Thursday, January 21, 2016

Carpe Diem Special #193 Revise That Haiku ... a trip along memory lane


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you know this month's CD-Specials are a trip along memory lane ... and today I have another special feature which I created for our Kai. This special feature was titled "Revise That Haiku" and the goal was to "revise" a haiku by one of the classic haiku masters. I love to bring that special feature here again today as part of this month's CD-Specials.

I love to challenge you all to 'revise' a classical haiku written by Shiki (1867-1902). I have done this earlier here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, but that's a while ago, so ... let us try this again.

One of the most extraordinary things about nature, from the scientific and intellectual point of view, is its asymmetry. Life is asymmetrical in its essential character, and it is natural for us to rejoice in it, for it is the guarantee of our spiritual freedom. Even the Great Buddha, for all the Law of Karma and the inviolable Wheel of the Law, the snow melts irregularly. On the sunny side, the snow is gone; on the other, there still remains a white mantle. To our human eye at least, it is a secretly felt confirmation of our inner conviction that 'with God all things are possible'.




Where does this lead to? Well ... it's to show you the picture which is (can be) seen in the following haiku by Shiki, which we are going to revise.

Daibutsu no katahada no yuki toki ni keri

the snow has melted
on one shoulder
of the Great Buddha
 


© Shiki

As you all (maybe) know in this special feature the goal was to revise the given haiku and write/compose a new one. Not an easy task and it needs some courage to revise a haiku by one of the greatest five haiku-poets ever (Basho, Chiyo-Ni, Buson, Issa and Shiki), but ... well it challenges you to look in a different way to the classical haiku.

at the sunny side
the snow in the backyard has melted -
snowdrops are blooming
 


© Chèvrefeuille



What a joy. Notwithstanding the snow, the print of winter, new life conquers it. The snow is melting and the snowdrops, the first messengers of spring, are starting to bloom.

on the thin line
between day and night
both, moon and sun shine
 


© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you will take up this challenge and I love to encourage you all to 'revise' the haiku by Shiki.

By the way this CD-Special is almost the same as the original post somewhere at the start of CDHK.

This CD-Special is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 24th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, fields, later on.


Logo of Carpe Diem's Revise That Haiku

Have fun! Please let me know if you would like to see this special feature back here at CDHK.


3 comments:

  1. I love the ' thin line between day and night', and used that as my inspiration today.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Too late, but here is my revision:

    http://blogitorloseit.com/2016/01/25/the-snow-is-sliding/

    jen

    ReplyDelete