Carpe Diem #1603 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (7) phoenix

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have to apologise to you for bein glate with publishing our new regular episode. My excuses for being late, but that said ... time to go on with a new Tan Renga Challenge, because that's what we are doing this whole month ... Tan Renga Challenges.

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and that your weekend was one of inspiration and joy. Today I have chosen a wonderful haiku to work with created by one of our family members. I haven't ask her yet, but I think she will not have a problem with using her haiku here at our wonderful Kai. I have chosen a haiku created by Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove. She wrote this haiku in response on the "rebirth" of our Time Glass feature last week.

rebirth
tendrils of love spread
through poetry

© Dolores

The Phoenix by Evolvana (DevianArt; image found on Pinterest)

A wonderful haiku to work with I think, I hadn't inspiration to create the 2nd stanza to this Tan Renga, but I love to share a haiku from my archives:

phoenix spreads its wings
after the dark cold winter night
finally spring

© Chèvrefeuille (2015)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... be inspired!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge September 2018 Chained Together III (12) clouds and waves

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. And what a wonderful month this already is through all your wonderful completions / continuations of the Tan Renga this month. I have another beauty for you. This time I hope you will complete this Tan Renga starting with a nice haiku by Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove inspired on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore that we had in one of our recent  weekend meditations.

anchor (image found on pixabay)

Here is the haiku ("hokku") to work with and complete into a Tan Renga by adding your 2nd two-lined stanza:

clouds and waves
carry my dreams away
tugging my anchor

© Dolores

I have given it a try (of course), so here is my Tan Renga:

after a restless night I awake
in the arms of my muse

© Chèvrefeuille

Not as strong as I had hoped, but I like the twist in this 2nd stanza. And now it's up to you. Have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until 24th at noon (CEST). I hope to publish our new episode later on.

Wandering Spirit Challenge #1 daisan

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A few weeks ago I asked your help with writing the daisan (third verse) for a renga which I, Yozakura, am writing together with my sensei Basho. He asked me to create the third verse with the moon as kigo. I had difficulties with creating that verse and so asked your help.

Together with Chèvrefeuille, your host, I have chosen for the daisan written by Dolores Fegan. We thought that verse fits the best. Let me give you the three first verses, including the daisan, here:

at dawn
birds sing their songs
dewdrops shimmer                        (Yozakura)

cherry blossoms bloom again
shelter for young sparrows            (Basho)  

the pale moon hangs
still fresh against the sky
trailing morning glories                 (Yozakura with the help of Dolores)

I think this daisan gives Basho the possibility to create the next stanza. Thank you all for your help and Dolores ... congratulations. Chèvrefeuille will create a special Wandering Spirit episode in which your work will be highlighted.

 

Katajike nai, thank you

Yozakura

Yozakura

 

 

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month 2017 #9 leaves float away (Dolores Fegan)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Last Thursday we had a nice "hokku" to work with written by a classical haiku poet so today I have a "hokku" written by a modern haiku poetess. I think you all will know her, because she is an active participant at CDHK, Dolores Fegan. (At the right side of our Kai you can find her e-book "First Magnolia Bloom", for sure worth to read.

The "hokku" of today is the following, a "magical" haiku of autumn:

autumn evening
like whispered prayers
leaves float away

© Dolores

autumn leaves (image found on Pinterest)

Isn't it a wonderful "hokku" to work with? Here is my attempt to create a Tan Renga with it through adding my 2nd stanza.

autumn evening

like whispered prayers

leaves float away                               © Dolores

voices of the gods
respond through rain                          © Chèvrefeuille

Awesome ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until May 19th at noon (CET). Have fun!

First Magnolia Bloom

Dear Haijin,

Now available for download a new exclusive CDHK E-book by Dolores Fegan, the winner of our 'prayers' kukai.
First Magnolia Bloom has become a beautiful collection of haiku by a very gifted haiku poetess.

You can find this new E-book at the right of our Kai.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille

Carpe Diem Special #220 Orion, a haibun by Dolores Fegan our featured haiku poetess

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's with a kind of sadness that I publish our last CD-Special for this month. Dolores, our winner of the "prayers' - kukai, is a very gifted poetess and I have already the content for her exclusive CDHK e-book which I have titled "First Magnolia Bloom". Her E-book is almost ready and than I will prepare it for downloading here at CDHK.

Dolores, as I discovered recently, has a wonderful haibun-blog om Medium and therefore I love to share a haibun written by her and extracted from her Medium blog "Haibun Journey - View From My Window". It's a nice haibun and it fits our regular prompt "stars" in a great way. Enjoy the read.

