Carpe Diem #1555 Renga With Basho ... still it sways

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai were we are celebrating autumn as you can read in the theme "the leaves are falling". Today I have chosen to challenge you with a new "Renga With Basho ...". As you all know I see him as my sensei and I am honored that I may give you the opportunity to create renga with my sensei. You can choose your own "line-up" and of course your own "hokku" (starting verse). You have to add your two-lined stanza of approximately 14 syllables. Please try to "close the chain" by creating an "ageku" (closing verse) that associates with the "hokku".

Lactarius Hatsudake (Photo © Ruben Walleyn)

Here are the six haiku to use:

mushrooms *
not yet that many days
of autumn dew

pine mushroom
with its ragged top it's
like a pine tree

moon past full
the beginning of a little more
darkness

morning glories
in the daytime a lock lowered
on the gate **

chrysanthemum flowers
bloom at the stonemason's
between stones

Glistening Dew (image found on Pinterest)

glistening dew
not spilling from bush clover
still it sways

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold, taken from "Basho, The Complete Haiku")

* The mushroom here is the Lactarius Hatsudake it bleeds a reddish liquid that changes into green when broken. In spite of this spooky attribute, the mushroom is edible. One does not know from the poem whether the autumn dew that Basho mentions is actual dew or this fluid.

** Remarks on Closing The Gate: "... if anyone comes, I have to make unnecessary talk. If I go out to visit anyone, I feel bad for disturbing him. I should be content without any friends. I should feel wealthy in spite of my poverty. A fifty-year-old man writes this for himself as precept for his edification".

Six wonderful haiku I think. Full of intensity and beauty. A real joy to work with I think and I am looking forward to all your beautiful responses. By the way ... I love to create a new exclusive CDHK E-book in which I will gather all your wonderful renga created with Basho. I hope you all will be okay with that.

Cover of our new exclusive CDHK E-book "still it sways" renga with the master

This episode is NOW OPEN for your responses and will remain open until December 5th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #29, Bastet's "the mountain shining"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you maybe can remember last year we had an every week Tan Renga Challenge, but during our pilgrimage-months I hadn't time to prepare those Tan Renga Challenges, so from this month on we will have our Tan Renga Challenge back every friday. For these Tan Renga Challenges I use haiku written by you, my dear haijin, of course after asking permission.

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to complete the Tan Renga by writing the second stanza. Let me tell you a little bit more about Tan Renga. Tan Renga looks very similar to Tanka (5-7-5-7-7), but is not written by one haiku-poet, but by two haiku-poets, it's a kind of collaborative writing.
The first stanza of a Tan Renga, is the haiku (5-7-5) and the second stanza, for asfaras I know it has no special name, has two lines of respectively 7-7 syllables. Of course you don't have to use that 7-7 syllables rule, but if you want to ... please feel free.

Credits: The Mountain Shining

This week's Tan Renga Challenge (number 25) is started by Bastet of "Bastet and Sekhmet's Library" and this is the haiku (the first stanza) of "the mountain shining":

the mountain shining
first light streaks through the valley
lazy clouds float by

(c) Bastet

The goal is to write the second stanza to complete the Tan Renga. This is my completion of this Tan Renga.

the mountain shining
first light streaks through the valley
lazy clouds float by   (Bastet)

at the horizon sounds of thunder
and lightning brightens the sky    (Chèvrefeuille) 

Well .... now it is up to you to complete this Tan Renga started by Bastet . have fun, be inspired and share your completed Tan Renga with Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

This episode of CD's Tan Renga Challenge will stay open until next friday April 11th 11.59 AM (CET) and is NOW OPEN for your submissions.