Carpe Diem Special #117, Tomas Tranströmer's 3rd "a mother of stone"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you all know I have changed a few things here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. No more extra features on their own, but caught in our regular (or in the Special) episodes. So for this new CD-Special, a haiku by our featured haiku-poet Tomas Tranströmer, I have chosen for the following "former extra feature" "Romancing the haiku", in which the goal was to write a "romantic" haiku ... So next to the goal of our Specials, writing in the same spirit as the featured haiku-poet, you have to write a "romantic" haiku.

I have found a few wonderful haiku written by Tranströmer while he worked in Hällby Youth Prison (1959). He published nine haiku in that time he was working at that juvenile prison.

Night—a twelve-wheeler
goes by making the dreams of
the inmates shiver

The boy drinks his milk
and sleeps cozy in his cell,
a mother of stone

© Tomas Tranströmer

Juvenile prison ... not really a romantic place I think, but in these both haiku you can hear somewhat like romance. What are the dreams of inmates? How much do they love their mother, father, sister or brother?

There must be something of romance inside prison.

ten p.m. - lights go out

the inmates dream their dreams -

a heart on the beach

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... I think I have caught the romance of being inside of prison. Let me try another one ...

Credits: Shower

taking a shower

furtive glances exchanged

between cell mates

© Chèvrefeuille

Maybe ... to much romance, but I think there will be a kind of love in prison in the positive way of course.

Well ... I hope you did like this episode and I hope it will inspire you all to write an all new haiku in the spirit of Tranströmer and with a touch of romance. Have fun!

This CD-Special is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 pm (CET) and will remain open until November 18th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode, guardian angel, later on.

Carpe Diem's Romancing the Haiku #1, a new feature ...

Dear Haijin, visitors, travelers,

I hear you say "another feature?" Yes ... and I love to introduce it to you all. This new feature wasn't my idea by the way. It is initiated by Hamish Gunn who mentioned 'romantic haiku' in one of his comments at our weekly haiku-meme Haiku Shuukan were the prompt was 'rose' last week. In my haiku in that post I trod upon the path of romance.

In haiku romance is always present, but it is not a common emotion in haiku. Why? Most haiku are about nature and our role, as humans, in it. Haiku is just a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown in water. Romance can be that short, but that's mostly not. Poets (not only of haiku) are writing love-poems full of romance, mostly long poems, like choka for example or Waka. Haiku is to short for romance, so if we write about romance in haiku it's mostly not a short moment, it's more artificial ... of course, in my opinion, that's no problem, but maybe we make it a problem.
Basho once said "now you know the rules forget them immediatly and write from your heart". That's what we are going to do in this new feature ... writing straight from the heart ... without the classical rules ... just one theme "romance".

Credits: Golden Heart

And here is my first "romancing the haiku" - haiku ...:

lying on the beach
with the one I love -
full moon of summer

© Chèvrefeuille

And a few more ... romancing the haiku ... inspired me ...

midsummer night
walking along the seashore
with the one I love

arousing my senses
the sweet coolness of silk blankets
shared with my love

© Chèvrefeuille

 

Ok ... a last one ... fresh from the pencil

from behind the fence
whispering lovers, laughing children,
and sweet perfume

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you do like this new feature and I hope this new feature will be a success ... You can submit your "romancing the haiku"- haiku until September 14th at noon (CET). Have fun!