Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #40, "One Yellow Leaf" by Jen of Blog It or Lose It

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

During the time I ask family-members of CDHK if I may use their haiku for Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge. Mostly I write them down immediately, but that I haven't done the last months. So I don't know which of our family-members I have asked. If I have asked you to use your haiku for a Tan Renga Challenge, please let me know.

This week's Tan Renga is started by Jen of Blog It or Lose It. She wrote this haiku in response on BrunuhVille's composition "Riversong". And I think it is a great response on that composition and a great first stanza of our new Tan Renga Challenge. I haven't ask permission yet to use it, but I think Jen will not have a problem with. (If you don't want me to use your haiku Jen, please let me know.) Here is our first stanza of our 40th Tan Renga Challenge:

clinging to the bank
where water wrestles with rock –
one yellow leaf

© Jen 

Credits: Yellow Leaves

Isn't it a beauty to start our new Tan Renga Challenge with? It's not really for summer, but ... well ... there also plants with yellow leaves naturally.

The goal is to write a second stanza to this haiku by Jen. That second stanza has two lines of 7-7 syllables (classical count), but you don''t have to use that classical count, but if you like to use that 7-7 syllables? Please feel free to do so.

That second stanza refers or associates with a theme in the haiku and becomes in that way a continuation or completion. Tan Renga is similar with Tanka (5-7-5-7-7) but is written by two poets. So if Jen would write a second stanza to her haiku than it isn't called a Tan Renga, but a Tanka. By the way, I have also published a new CDHK's Tanka Shrine episode.

Credits: Yellow Leaves of Autumn

Here is my continuation of this Tan Renga started with the haiku by Jen.

clinging to the bank
where water wrestles with rock –
one yellow leaf                               (Jen)

struggling for life
trying to detach                             (Chèvrefeuille)

Now it is up to you my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers to ''work with'' this Tan Renga Challenge. Have fun! This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 27th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #494, Creek

!! This post was published early, because of the nightshift !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy it was to read Kuheli's Ghost Writer (GW) post about Chiyo-Ni and what a gorgeous haiku I have read in response on her post. Great to see and read that you did enjoyed the GW-post. Thank you Kuheli for giving so much joy and inspiration.

Today we going back to our regular prompts of June. This month all our prompts are based on Jane Reichhold's ''A Dictionary of Haiku'', a modern Saijiki (list of kigo, seasonwords). As we go on with the discovery of these modern summer kigo we are now at our next prompt Creek.

Credits: Creek

Jane gives the following example for creek:

taken by a creek
both feet exploring
wet

© Jane Reichhold

I have sought a while for another example for creek and I found one:

my guest departs ...
the waters in the creek
louder and clearer

© MichaelMcClintock

I had some trouble with composing a haiku myself on ''creek'', but after a while a finally had the ''Aha-Erlebnis'' ... here is my attempt:

hidden in the forest
I ran into an old creek -
Ah! that sweet sound

falling in love
while sitting on the bank of the creek -
the sound of water

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Creek (2)

Well ... I hope I have inspired you to write haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun. It's really a joy to prepare these posts and I am looking forward to your responses.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 21st at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our next episode, Hot Springs, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Ghost Writer #13, Kuheli of Kajori

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Here it is (finally) our 13th Ghost Writer post. I am a bit late, but that you could have read in the update earlier. I am at work now and have a little moment to do what I had to do ... posting Kuheli's Ghost Writer post.

Kuheli has written a wonderful post about Chiyo-Ni, one of the most famous clasical haiku-poetesses. I can recal that we had her as our featured haiku-poet in February 2013. I remember that I started than with the following haiku:

taoraruru hito ni kaoru ya ume no hana

the flowering branch of the plum
gives its scent
to him who broke it off

© Chiyo-Ni

Here is Kuheli's post. Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku inspired on Chiyo-Ni with us all. Thank you Kuheli for this wonderful post.

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Hi friends,

Myself Kuheli and I’m not a haiku poet. Don’t be surprised but it’s the truest fact of me. After a long wandering I have found haiku – it has that exact essence what I was looking for – to keep me connected to my root, NATURE. I always do have a fascination of language. Every thing has its own words to express its feelings (if we can use that particular word). A sparrow can’t talk to me in English or any other ‘our’ language – they can ‘chirp’ only. Simple!

But why on the earth I need to observe sparrow or think about them? ‘coz we all are sharing the same space – we all, with our individuality, are a significant part of a SINGLE nature. And ignoring this fact means put your own foot on cutter.  

OK, now let me introduce Chiyo-ni or Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703 - 1775) - she is considered one of the foremost women haiku poets.

 

 

She showed a childhood gift for poetry and had already gained fame for her haiku while she was still a teenager. Her early haiku were influenced by Basho and his students, though as a haikai poet in later period she developed her own unique style but her verses were mostly dealing with nature.  In later period of her life, around 1755 Chiyo-ni became a Buddhist nun.

