Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #26 Revise That Haiku

!!! Open for your submissions next Sunday April 1st 2018 at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to make an all new CDHK Weekend-meditation for you all, our warmhearted family of haiku poets. Last weekend I asked you to use a quote for your inspiration and this weekend I hope to challenge you again with a new "Revise That Haiku" feature. In this feature the goal is to "revise" the haiku of renown haiku poets, both classical or non-classical. This time I have chosen for two haiku by classical haiku poets, that brought haiku into the 20th century, Santoka Taneda and Masaoka Shiki. First I will give you the haiku by Santoka Taneda which you have to revise. I also will give you a small description that belongs to this haiku.

Statue of Santoka Taneda (Hofu Prefecture Japan)

nonchalantly pissing
off the side of the road
soaking the young weeds

© Santoka Taneda (1882-1940)

In Zen Buddhism shying away from bodily functions means shying away from life and death. Shying away from the real truth. The above haiku falls under this category.This poem is important because to some extent the weeds are Santoka himself. One can still live even without pure water. Notice also the fate of these weeds--they are not on the path, the road to salvation, but are destined to be on the path's edge. Could this be how Santoka saw himself? I think so.

Masaoka Shiki

And here is the haiku by Shiki to "revise":

the summer moon
there are a lot of paper lanterns
on the street

© Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)

In this haiku one can easily see the scene of a warm summer evening. After a warm day it's great to sit outside in the coolness of the summer night watching the paper lanterns. It feels serene and romantic. On the veranda of his home Shiki watches the summer moon and compares her with paper lanterns. Maybe he sat there with friends or with his loved ones ... it's a wonderful summer scene.

Nightview of Saruwako-cho (Japanese Woodblock-print)

Two wonderful haiku poets, both brought haiku into the 20th century. Shiki gave haiku its name by the way, before his time haiku was called "haikai or hokku". Both haiku are in my opinion beautiful masterpieces so it may feel like a sin to "revise" them, but don't worry it is not a sin, it's a way of improving your own haiku writing skills.

Enjoy your weekend.

This weekend-meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday April 1st at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until April 8th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode, the first regular of April, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1400 The Awakening, a love poem by Rumi

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last regular episode of our wonderful Kai in March. This month we explored the Qu'ran and the wonderful poetry by the Mystical Poet Rumi. We have read wonderful ideas, thoughts, verses and more, but ... every month has its end. So this is the last episode (regular) of March 2018. Next month I hope t inspire you through all kinds of themes to create haibun, as you maybe know of the Kamishiba feature here or maybe through that wonderful (classic piece of literature) "The Small Path Into The Deep North", by the renown haiku master Matsuo Basho. Well ... that's next month. This month we have only this episode and of course the last weekend-meditation of March too.

Rumi, the Mystical Poet

For this last episode I have chosen a love poem written by Rumi and translated by Deepak Chopra. In my opinion this poem is the most beautiful of this month. It is titled "The Awakening". Enkoy the read and I hope you all will be inspired to create your own Japanese poetry.

The Awakening:

In the early dawn of happiness
you gave me three kisses
so that I would wake up
to this moment of love

I tried to remember in my heart
what I’d dream about
during the night
before I became aware 
of this moving 
of life

I found my dreams 
but the moon took me away
It lifted me up to the firmament
and suspended me there
I saw how my heart had fallen
on your path
singing a song

Mount Fuji, the Holy Mountain of Japan, in early dawn

Between my love and my heart
things were happening which
slowly slowly 
made me recall everything

You amuse me with your touch
although I can’t see your hands.
You have kissed me with tenderness
although I haven’t seen your lips
You are hidden from me.

But it is you who keeps me alive

Perhaps the time will come
when you will tire of kisses
I shall be happy 
even for insults from you
I only ask that you 
keep some attention on me.

© Rumi (Taken from: The Love Poems of Rumi by Deepak Chopra)

A nice poem I think full of lovely scenes and therefore a rich source of inspiration.

Entwined Bodies (image found on Pinterest)

this moment
in the light of dawn
your lips touch mine
sunbeams carress our naked bodies
entwined in the aftermath

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not bad this tanka. As you all know Tanka isn't really my "cup of tea", but I like the form and I think a tanka, a love poem, is the only poem that fits this beautiful poem by Rumi.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 5th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our weekend-meditation later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1399 The Beauty Of The Heart

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are exploring the beauty of the poetry by the Mystical Poet Rumi and today I have taken a poem from Masnavi: Teachings by Rumi. It's a wonderful collection of poems by Rumi translated by E.H. Whinfield.

The title I have extracted from the first line of the poem.

The Beauty Of The Heart:

The beauty of the heart
is the lasting beauty:
its lips give to drink
of the water of life.
Truly it is the water,
that which pours,
and the one who drinks.
All three become one when
your talisman is shattered.
That oneness you can't know
by reasoning.

© Rumi (Taken from: Masnavi: Teachings of Rumi by E.H. Whinfield)

Cover Teachings of Rumi

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 4th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our next episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1398 Purity

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this belated episode of our wonderful Kai. I had a busy evening shift so I couldn't publish earlier. This episode is about purity as you can read in the title of it. Purity is extracted from a beautiful, but not that easy to understand poem by the Mystical Poet from Persia, Rumi.

I only will give you the poem to use for your inspiration this time without giving background or comment on it. Only the pure poem nothing more nothing less.

Purity:

A certain Sufi tore his robe in grief, 
and the tearing brought such relief he gave the robe 
the name faraji, which means ripped open,

or happiness, or one who brings the joy 
of being opened. It comes from the stem faraj, 
which also refers to the genitals, male and female.

His teacher understood the purity of the action, 
while others just saw the ragged appearance.

If you want peace and purity, tear away 
the coverings! This is the purpose of emotion, 
to let a streaming beauty flow through you.

Call it spirit, elixir, or the original agreement 
between yourself and God. Opening into that 
gives peace, a song of being empty, pure silence.

© Rumi (Taken from The Book of Love by Coleman Barks)

Ripped Jeans (image found on Pinterest)

A wonderful poem I would say. 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 3rd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #3 Rabbit Ear Iris

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy it is to read your "fused" haiku in response on this feature here at our wonderful Kai. So it seems like you all do like this feature and so here is a new episode of this special CDHK special. This time I love to challenge you to create a haiku (only haiku) through "fusion" of the following two haiku:

rabbit-ear iris
how much it looks like
its image in water

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

And the following haiku, also by, my master, Matsuo Basho:

a silk tree
even through the leaves weary
of starlight

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

And now it is up to you. Try to "fuse" these two haiku into a new haiku (only haiku). Have fun!

This episode of Crossroads is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 2nd at noon (CEST).

Carpe Diem #1397 The Journey Into Your Own Depth

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to give you an all new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry. This month (March) is special, because we are exploring the beauty of the poems by Rumi, the Mystical Poet from 13th century Persia. He has written wonderful poems as you all have seen already. His poems are mystical and full of deeper mysteries ... Rumi a wonderful enlightened poet.

For this episode I have chosen a wonderful poem by Rumi, but this time the title is not from the poem itself, it is an interpretation by me, because ... A few hours ago I was watching a TV-show and in that TV-show were a few renown Dutch artists, two of them father and son. The host of the TV-show asked the father the following question: "What would you like to say to your son now he is starting his own musical career?" The answer was as simple as was it beautiful: "Stay close to your heart. Follow your heart and not the commercial path of music. Create music you like and don't let your music be different than your heart".

Isn't that an awesome philosophical answer? Stay close to you heart, create your own path. Isn't that what we all strive for? Isn't that what we try to do if we are creating our poems? Stay close to you heart, find your own style, find a style you like without betrayal of your heart.

Follow Your Heart

Here is the poem for your inspiration, enjoy the read and I hope it will inspire you.

