Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #91 Ese's Voice, our "runner-up" of the "prayers" kukai

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It has been a while that I published a Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu episode and that's not without reason certainly not this month. This tribute to Jane month had to be only about Jane Reichhold, but that wasn't possible, because of the "prayers" kukai results. So I choose to bring the CD-Specials and one Tokubetsudesu episode this month. I hope you all will understand that.

Our "runner-up" of the "prayers" - kukai was Ese and she became the "runner-up" with the following haiku, a beauty I would say:

silent steps -
one more candle illuminates
the old chapel

© Ese

Ese is a long time participant in Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and in an earlier kukai she was the winner and became the featured haiku poetess of November 2015. You can find her CD-Specials through clicking on the post list at the right of our Kai.

Ese is a very gifted haiku poetess and she publishes mostly on Twitter and Tumblr. And she created really wonderful haiku:

how softly it brushes
against the bare backs of mountains
a wandering cloud 

© Ese

Ese has eyes for the most tiny things in nature and around her, here is an example of a haiku by Ese in which you can read this:

two sets of footprints
disappear in the white sand
-a seagull and i 

© Ese

And to conclude this Tokubetsudesu about Ese I have a nice series of "butterfly"-haiku for you written by her:

velvet touch of wings
among evergreen vines
my palm blossoms

butterfly house-
so still on the glass ceiling
does he long for the sky?

old plastic pen-
pale butterfly keeps floating
along with my memories

© Ese

And these beauties conclude this episode. I hope you have become inspired through these beautiful haiku by Ese ... I am looking forward to your responses ... have fun!

Here is my response:

Ah! those cherry blossoms
everywhere I look their beauty amazes me again -
finally spring is here

© Chèvrefeuille

And another one inspired on Ese's "butterfly" haiku:

fragile shadow
dances on the white wall
a Holly Blue

© Chèvrefeuille

Holly Blue

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 19th at noon (CET). I will publish our new regular episode, summer solstice, immediately hereafter.

Carpe Diem #923 desire

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another nice episode about senses provided by Hamish. During lack of time I will only publish his essay about desire and that essay is a wonderful one which he created together with Ese of Ese's Voice. Here is the essay on desire.

Hi everyone, Ese here for this post:

For the topic of 'Sense of Desire,' I was asked to submit the first page of my planned upcoming book, 'Butterfly Thy Name.' Please find the (true) story's start below, and use this as your inspiration for your haiku!

I rarely get the butterfly effect deep inside me that I feel when I see Ponto Veccio in Firenze, or walk through the small street labyrinths of Rome. Yet I felt them, too, when I stood barefoot on the warm beach, Porto’s heritage, with its vintage trams and red roofs, its cobblestones and orange trees behind me, and the ocean breathing in my face. The sea at Porto that awoke me, and set my senses free was an indigo dream, a deep blue on the edge of Europe, as far from Latvia one can get without jumping continents. This sea that frothed on the beach and pulled back, sliding with a shushing sound around my toes, with its accompanying breeze that wrapped my hair around my face, lulled me into the belief that I could sail oceans, and hushed me when my thoughts became too practical. Instead I watched the horizon beyond the villas pressed against seashore, blinking with the lights of Porto in the dusk, and let the sea air play.

I felt exhilarated, and far from the distant meadows of scented grass beneath me, in those summers of long Baltic days and short thunderstorm bursts, that soaked to the seams of my dress. And in those early summer mornings, when the last dewdrop on a blade of grass had yet to fall, I dreamt so often of journeys, a desire rippling, dawned, as the last notes of a strummed guitar by the embers of another campfire faded, a need, yearn for adventure, to lie back and be swept up, taken. At those moments, with sun rays reaching from as far as I could see, I knew that for those flutters of beautiful, exotic butterflies I needed to seek the summers of horizons unseen.

When the tides came in I was drinking coffee, the sea air spraying me, across the magnificent beach. The fishermen jumped from the boats riding up onto the beaches. They wore overalls and big boots, their chests bare, and pulled the fishing boats up onto the wet sand with capable arms. The masculine view rippled through me, and goosebumps sprinkled on my skin in a chilly sort of way. I did not avert my gaze, as they wrapped up ropes, fishing nets and boxes, before walking up the beach past me. It took one glance from one of the men, his overalls loose and strapped on one shoulder over his bare chest. Just that one glance and smile in those charcoal eyes for me to feel that warm desire between my legs...

over to you!