Orion

From my window far overhead and through the trees I can see the constellation Orion. It is clear enough to make out the hilt on his belt. His bow raised high in the sky. I remember my father teaching me the names of the constellations and the stars that made them up. I do not recall all the names, but am forever blessed with fond memories.

winter hunter
stalking the night sky
bow aimed high

my father
points out the night sky
my hand in his

© Dolores Fegan

A wonderful haibun ... and now it is up to you to create haiku, tanka or a haibun inspired on this beauty by Dolores. Have fun!

Here is a haibun from my archives, titled "autumn moon"

AUTUMN MOON

departing summer
days become shorter -
the full moon

The above haiku expresses my feelings in the fall. It is now September and fall will soon come. Each season has its charm, but my heart beats more rapidly as autumn approaches. Autumn, the season of renunciation. Saying goodbye to summer and get ready for winter. The trees lose their leaves, after they have had all the colors you can imagine.

The days are getting shorter, the weather changes in to rough rains and storms.

Saying goodbye ... surely that is the keyword for fall.

 

From the haiku tradition, the moon is at its most beautiful in the fall. Living in Japan this thought is at least very strong. Here in the West moon viewing is best in winter. Maybe that's true, but ... I'm just a Western haiku poet who is really oriented on the east and therefore more at home with the thoughts that the autumn moon is the best.

I like the moon in autumn. I can enjoy the sight of the moon, our natural satellite. In autumn the moon is mysterious and can work miracles. That feeling I expressed in the above haiku, but also in many other haiku.

light of the full moon
shines through colored leaves
at last ... autumn

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 1st at noon (CET). I will post our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem Special #219 Dolores' 3rd colorful mushrooms

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As I promised you yesterday I will publish the third CD-Special by Dolores today. I just hadn't time and I had the flu, so all was to much for me, but I am recovering from the flu and I am glad to bring you another wonderful CD-Special in which I feature the beautiful poetry of Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove, our winner of the "prayers" kukai.

Dolores ia a wonderful and very gifted haiku poetess and she is, as are many of you, a longtime participant of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. And in her haiku I sense the connection with nature and the love for nature, which makes haiku what it is ... a short poem in which a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water is caught ... haiku is just an impression of a scene the poet or poetess encountered.

For today's CD-Special "colorful mushrooms" I have chosen a series of haiku which Dolores wrote in October 2015 and in those haiku she catches the spirit of autumn, the beauty of autumn.

colorful mushrooms (wild chanterelle)

We are encountering autumn in a few days (or spring if you live on the Southern hemisphere) and in these haiku by Dolores I really sense the beauty of departure, letting go, release ....:

colorful mushrooms
within the decaying tree
new life from old

leaves and clouds
race the setting sun
across the lake

sounds of summer fade
crisp air echoes with crickets
and crunch of dry leaves

sunlight dances
on the back of autumn trees
leaves spiral downward

© Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove

Do you sense autumn in these beauties? Summer departs, trees are starting to become more colorful, as do the mushrooms; dry and colored leaves swirl around, you can smell decay ... you can feel the wind through your hair. I can hear the laughter of children playing with leaves, seeking oak-nuts, chestnuts ... wow autumn ....

autumn storm

Autumn however is not only beauty, but also decay and heavy storms that uproot trees. Instead of the sweet scenes above I love to respond with the more stronger, heavier appearance of autumn with the following series:

vanishing summer
leaves begin to color
autumn will soon be there
the heavy rains and storms collide
trees uprooted

trees uprooted
tiles broken on the streets
the force of nature

the force of nature
finally after the autumn storm
the sight of the full moon
brings back good memories
vanishing summer

© Chèvrefeuille

That also is autumn ....

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 24th at noon (CET). I will publish immediately hereafter our regular episode, Harvest moon.

Carpe Diem Special #218 Dolores' 2nd "dreaming of spring"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the second CD-Special of this month. As you all know, the winner of our kukai "prayers" is Dolores of Ada's Poetry Alcove, she is our featured haiku poet this month and I love to share her poetry here to inspire you.

In the first CD-Special I shared a beautiful tanka by Dolores and I think she is a great tanka poet, so for this second CD-Special of September I have chosen another nice tanka by Dolores to inspire you.

The following tanka "dreaming of spring" catches the life's circle in five lines and Dolores has done that in great way:

autumn
flowers drop their petals
summer gone
they sleep in cold earth
dreaming of spring

© Dolores

A beauty ... As you can read in this tanka all the seasons are present. In a tanka that's not a problem, but in haiku this will be seen as "not done". In every haiku there is only one season (mostly). I think this is the difference between tanka and haiku.
Three lines (as in haiku) give you less space to write down your thoughts and feelings, but those extra two lines, five lines, as in tanka give you that opportunity ... those two extra lines make the difference. I can understand that you sometimes need more lines to write down your feelings and thoughts ... tanka gives you that space.

