Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Sunday Time Challenge #4: War

 Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our special feature "Sunday Time Challenge", that special feature in which you have to respond within 24 hours. As you have noticed I have chosen a (maybe) strange theme for today ... "War", but we are at War, not only against Covid-19, but since a few days we have a real war "just around the corner" at the East borders of Europe. Russia started a war against the Ukraine. It's sad to see this happening and it makes me a little scared. As I said this war is taking place "just around the corner".

I never could imagine that this kind of terror could take place at the European borders ... All European citizens are holding their breath at the moment ... What's going to happen in upcoming weeks? Does this "terror" signal a 3rd WW?

A few days ago I decided to sign out of our CDHK Carpe Diem Twitter account, which I used to respond on the things happening all around the world, next to publishing haiku. I really signed out, but within a day or two I decided to login again, just to stay posted on the things happening around us.
What news is true and what news is false/fake? I don't know. That feeling I have since the start of the C-pandemic more than two years ago.

Ancient Warrior From Thailand

Is this so called "Great Reset" (as said by the World Economic Forum (WEF)) really happening? It feels so unreal this whole ... what do I say? This "conspiracy"? Is this a "real" plan? Our future is at stake if this "Great Reset" is real. Than a New World Order will take over, than we will have a Global Government that decides everything, than we will be enslaved!

I really don't know what I have to believe, I don't know how long the "Free World" will stay free. I, ofcourse, hope this is just a Nightmare and that we will awaken in the world as we have known it, but ...

WAR is not what we seek for, we seek for PEACE and LOVE ... I really hope this is a Nightmare ...

Maybe you remember these haiku:

summer grasses
all that remains
of warriors’ dreams

© Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

ancient warriors ghosts
mists over the foreign highlands -
waiting for the full moon

© Chèvrefeuille

WAR ... can be an inspiration for poets as you can read in the above two haiku. There is nothing wrong with being inspired by such a theme, but in our real life ... WAR is not welcome ... I pray for both Russia and Ukraine and I hope this war will be a short one. I really hope we will awaken from just a Nightmare.

This episode of our Sunday Time Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will close on Monday February 28th at 3:00 AM (CET). You can add your submission to the linking widget hidden in our logo below.

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Sunday Time Challenge #3: Hurricane

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A little bit early, but I love to share our new Sunday Time Challenge already today. As you all know the goal is to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form on a given theme within 24 hours, because of this early publishing you have now 48 hours to create your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form.

At the moment I am in the nightshift at the nursing home for the elderly people were I am working. We have, how sad, a new covid-19 outbreak at our health facility and that makes that I am very busy (again). But ... well as you have seen, the theme for today (this weekend) is "hurricane" and that's inspired on a very heavy storm we have here at the moment. We have a heavy storm with Bft 10 to 11 and a lot of damage all over the country, even a few deads. So I thought ... this is a "great" theme for our Sunday Time Challenge.

Uprooted Trees

The goal is to create a haiku (or other Japanese poetry form) themed "hurricane". Here is my haiku ...

the old oak in the backyard
as strong as he always was
now ... uprooted ... tears flow

© Chèvrefeuille, your host

Hurricanes are awfull, but on the other hand ... it shows the power of nature. A power we never can equal.

This Sunday Time Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Sunday February 20th at 10:00 PM (CET). You can add your submission to the linking widget hidden in our logo below.

Carpe Diem haiku Kai: Sunday Time Challenge #2: rainbow

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A few months ago (Oct 2021) I started a new feature here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to create haiku and other Japanese poetry forms. That new feature "Carpe Diem's Sunday Time Challenge" is challenge to create a haiku, or other japanese poetry form, inspired on a given theme within 24 hours.

For this Sunday (February 13th) I have chosen the theme "rainbow". I think you all know what the "rainbow" means, that gorgeous rainbow with it's wonderful colors, a sign placed by our Creator at the sky to remember us at the "Flood". 
Nowadays we all know that the "rainbow" is more than only that sign ... it's also used for the LGTBQ community. So you can also create a haiku, or other japanese poetry form, inspired on that meaning of "rainbow".

rainbow

I love that colorful rainbow it makes me happy. And it's happiness we all need in a time of insecurity.

To inspire you a little bit more I have a nice haiku for you, it is a haiku written by Issa, one of the four great haiku masters:

evening's fall colors -
the rainbow in the valley
fades away

© Issa

A wonderful theme to work with. This Sunday Time Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Sunday, February 13th at 10:00 PM (CET). have fun! You can add your submissions to the linking widget hidden in our logo below.

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai #1358 Clouds

 

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. I will try to post more regular, but it is not always possible to create a new post. We have still cases of Covid (mostly Omicron) at the health facility were I am working, Today we have two, maybe three, new cases, so we have to test a very big group next day. 

Today I have chosen to give you a haiku written by Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) to inspire you. As you (maybe) know Jane has compiled a nice dictionary of haiku-kigo for our times. The "modern" kigo for today is "Clouds" and it is taken from the Winter kigo, sub-category Celestial.

The goal for today is to create a Tan Renga inspired on the given haiku by Jane. That means, you have to use the haiku by Jane and you have to create the "second" stanza of two lines with approx. 7 syllables.

Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

Jane, once, was a co-owner of our Haiku Kai and she taught us a lot about haiku (and other Japanese poetry forms). She is still missed and her spirit is still here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

Here is the haiku to work with:

roaring down the beach
at the height of winter waves
mist clouds

© Jane Reichhold (source: A Dictionary Of Haiku, online version)

A wonderful haiku to work with I think.

You can submit your Tan Renga inspired on this haiku through the linking widget hidden in our logo below. This submission can be done until February 7th 10:00 PM (CET). Enjoy this excercise.