Carpe Diem Imagination With Paul Militaru #5 autumn willow

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at our last "Imagination With Paul Militaru" episode. This month I had the privilege to use the beautiful photos by Paul Militaru to inspire you. Paul is a brilliant photographer and his photos are really awesomeMore of his beautiful photos you can find at: Paul Militaru, Photograph Portfolio His website is really worth visiting.

For this last "Imagination With ..." episode I have found a wonderful photo in which autumn, the season running on the Northern hemisphere, is beautifully portrait. And this beauty brought a nice waka in mind by Saigyo, and I think you know this waka ...

alongside the path
fresh water flows, and
in the willow’s shade
just for a little while
would I take my ease..

© Saigyo (1118-1190)


This waka we have seen very often here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and I cannot go on with this episode without the haiku Basho once wrote in response on this waka:

one patch of a rice field when it was planted I left the willow tree © Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Here is the photo by Paul Militaru to inspire you:

Autumn Willow (photo © Paul Militaru)

Isn't it a beauty? I hope this autumn willow will inspire you to create haiku or tanka.

Here are a few poems from my archives: weeping willow

in the autumn sunlight
a golden tree

© Chèvrefeuille

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

© Chèvrefeuille

tears of a geisha
her virginity lost to a soldier -
pussy willow blooms

© Chèvrefeuille

And of course I had to try to create a new haiku (or tanka):

bright blue sky a natural frame work autumn willow

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, feather pen (Or quill pen), later on. For now ... have fun!

PS I am busy with creating our new CDHK prompt-list for next month. November will be our first Tanka month here. I hope to improve your and mine tanka writing technique through the Ten Tanka Writing Techniques by Teika.