Last Leaf

As you all (maybe) know I am just a beginner in tanka, but I like the form very much and I am trying to create tanka more often. So here I go ... writing a tanka inspired on the one by Dolores.

a last leaf
fights with the fall storm
its color fades
struggling against the wind
it surrenders

© Chèvrefeuille

Not as strong as I had hoped, but I like the scene ... it makes the leaf more human ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 16th at noon (CET). I will post our second episode, calm, immediately hereafter. Have fun!

Carpe Diem Special #217 Dolores' 1st paintbrush flowers (tanka)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first Carpe Diem Special of September 2016. This month our featured haiku poetess is Dolores from Ada's Poetry Alcove. Dolores was the winner of the last kukai "prayers" with the following haiku:

autumn evening
like whispered prayers
leaves float away

© Dolores

On her Google + account she says the following about herself in tanka-form:

Words are like pennies to me;
bright and shiny.
Discontent to be left jingling
within my pocket.
They must be spent.

Dolores is a very gifted poetess and she is one of the first participants of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. She started with haiku, but she also writes tanka.

For this first CD Special I have chosen a tanka for your inspiration. She created this tanka inspired on music by Karunesh titled Calling Wisdom.

Here is her tanka to inspire you:

paintbrush flowers

dancing on the hillside 

wind blows over reeds 

ancient chants resurrected 

sights and sounds of summer

© Dolores

The challenge for today's CD Special is to create a tanka (5 lines: respectively 5-7-5-7-7 syllables) inspired on this beauty by Dolores. Have fun!

faraway sounds
bring memories of childhood
laughing children
seeking for chestnuts
between colorful leaves

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 9th at noon (CET). I will post another regular episode immediately hereafter.

Carpe Diem Renga Party #3 summer moonlight

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I love to start a new Renga Party together with you, my dear CDHK family. This time I love to create a "kasen-renga", this is a renga with 36 stanza. The startdate of this new Renga Party is June 20th.

For this new Renga Party I have asked Dolores of "Ada's Poetry Alcove" to write the "hokku". Dolores provided me with a wonderful series of "hokku" from which I could choose. For this new Renga Party "summer moonlight", the "hokku" is the following:

summer moonlight
steals my sleep again
I stroll down the lane

© Dolores

summer moonlight

As you maybe remember you had to sign up for participating in the Renga Party. I will prolong that idea here again.

So if you would like to participate in this new edition of our Carpe Diem Renga Party "summer moonlight" than please sign up and let me know it through the comments field of this post.

You can sign up for this Renga Party until June 15th 2016 10.00 PM (CET).

 I hope to see you all participating in this new Renga Party.

After the above mentioned "closing-time" I will create a "line-up" in which I hope to distribute the participants as fairly as possible.

Have a great weekend,

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.

Carpe Diem's Seven Days Before Christmas 2015 #3 decorations

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Seven Days Before Christmas ... we are closing in to Christmas with this third episode of this special "holiday" feature. Christmas is the time of decorating our homes inside and outside so therefore I have chosen for "decorations" as our prompt for this third episode.

I remember that we had an almost the same prompt last year. Of course that's not a problem, because decorations are part of Christmas. I decided to read all the entries for that episode last December 2014 again and I love to share a few entries which were written then.

Yuletide
decorations and lights
ruby-red and green
despite falling snow
the spring sun returns

© Georgia (2014)

lace of frost
blossoming on windowpanes
winter meadow

© Ese

Christmas decorations
assortment of memories
hung on my tree

© Dolores

light of the world
reflects in silver and gold
christmastree clothed

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 21st 10.00 PM (CET). Have fun!

 

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #47 flowers

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's Wednesday again and so it's time for a new episode of our former Ghost Writer, Tokubetsudesu, feature. This week I love to take you on a trip along flowers and challenge you to write an all new haiku following the classical rules on flowers and by using images. This week's Tokubetsudesu episode will bring CD Imagination, one of our special features, back to your attention.

Flowers ... there are a lot of haiku (classical, non-classical, ancient and modern) about flowers. Sometimes flowers as a bigger picture, sometimes more specific e.g. violets or sunflowers. This week I have gathered a nice series of haiku on flowers for your inspiration and a few beautiful images to help to awaken your muses ...

kobi bito no   kokoro ni mo niyo   shii no hana

the traveling heart
should be like
hidden blossoms

shii no hana no   kokoro ni mo niyo   kiso no tabi

hidden flowers
the heart resembles
a trip to Kiso

© Basho (1644-1694) (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

The preface of these two was:

'As Kyoriku leaves for Hikone by the Kiso Route".

The name of the tree (Shii) is the castanopsis cupsidata (or fake, apparent, chestnut) which bears inconspicuous flowers. Well ... let me go with the flow and look a bit closer to these haiku. Both are about traveling, both speak about 'hidden flowers'. The line 'hidden flowers' is about the inconspicuous flowers of the Shii, but can easily be seen as a line that points to hidden meanings, or secrets.

