! that silence

As we look at the syllables-count of this re-done haiku 'a Nightingale's song' we can see the Kanshicho-style syllables-count 6-8-4.

I hope you have enjoyed this Carpe Diem Preview about the Kanshicho-style of writing haiku. This way of writing haiku I love very much and I use it frequently. Try it yourself ... enjoy the fun of writing without counting.

Nightingale

Blessed Be,

Carpe Diem Preview #1 special prompt

Dear Haijin (haiku poets),

You will ask maybe "What's this?" This my dear Haijin is Carpe Diem Preview #1. In this preview I will tell you something about a special prompt/theme that I will use in this new daily haiku meme Carpe Diem. Every week of the month I will give a haiku of a classical haiku master for a prompt/theme. This classical haiku is inspiring to write a new haiku about. On my Basho Revisited weblog I have done that with several haiku written by the classical haiku master Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). In every episode of Basho Revisited I have written a new haiku inspired on the haiku by Basho. This link will bring you to that weblog so you can see for yourself. The link brings you to a set of haiku on the Wedded Rocks inspired on a haiku by Basho.

Another example:

My first English haiku was:

a lonely flower
my companion
for one night

This haiku can be an inspiration to write another one ... look for yourself ... I have written a new haiku with 'a lonely flower' as inspiration source.

blooming flowers
everywhere I look
finally Spring

This new haiku arose from 'flower' and in contrast to 'lonely'. This is what I mean with writing a new haiku inspired on a haiku of a classical haiku master. I think this isn't easy, but I also think that it is fun to do this. The first Carpe Diem special will be online on October 5th around 10:00 PM (CET).

This was the first Carpe Diem Preview ... I hope you will read more Carpe Diem Previews in time.

Namaste

Carpe Diem, #2 storm

Dear Haijin,

This will be the second prompt for Carpe Diem, seize the day ... storm. 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.

Have fun and enjoy writing. Be inspired ...

The essence of the Way is detachment

detachment
a storm rages through my heart
cleanses my mind

It's a bit different than the most of you will think about, but this is my feeling ...

See you tomorrow for another Carpe Diem. The prompt than is: responsibility by Mariya Koleva thank you Mariya for this prompt. This prompt storm will be on 'till October 3rd 11.59 AM