And here goes my pick from Chiyo-ni’s garden -

suzushisa ya / suso karamo fuku / yabu tatami

the coolness
on the bottom of her kimono
in the bamboo grove

© Chiyo-ni

Very clear and natural picture - isn’t it? Now let me try to write one or two haiku as in the same spirit:

splash!
by the pond
a frog jumps into

incense
in layers of her *saree
evening rituals

© Kuheli S


OK one should never stop to try difficult and new things. Bye for now. Let this beautiful verse of Chiyo-ni inspire you and keep you connected with nature.  I do appreciate your time and patience.

Namoskar

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Well ... I hope you all did like this Ghost Writer post and I hope it inspired you to write wonderful haiku.

Here is my humble response on this wonderful post by Kuheli:

morning glories -
geisha in her silken kimono
rustles along them

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Geisha (photo by Greg Elms)

This episode of our Ghost Writer post is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 20th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our new episode, Creek, later on.

 

Carpe Diem update june 2014

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you already have noticed ... the new episode of our Ghost Writer feature is not ready online. I am in the nightshift so I don't have time enough ... I will publish a.s.a.p. the Ghost Writer post by Kuheli ... so please be patient ...

Namaste

Carpe Diem #493, Canyon

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First this: I have published a new episode of Carpe Diem Use That Quote at our Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Special weblog. Feel free to visit by clicking on the link HERE.

Another new and exciting prompt on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month we are exploring the modern kigo (seasonwords) for summer as created by Jane Reichhold in her ''A Dictionary of Haiku''. Today our prompt will be canyon and I think it's a nice prompt and it doesn't need explanation. So let us go on straight to the examples of Jane Reichhold:

canyon walls
slip into the valley
river gravel

noon clouds
finding in the canyon
opals

wall by wall

the canyon releases blue rock
deep night sky

© Jane Reichhold

Credits: Grand Canyon West Rim

WOW! What a photo ... great canyon. Canyons like this we don't have here in The Netherlands, but it would be a great opportunity to once visit such a canyon ... but that's still a dream and will be a dream forever.

the sun hides behind
red colored walls of rock -
moon in the canyon

colored canyon
mysterious looking rocks
as the day ends

the murmuring river
deep down beneath my feet -
ah! that heavenly sound

© Chèvrefeuille

Awesome to write haiku about canyons which I don''t have seen in real life, I just can see them in my mind and be amazed of it's sight ... 

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 19th at noon (CET). I will post our new episode, the Ghost Writer post by Kuheli, later on today. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your inspired haiku with us all.

Carpe Diem #492, Nights of Summer

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Nights of Summer is our prompt for today and I think everyone of you knows what that means. A few weeks ago it was really hot here in The Netherlands and my youngest son went to a festival at the seashore . It had become to late to travel back home, so he decided to sleep on the beach. Well ... just one example of the hot summer nights, sleeping on the beach, maybe making love with your beloved one ... or just to sit down and watch the sea, listen to the waves and seagulls. Must be a great experience I think. I am not such a summer nights sleeping on the beach guy, but I can imagine that there are a lot of people who do that.

Jane Reichhold gives the following example(s) for this modern summer kigo (seasonword):

desert lake
night enters the blue
coolness

evening skies
in a high mountain lake
open to night

nights

a window
to another world

© Jane Reichhold

Credits: Nights of Summer

Looks very cosy don't you think so? It's a wonderful experience to gather with friends in a hot summer night around a campfire on the beach. Romance is in the air, telling eachother stories, singing songs with eachother and more like that.

My haiku inspired on this prompt are the following:

hot summer night
together with my friends -
singing on the beach

hot summer night
the sweet scent of Honeysuckle
arouses the sense

the sound of the waves
accompanies hot steamy love -
seagulls cry

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Love on the Beach

A nice trio I think ... all giving an image of experiencing the nights of summer. Maybe not that strong in choice of words, but I had a good feeling as I composed these. Now it's up to you my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 18th at noon. I will try to post our new episode, canyon, later on. The episode after ''canyon'' will be another Ghost Writer post, this time I will use a post by Kuheli of Kajori.

Carpe Diem Special #97, BrunuhVille's "Riversong"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to prepare another CD Special with the wonderful inspirational music by BrunuhVille, our featured composer this month.

Did you hear that natural sound of the babbling brook at the start of this inspirational piece of music? It's really such a sweet sound and that inspired me to write the next haiku

babbling mountainbrook
seduces with her sweet voice -
sparkling sunlight

© Chèvrefeuille

Or this one ... more fairy-tale like:

sparkles of sunlight
splashes like crystal
game of fairies

© Chèvrefeuille

Well .... I hope this will inspire you to write your own haiku inspired on the music by BrunuhVille. This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 17th at noon (CET). I will post our new episode, Nights of Summer, later on today.
For now ... have fun! By the way please let me know if you like this music. I have the idea that this music came to early for CDHK ... so I think that I don't gonna make a whole month with music by BrunuhVille.