Credits: desire

Well ... I hope you have enjoyed the read and of course I hope it will inspire you to create an all new haiku in which desire is caught.

I ran through my archive and I found a nice tanka, which fits this prompt very well I think:

Lilies of the valley
their sweet perfume makes me drowsy
hot summer night
between silken sheets her warmth
honeysuckle coolness

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February25th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, humour, later on.

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 Special #184 Ese's fifth "still beautiful"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is with sadness in my heart that I welcome you at our last CD Special of November in which I shared haiku from a wonderful and very gifted haiku poetess ... Ese of Ese's Voice. She has written a lot of beauties and for this last CD special of November I hope I did make the right choice.

Back in January 2015 we had a pre-Basho haiku poet as our featured haiku poet, Iio Sogi(1421-1502). I shared the following haiku by Sogi as the last featured haiku for January 2015 and this haiku was an inspiration for a lot of our family members and also for Ese.

This was the haiku which I shared:

Now that they end
There is no flower that can compare
With cherry blossoms

© Iio Sogi (1421-1502)

A beauty ... I think and this was my response on this beauty by Sogi:

Ah! those cherry blossoms
everywhere I look their beauty amazes me again -
finally spring is here

© Chèvrefeuille

I remember that I wasn't really impressed by my own haiku inspired on Sogi’s, but the one by Ese was really a beauty, she even came up with two haiku inspired on the one by Sogi. In her first response on Sogi’s haiku I sense his tone and spirit, and in her second response it was very clear to me that it was a real wonderful haiku in the spirit of Ese.

Cherry Blossom (photo © Chèvrefeuille)

Let us first look at the haiku she wrote in Sogi’s spirit:

first cherry blossoms
despite the bites of morning frost
still beautiful

© Ese

Read and re-read Ese’s haiku, read it aloud and you will sense, feel the spirit of Sogi ... did you try it? Have I said to much?

And here is her second, in which I really can feel Ese’s spirit ... try to read and re-read it saying it aloud and I know for sure that you can feel Ese’s spirit ... she is really a gifted haiku poetess and I hope to read a lot more beauties composed by her.

left behind
in the frozen pond
white feather

© Ese

I hope you all did like the CD-Specials of this month and I hope I did make the right choices from her oeuvre of haiku ...

Well ... you know the drill .... try to compose an all new haiku inspired on the haiku by Ese trying to touch her spirit ...

a shimmer

between colorful leaves
white pebble

© Chèvrefeuille

dark forest
a full moon walk -
Nightingale's song

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope that you all are inspired to come up with an all new haiku (or two) in the spirit of Ese.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 1st at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, Tavn Bogd (Five Mountains), later on.

I also hope to publish our new prompt-list for December in which we will follow Basho again on his journey into the deep north. We will see where he has been and we will read ALL the haiku from his famous haibun "narrow road into the deep north". I am looking forward to it ... and I hope you all will do the same.

Carpe Diem Special #183 Ese's fourth "inevitable"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today I love to share another wonderful haiku composed/created by our featured haiku poetess Ese of Ese's Voice. She won our "peace of mind" kukai and next to an e-book which we will create next year, she won the "honor" (if I may say so) to be our featured haiku poetess for November.

Ese, just recently, "closed" her wordpress weblog "Ese's Voice", because of personal reasons. The haiku for today is distilled from her last post on the WP weblog and I love to share, a wonderful poem, or just wonderful words she also shared at "Ese's Voice" hidden behind the title "the danger of being me". In this poem she describes who she is and what her ideas and dreams are.

I BELIEVE

that every journey begins with a single step, laughter really is contagious and family isn't a word but a sentence;
that there are no better antiques than old friends;
in a difficult climb to earn the view from the top of the mountain;
that when I am good I am very good, but somehow I seem to be better when I am bad;
in „The God Of Small Things”, „The Kite Runner” , „My Poor Marat” and „The Prophet” as much as I believe in „The Little Prince”;
in coffee, green tea, caramel ice-cream and crème brûlée;
in Indian summer, winter twilight and pouring rain;
that rugby is like war – easy to start, difficult to stop and impossible to forget;
in music of different forms, colors, tongues and rhythms;
that it takes two to tango…

I am a Believer.

I think our days would be more meaningful if everyone believed in something. Either yourself, a flight to the Moon or simply tomorrow. Viva La Vida!

Such wonderful words, such a wonderful poem ... that's who Ese is ... a Believer ...

After closing her WP weblog she started a new weblog on Tumblr (also called "Ese's Voice") and that's the place where she often posts new haiku or re-blogs haiku from other wonderful haiku poets.

Credits: snow red leaves

Okay ... back to the haiku for this episode of CD-Special ... "inevitable" is (in my opinion) a very strong haiku with a very true deeper meaning ... everything in our life is inevitable ... as it is in nature. Here is Ese's haiku for your inspiration:

inevitable
the dance of a falling leaf
with a snowflake

© Ese

Isn't it a beauty? Strong in its choice of words, the balance of the seasons following each other inevitable ...

The goal of this CD-Special is to create/compose an all new haiku inspired on the given haiku trying to touch the sense, tone and spirit of the haiku poet(ess). So here is my attempt to write a haiku inspired on this beauty by Ese.

fresh fallen snow
sprinkled with the colors of autumn
everlasting

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this CD-Special and that it will inspire you to write an all new haiku.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 25th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, torn apart book (reading nature), later on. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all here at our Haiku Kai.

Carpe Diem Special #181 "a maple leaf" Ese's second haiku

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is my pleasure to present to you the second CD Special of November. As you all know this month Ese of Ese's Voice, our winner of the "juxtaposition"- kukai, is the featured haiku poetess this month. Ese has given me the freedom to choose the haiku for this month myself.

I have another nice haiku for you ... I think this one is a real beauty and I hope it will inspire you. Here is the haiku which I have chosen from Ese's body of work:

a maple leaf-
I search for life line
in my palm

© Ese of Ese’s Voice

Maple Leaf

And here is my attempt to write/compose a haiku inspired on the above haiku by Ese:

a last leaf
struggles with the wind
don't let go

© Chèvrefeuille

I wonder ... is this what detaching means? Autumn is the season to detach in my opinion, or do I have say "detaching IS the meaning of autumn".

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 6.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 13th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, shepherds, later on.

Carpe Diem Special #180 Ese's first haiku this month as featured haiku poetess "red dragonfly"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am proud to bring you the first CD Special of November 2015. This month our featured haiku poetess is Ese of Ese's Voice. Ese was our kukai winner of the "juxtaposition" kukai, earlier this year. Next to being our featured haiku poetess for a month, she also won the opportunity to create an E-book. Ese emailed me lately to ask of we could make her E-book next year, because of circumstances. Of course I agreed ... so her E-book will be published next year.

Maybe you can remember the haiku which brought her the winning one in our "juxtaposition"-kukai. I love to publish it here one more time:

tepid and bittersweet
in the last sip of coffee
departing summer

© Ese

A nice haiku I think in which we can find the "juxtaposition" easily. Here is her haiku to inspire you to write an all new haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry, trying to catch her spirit, her sense and tone in it.

how calm she looks
with beads of dew frost on her wings
-red dragonfly

© Ese of Ese's Voice

Ese gave me the freedom to choose from her haiku and I hope that she, and of course you all, will like my choice.

Credits: sips nectar

deep silence
a bumblebee dances through the backyard
sips nectar

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 7th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, messenger of the gods (wind), later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #98 Ese's "before the dusk"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's Friday again and it's time for our bi-weekly Tan Renga Challenge. This week I have a wonderful haiku for you to turn into a Tan Renga written by Ese of Ese's Voice which she composed in response on our last Tokubetsudesu episode "Crystal cobweb". I think it's a masterpiece and I also hope that it will inspire you to turn it into a Tan Renga by writing the second stanza of two lines (7-7). Here is the haiku ("hokku") written by Ese:

before the dusk
lingering in the cobweb
the last of the light

© Ese

A wonderful haiku with a beautiful scenery and a lot of fragile beauty hidden in it. Really an awesome haiku to work with and turn it into a Tan Renga.

crystal cobweb © Chèvrefeuille

Of course I picked up the challenge myself and this is what I came up with:

before the dusk
lingering in the cobweb
the last of the light                        (© Ese)

crystal clear beauty
necklace of dewdrops                    (© Chèvrefeuille)

Take a look at the image and see who those cobwebs look like necklaces while shimmering in the early sunlight. Look at those fragile autumn colors ... isn't it awesome?

This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday September 25th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem Extra 34 -2015 The Results of our Third Kukai "Juxtaposition"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

After gathering all the votes I can now announce our winner of our third kukai "juxtaposition". It was a tough task this time to create a haiku for this kukai, because of the limitation that you had to use "juxtaposition" in it.
In total there were 24 haiku submitted by 9 haiku poets. And I will announce the winner in a little while, because I would ask you all something.

As you maybe remember I have asked your permission to open up the judging for the kukai also to haiku poets who didn't submit haiku. I think that it will not be a problem, but I really love to ask your opinion on it. So please share your thoughts about this with us in the comments field. Thank you.

THE RESULTS

I am proud to announce our winner for this third CDHK Kukai "Juxtaposition" .... and the winner is Ese of  Ese's Voice .... congratulations Ese you have won the opportunity to create your own e-book with a maximum of 30 pages or 50 haiku and you will be our featured haiku poetess in November 2015. Ese won this kukai with the following haiku (9 points):

tepid and bittersweet
in the last sip of coffee
departing summer

© Ese
And our "runner-up" who wins an "own" Tokubetsudesu episode in November 2015 is .... Hamish Gunn of  Haiku Forest with the following haiku (7 points):

at the waterfront
the moon bumps against the shoreline
-a hollow bowl sings

© Hamish Gunn 

Here are the results of the third kukai "juxtaposition":

9 points: haiku 12 (winner)
7 points: haiku 8 (runner-up)
6 points: haiku 9
5 points: haiku 7
4 points: haiku 10 and 11
3 points: haiku 3, 4, 5 and 22
2 points: haiku 16

1 point: haiku 14, 15, 17, 20 and 21
All the other haiku didn't get points

!! CONGRATULATIONS TO ESE AND HAMISH !!

Please remember that our new kukai Peace of Mind is running already and will close at 10:00 PM (CET) on September 25th.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille, your host.

You can send your submissions for our fourth kukai "peace of mind" to our email-address:

carpediemhaikukai@gmail.com

Please write "kukai peace of mind" in the subject line. Our fourth kukai will close at 10.00 PM (CET) on September 25th.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #79, Ese's "through the darkest hour"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is Friday again and so it is time again for a new Tan Renga Challenge here at our Haiku Kai. Every Friday (mostly) I have such a challenge and last week we had a nice classical haiku Shoha and this week I have a wonderful haiku by one of our Haiku Family members ... Ese of Ese's Voice.

The goal of this Tan Renga challenge is to continue or complete a Tan Renga, a two chained haiku poem, which is started by one of our classical haiku-poets or a non-classical haiku poet as is today.

through the darkest hour
every tree top in the forest
adorned with a star

© Ese

Ese wrote this haiku in response on "Starry Night" a painting by Van Gogh which we had for prompt in February 2015.
And now it's the goal to complete this Tan Renga with a two-lined stanza of 7-7 syllables, however there is no need to use that strict syllables count.

Here is my attempt to complete this Tan Renga

through the darkest hour
every tree top in the forest
adorned with a star                 (Ese)

new years celebrations
lightshow against the dark sky           (Chèvrefeuille)

Well I hope you all did like this episode of our Tan Renga Challenge and I hope it will inspire you all to continue or to complete the Tan Ranga started by Ese. Have fun!

This episode is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday April 10th at noon (CET).



Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #54, Ese's "fingertips"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and it's already time for our new Tan Renga Challenge. This week's Tan Renga Challenge starts with a haiku written by Ese of Ese's Voice. She wrote this haiku in response on our "Time-Glass" episode "Pine Tree" and now it will be the 'hokku' of this Tan Renga.

Here is her haiku:
fingertipsstroking scales of a pine cone-forest memories
© Ese

Credits: Pine Tree

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to write a second stanza of two lines (classical syllables-count 7-7) towards the haiku by Ese. To make the Tan Renga complete ... By completing the Tan Renga the idea is to associate on themes from the haiku e.g. stroking.

Here is my attempt:

fingertips
stroking scales of pine cone
- forest memories        (Ese)

sunlight strokes my naked body
blankets have slipped away       (Chèvrefeuille)

Hm ... not as strong as I had hoped, but anyway I have completed this Tan Renga with a kind of sensuality in it. And now it's up to you ... make the Tan Renga complete. This week's Tan Renga Challenge has a little classical in it, because the second stanza has to follow the 7-7 rule.

This episode of our Tan Renga Challenge will be open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday October 24th at noon). For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #50, Ese's "glittering blue"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It looks like we are into renga here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, but that's of course not the idea behind CDHK, but it's fun to "play" with haiku, so renga (as the mother of haiku) is very important for us haiku-poets.
This week's Tan Renga Challenge is by Ese of "Ese's Voice" and it's the 50th Tan Renga Challenge here at CDHK, so we have a little celebration, which I have given form in our new feature "Soliloquy No Renga" and in this post I just want to say THANK YOU ALL for being part of CDHK and participating in this Tan Renga Challenge every week.

This new Tan Renga Challenge is started with a nice haiku written by Ese in response on our earlier post "river" ... it is a stunning haiku and I couldn't resist it ... so I use it this week for our Tan Renga Challenge.

glittering blue

above empty riverbed
wings of dragonfly

© Ese

Isn't it a beauty? The goal of this feature is to write a second stanza towards this haiku. That 2nd stanza has two lines with respectively 7 syllables, but that's not an obligation. By associating on a theme, word, feeling or something in the given haiku (the first stanza of the Tan Renga) you have to complete or continue the Tan Renga.

Credits: Dragonfly

Here is my attempt:

glittering blue
above empty riverbed
wings of dragonfly   (Ese)                          

through the mist, the croaking of frogs;
soon the riverbed will be full again   (Chèvrefeuille)                    

A nice continuation I think, but that's not up to me. This episode of our Tan Renga Challenge is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday September 26th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #45, "Double Rainbow"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have found a little space to create this new Tan Renga Challenge, so the delay isn't very big. For this week's Tan Renga Challenge I have a nice first stanza composed by Ese of Ese's Voice. The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to compose a second stanza of two lines (7-7 syllables, no obligation by the way) to continue the scene/story of the first stanza ...

This is the haiku by Ese which I have chosen for starting the Tan Renga of this week:

double rainbow
arches across stormy sky
time to count blessings

© Ese of Ese’s Voice

Credits: Double Rainbow

A wonderful haiku to start with I think ... and now it's up to you to make this Tan Renga complete by composing the second stanza to it.

I love to compose my second stanza inspired on the last line of the haiku by Ese "time to count blessings" so here is my completed Tan Renga.

double rainbow
arches across stormy sky
time to count blessings                             (Ese)

the joy and laughter of my kids

resonates at the family barbeque               (Chèvrefeuille)

Well ... what do you think? 

This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your continuation or completion of this Tan Renga with us all.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #34, Ese's "winter meadows"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone, it was a wonderful week, because we had awesome Ghost-Writer posts which have inspired you all to write great haiku. A few days ago I published a CD-Extra episode to share my concerns about the Ghost Writer feature. Until today there is still a lot of discussion about it, but I think ... that's what makes our haiku-family stronger and closer together. Carpe Diem is a real community-feature ao I appreciate all of your ideas and thoughts about it. It feels great to read all of your ideas about Ghost Writer and that makes me happy, because that, to me, makes what Carpe Diem Haiku Kai was meant to be ... a warm loving community of haiku-poets. Thank you all for being part of this community ... it makes me proud and at the other hand humble, humble to be and may be your host here.

Today's Tan Renga Challenge is starting with a haiku written by Ese of Ese's Voice. Ese wrote this haiku in response on our May-prompt "Crystal", this haiku was part of a gorgeous trio of haiku at her weblog. By clicking on her name above you will find that post to re-read and to enjoy it.
The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to write a second stanza towards Ese's haiku. That second stanza must have two lines and if you are willing to, you may use the classic syllables-count 7-7, but that's not an obligation.

winter meadows
blossoming frost works
on window panes

© Ese

Credits: Ice Flower Art

A wonderful winter-haiku don't you think too? As I read this one for the very first time I was 'sold' and I asked Ese immediately for permission to use it for a Tan Renga Challenge. She said "yes" ... so let's go and make this Tan Renga complete by putting a second stanza towards it.

winter meadows
blossoming frost works
on window panes   (Ese)

the Creator polished the window
painting a mystical ice-flower   (Chèvrefeuille)

Awesome! A wonderful Tan Renga if I may say so. