Carpe Diem Universal Jane #4 abalone shells and lovers

a time of beaches
abalone shells and lovers
without memories

© Jane Reichhold

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Universal Jane. This week I love to dive into the matter of sensuality, erotics and love in haiku. Jane was a great poetess and in many of her haiku you can easily find sensuality, erotics and love. This week however I love to share a few haiku in which she used it in full daylight so to say.

Recently I tried to bring sensuality, sexuality, erotics and love into my own haiku, but I have to say that's a bit outside my comfort zone, but I like the challenge to bring those pure human feelings of love and sexuality into my haiku. In the past I wrote several haiku with hidden sexuality in it. Maybe you can remember this one:

Morning Glory

at sunrise
Morning Glory greets
a new day

© Chèvrefeuille

In this one the Morning Glory is of course that wonderful flower, but it also refers to a certain male part in the early morning. Another one, not as specific as the above one, but with some imgination you can see in this haiku also sexuality:

pink flowers bloom
between green dewy leaves
a double peony

© Chèvrefeuille

And this one, as published in our "folding paper" episode hides also sexuality in it:

first sunlight
caresses our bodies
we unfold

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... this episode of Jane is not about my haiku, but for the haiku by Jane to honor her and give her tribute. Jane is still missed, but her spirit lingers here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. I feel a bit lost without my dear friend and mentor Jane Reichhold, but she would have me to go on that's for sure. I can not stop of course. To create Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is also a tribute for her and in honor of her, because of what she once said about CDHK "you have the best website on haiku on the world".  

Jack-O-Lantern

Here are the haiku by Jane Reichhold to inspire you and maybe to let you look at real human life and real human feelings like sexuality, sensuality and love and use it in your haiku (or tanka).

making love
the jack-o-lantern also
grins in the dark

shadows moving
on the bedroom wall
a pumpkin’s eyes

in and out
of the river’s mouth
a tongue of sea

© Jane Reichhold

These haiku are extracted from AHA-Poetry, Jane's own website, certainly worth a visit.

This Universal Jane episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 31st at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, our last CD Special by our 3rd guest Herman van Rompuy, later on.