Credits: Castanopsis

Another nice haiku, this time composed by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827):

na no hana ni yotsu no naru made asa cha kana

amid mustard flowers
till the ten o'clock bell...
morning tea

jiji ga yo ya kare-gi mo yuki no hana no haru

an old man's world--
flowers of snow on bare trees
spring's blossoms

© Kobayashi Issa (Tr. David G. Lanoue)

Or what do you think of this gorgeous Morning Glory haiku by Chiyo-Ni (1703-1775) who says of her own haiku:

"When beauty is expressed in terms of Buddhism, it is a form of self- enjoyment of the suchness of things. Flowers are flowers, mountains are mountains, I sit here, you stand there, and the world goes on from eternity to eternity, this is the suchness of things."

The morning glory!
It has taken the well bucket,
I must seek elsewhere for water.

© Chiyo-Ni (Tr. Patricia Donegan)

The above haiku is very famous and in Chiyo-Ni's words above we can easily see and feel the strong influence of Basho, who was admired by Chiyo-Ni.

Another classical haiku-poet which I love to share a haiku of is Yosa Buson (1716-1784), he not only was a great haiku poet, but also a great painter of haiga.

cha no hana ya shiro nimo ki nimo obotsu kana

The tea-plant flowers--
whether white or whether yellow,
hard to tell

© Yosa Buson

Let me now look at a few modern haiku poets' haiku on flowers.

For example this one by Dolores, one of our haiku kai family members:

as shadows grow
blossoms close their petals
awaiting dawn

© Dolores

Or this one by another haiku kai family member, Maniparna:

tender touch of color
ushering spring’s arrival
bare branches come alive

© Maniparna

And to close these examples of modern haiku poets a haike cascade by Leslie and by Jane Reichhold:

petals velvet smooth
reaching up toward the sun
your smile welcomes home

your smile welcomes home
elegant dress for the night
outlined by the moon

© Leslie

one flashlight
in the daisy meadow
stars

© Jane Reichhold

 All wonderful haiku written by classical and modern haiku poets. I think I will share a few more haiku on flowers for your inspiration. What do you think of this one by Garry Gay, one of our featured haiku poets last year.

Dandelion seed--
unnoticed
in his beard

© Garry Gay

Next to his haiku, Garry Gay is a respected photographer and the following photo goes with this above shared haiku:

Credits: Dandelion Seed © Garry Gay

Or this one by Jack Kerouac (1922-1999):

one flower
on the cliffside
nodding at the canyon

© Jack Kerouac (from: Book of Haikus by Jack Kerouac)

Flowers ... a great topic in haiku which brings wonderful and beautiful haiku. Here is a "troiku" which I wrote myself in which a peony plays the lead:

(sleigh):

pink flowers bloom
between green dewy leaves
a double peony

(horse 1):

pink flowers
as far as man can see -
purple sea

(horse 2):

between green dewy leaves
hides a little green frog
for the blue heron

(horse 3):

a double peony
in full bloom in my garden -
a dawning sun

© Chèvrefeuille

!! More about the "troiku" you can find in the menu at the top of our Haiku Kai. "Troiku" is a haiku-form which I created at the start of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

Well .... it's much to take I think, but I enjoyed creating this episode of Tokubetsudesu (former Ghost Writer) and I hope it will inspire you to write all new haiku, tanka of haibun. You can use the haiku and the images for your inspiration. Have fun!

This episode of Tokubetsudesu is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until June 12th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, eagles, later on. For now .... have fun, be inspired and share your inspired poem with us all.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #64,

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone and this year is running to an end ... we have still one week to go 'til Christmas and two weeks 'til New Years Eve. These last two weeks I will try to publish on time and today we have a nice haiku to start our tan renga with. The goal is to complete the tan renga (a short chained renga with only two stanza) by associating on themes in the first stanza. Our second stanza has two lines with 7 syllables each.
Here is our first stanza written by Dolores in response on Northern Lights  I don't know if i have asked her permission, but her haiku is really awesome:

curtain of light
shimmers in the winter cold
flight of fancy

© Dolores

I think her haiku can inspire you in very different ways ... so go for it ...

Credits: Aurora Borealis

Here is my completion of this tan renga started by Dolores:

curtain of light

shimmers in the winter cold
flight of fancy                                         (© Dolores)

in the middle of the night
Mother Nature's light show                   (© Chèvrefeuille)

I hope to read wonderful completions or continuations ... have fun!

This Tan Renga challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday December 26th at noon (cet).

!!! Soon to come our first kukai !!!
!!! Soon to come our first episode of Carpe Diem's Time Machine in which i will share prompts from our cdhk history !!!