Carpe Diem #1283 On Our Way Home

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Wow ... wow ... what an unexpected pleasure this is. I have read already wonderful responses on the "Wandering Spirit Challenge" of yesterday ... I am overwhelmed by your responses I hadn't thought it would be such a success. Awesome.

As I was busy with the preparations for this celebration month the last kukai "departure" escaped my attention. I have gathered all the submissions and I hope to publish them for judging this weekend. Sorry for this delay.

We are celebrating our fifth anniversary and I feel somewhat sad that this month is closing in to its end, but until that moment we have still a few wonderful memories to look back at. Today I have chosen a prompt that I used in December 2015, on our way home. It was one of the episodes I created about that wonderful haibun by Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road Into the Deep North).
In December 2015 we followed his journey into the deep north and read his journal with eachother. I remember that it is was a wonderful month in which we became even more in contact with the spirit of Basho, my master.

Logo CDHK December 2015

In that (triple) episode I mentioned a famous haiku poet and close friend of Basho, Kasugi Issho. Issho is not a well known haiku poet nowadays, but it is said that he wrote wonderful haiku and love-poems.

Here is the only haiku which I could find written by Kasugi Issho. I have tried to translate it and honor Issho with that translation.

mi tsukushita me wa shirgiku ni  modori keri

seen with my eyes
white chrysanthemums
again I saw them

© Kasugi Issho (1652-1688)

A wonderful haiku I think. As I have said often in five years of our existence haiku is the most beautiful way to express your feelings and thoughts. I had the opportunity to share my passion with the whole world and I am so grateful that you all are walking this path with me. I have shared haiku created by great classical and non-classical haiku poets and I am just grateful that I can and may do that through CDHK, a warmhearted family of haiku loving people from all over the world. Thank you all ... to give me the opportunity to be your host here at CDHK.

Arigato - Thank you (deviantart)

rising sun
from a far away place
nightingale's song

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 26th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, meaning of life, later on. For now ... have fun!

PS. I have re-opened Haiku Shuukan, our weekly meme today starting with the prompt "restart".