Then Journey Into Yourself:

Oh, if a tree could wander
     and move with foot and wings!
It would not suffer the axe blows
     and not the pain of saws!
For would the sun not wander
     away in every night ?
How could at every morning
     the world be lighted up?
And if the ocean’s water
     would not rise to the sky,
How would the plants be quickened
     by streams and gentle rain?
The drop that left its homeland,
     the sea, and then returned ?
It found an oyster waiting
     and grew into a pearl.
Did Yusaf not leave his father,
     in grief and tears and despair?
Did he not, by such a journey,
     gain kingdom and fortune wide?
Did not the Prophet travel
     to far Medina, friend?
And there he found a new kingdom
     and ruled a hundred lands.
You lack a foot to travel?
     Then journey into yourself!
And like a mine of rubies
     receive the sunbeams? 
Out of yourself ? such a journey
     will lead you to yourself,
It leads to transformation
     of dust into pure gold!

© Rumi

Awesome poem ... full of wonder, full of mystery a real poem by the Mystical Poet Rumi. I think you can find a lot in this poem to become inspired by ... so I am looking forward to your responses.

Here is mine:

fragile wings
pointing the way to transformation -
the summerbreeze

© Chèvrefeuille

And a tanka from my archives. This tanka fits the poem like a glove I think.

lost in the woods
searching for a new path
between ferns
the early light of day
points the way to leave

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I think you can find enough inspiration ... 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 2nd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode, another nice poem by Rumi, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1396 Unfold Your Own Myth

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last few episodes of this wonderful month. In this month I tried to inspire you through the Qu'ran and through the beautiful poems by Rumi. This month was awesome to create, but not easy to respond on. Next month we will dive into the "matter" of writing Haibun (Prose and poetry) and I think April will be a cool month too.

Today's poem for your inspiration is taken from "The Essential Rumi" by Coleman Barks and is titled "Make Your Own Myth". It's a nice poem and it describes the wonders of creating your own myth as e.g. Moses did or Napoleon. Everyone of us can create his / her own myth, but what do you create as you "create your own myth"?

Let me tell you in short what a myth is:

Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that are ostensibly historical, though often supernatural, explaining the origins of a cultural practice or natural phenomenon. The word "myth" is derived from the Greek word mythos, which simply means "story". Mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. Myth can mean 'sacred story', 'traditional narrative' or 'tale of the gods'. A myth can also be a story to explain why something exists.

Stonehenge? A Myth?

Human cultures' mythologies usually include a cosmogonical or creation myth, concerning the origins of the world, or how the world came to exist. The active beings in myths are generally gods and goddesses, heroes and heroines, or animals and plants. Most myths are set in a timeless past before recorded time or beginning of the critical history. A myth can be a story involving symbols that are capable of multiple meanings.

A myth is a sacred narrative because it holds religious or spiritual significance for those who tell it. Myths are often therefore stories that are currently understood as being exaggerated or fictitious.

Myth ... a story to explain why something or someone exists and that's maybe the "deeper layer" in the poem by Rumi, which I will share hereafter. Rumi is known as the "Mystical Poet" and it's easy to see that "myth" is part of Mystic thought. So there is a reason why we exist ... 

Unfold Your Own Myth:

Who gets up early to discover the moment light begins?

Who finds us here circling, bewildered, like atoms?

Who comes to a spring thirsty

and sees the moon reflected in it?

Who, like Jacob blind with grief and age,smells the shirt of his lost son

and can see again?

Who lets a bucket down and brings up

a flowing prophet? Or like Moses goes for fire

and finds what burns inside the sunrise?

Jesus slips into a house to escape enemies,

and opens a door to the other world.

Solomon cuts open a fish, and there's a gold ring.

Omar storms in to kill the prophet

and leaves with blessings.

Chase a deer and end up everywhere!

An oyster opens his mouth to swallow one drop.

Now there's a pearl.

A vagrant wanders empty ruins.

Suddenly he's wealthy.

But don't be satisfied with stories, how things

have gone with others. Unfold

your own myth, without complicated explanation,

so everyone will understand the passage,

We have opened you.

Start walking toward Shams. Your legs will get heavy

and tired. Then comes a moment

of feeling the wings you've grown,

lifting.

© Rumi (The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks)

A wonderful, very spiritual and mystical, poem I would say. Enough to become inspired by ... at least I hope that I have inspired you with this poem, because I wasn't inspired to create my inspired poetry after reading this poem.

Butterfly ... to unfold my own myth

making my own myth
feeling one with nature around me
I am a butterfly

born from the silk cocoon
made by a caterpillar

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... nice tanka (how immodest) after all I was inspired enough ...

This episode is open for your submissions right now and will remain open until April 1st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode, another beauty by Rumi, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend-Meditation #25 Use That Quote

!!! Open for your submissions next Sunday, March 25th, at 7:00 PM (CET)  !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new Carpe Diem Weekend-Meditation. This weekend I have chosen for "Use That Quote". In this feature I will give you a quote for your inspiration to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

For this weekend meditation I have chosen a quote by Rabindranath Tagore, one of my favorite Indian poets.

Rabindranath Tagore

Let me tell you first a little background on Tagore:

Viswakavi (World Poet) Rabindranath was born on May 9, 1861 in Bengal. His father Maharihi Devendranath Tagore was a rich man and an aristocrat and his mother was Sarada Devi. He was the eighth son and fourteenth child of his parents. Rabindranath Tagore was not sent to any school. He was educated at home by a tutor. Rabindranath was not happy, getting educated within the four walls. He was a curious and creative child. Even as a boy he felt that nature is a mystery and he should unravel the secrets of nature, through education.

Though he was educated at home, he studied many subjects and there was a method in his studies. He would get up early. After physical education he would study Mathematics, History, Geography, Bengali and Sanskrit. In the afternoon, he learnt drawing, English and play games. On Sundays he would learn music and conduct experiments in science. Reading plays was of special interest to him. He was happy to read plays of Kalidas and Shakespeare. He had a special interest in Bengali, which was his mother-tongue. 

Rabindranath started writing poetry in Bengali. His poem “Sandya Geet” (Song of Dusk) was appreciated by many, including Sri Bankimchandra Chatterji, who wrote the National song “vandemataram”. He later wrote in Bengali a number of devotional songs “Nivgarer”, “Prabhat Sangeet” etc.

“Gitanjali” is a well-known collection of his poems. Gitanjali contains his various noble thoughts common to the vast humanity, viz. pessimism, love, satisfaction, dignity of labour etc. for this book “Gitanjali” Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1931. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to get a Nobel Prize and the British Government conferred on him knighthood and gave the title of “Sir”.
He breathed his last on August 7, 1941, leaving his thoughts and ideas for all to follow.

Cover Gitanjali

Here is the quote to work with:

[...] "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." [...]  Rabindranath Tagore.

A nice quote I think. It gives possibilities to create Japanese poetry with this quote for your inspiration I think.

such fragility
a butterfly rests on my hand
precious moment

© Chèvrefeuille


Well ... I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday March 25th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 1st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, another beautiful poem by Rumi, the Mystical Poet, later on.

Carpe Diem #1395 The Dream

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our renown Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry with the world. This month we are exploring the beauty of the poems by the Mystical Poet from Persia, Rumi.

Today I have a nice (but "very" long) poem for you. This poem is titled "The Dream That Must Be Interpreted", or short "The Dream" and it was taken from "The Essential Rumi" by Coleman Barks.

Dreams

And here is the poem for your inspiration:

The Dream That Must Be Interpreted:

This place is a dream.
Only a sleeper considers it real.

Then death comes like dawn,
and you wake up laughing
at what you thought was your grief.

But there's a difference with this dream.
Everything cruel and unconscious
done in the illusion of the present world,
all that does not fade away at the death-waking.

It stays,
and it must be interpreted.

All the mean laughing,
all the quick, sexual wanting,
those torn coats of Joseph,
they change into powerful wolves
that you must face.

The retaliation that sometimes comes now,
the swift, payback hit,
is just a boy's game
to what the other will be.

You know about circumcision here.
It's full castration there!

And this groggy time we live,
this is what it's like:

                              A man goes to sleep in the town
where he has always lived, and he dreams he's living
in another town.

                           In the dream, he doesn't remember
the town he's sleeping in his bed in.  He believes
the reality of the dream town.

The world is that kind of sleep.

The dust of many crumbled cities
settles over us like a forgetful doze,

but we are older than those cities.
                                                   We began
as a mineral.  We emerged into plant life
and into the animal state, and then into being human,
and always we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring when we slightly recall
being green again.
                            That's how a young person turns
toward a teacher.  That's how a baby leans
toward the breast, without knowing the secret
of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

Humankind is being led along an evolving course,
through this migration of intelligences,
and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,

and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are.

© Rumi (taken from: The Essential Rumi by Coleman Barks)

A Dreamcatcher

A wonderful poem I would say. I hope this poem will inspire you ...

dreamtime
inner feelings and emotions
come alive

© Chèvrefeuille

And here is a haiku by my master, Matsuo Basho, on dreams:

snow on Mount Fuji -
Rosei creates the world
in his dream

© Basho (age 34)

And for closure one from my archives:

sharing my dreams
with everyone and everthing
a new spring day
as thousand birds sing their song
in praise of God

© Chèvrefeuille

And now it is up to you my dear Haijin. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 29th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend-meditation episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem 1394 Some Kiss We Want

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Time flies when you have fun they say and that's right, but it is also right that time isnot always on our side and that, my dear Haijin, is my problem today. I had a very busy day and therefore I have only a nice poem by Rumi, the Mystical Poet, from 13th century Persia, for you today.

A wonderful poem I would say, but maybe your thoughts are different then mine. So here is the poem to work with today:

Some Kiss we want:

There is some kiss we want with 
our whole lives, the touch of

spirit on the body. Seawater
begs the pearl to break its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild darling! At

night, I open the window and ask
the moon to come and press its

face against mine. Breathe into
me. Close the language- door and

open the love window. The moon
won't use the door, only the window.

© Rumi (taken from: Soul of Rumi by Coleman Barks)

Seawater begs the pearl to break its shell

I dived into my archive and found a nice haiku that I wrote somewhere in 2016:

after the summer heat
raindrops are kissing my naked body
Ah! that coolness

© Chèvrefeuille

It's not inspired on the above poem, but it fits it like a glove.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 28th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, another nice poem by Rumi to inspire you, later on. For now ... have fun !

Carpe Diem #1393 Spring Is Coming

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. We are exploring the beauty of the poems written by the Mystical Poet Rumi. This Persian poet lived in the 13th century (CE) and wrote really wonderful poems. Today, Wednesday 21st of March, spring starts on the Northern Hemisphere, therefore I have chosen a beautiful poem about Spring to inspire you.

Spring has come:

Again, the violet bows to the lily.
Again, the rose is tearing off her gown!

The green ones have come from the other world,
Tipsy like the breeze up to some new foolishness.

Again, near the top of the mountain
The anemone's sweet features appear.

Hyacinth

The hyacinth speaks formally to the jasmine,
"Peace be with you." "And peace to you, lad!
Come walk with me in this meadow."

Again, there are sufis everywhere!

The bud is shy, but the wind removes
Her veil suddenly, "My friend!"

The Friend is here like water in the stream,
Like a lotus on the water.

The narcissus winks at the wisteria,
"Whenever you say."

And the clove to the willow, "You are the one
I hope for." The willow replies, "Consider
These chambers of mine yours. Welcome!"

The apple, "Orange, why the frown?"
"So that those who mean harm
Will not see my beauty."

Dove (Ringdove)

The ringdove comes asking, "Where,
Where is the Friend?"

With one note the nightingale
Indicates the rose.

Again, the season of Spring has come
And a spring-source rises under everything,
A moon sliding from the shadows.

Many things must be left unsaid, because it's late,
But whatever conversation we haven't had
Tonight, we'll have tomorrow.

© Rumi

Isn't it a beauty ... this poem tells us the story of Spring in wonderful words as only this master, Rumi, can. The beauty of the scenes is really awesome ... and I think it will inspire you in a great way. So have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 27th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!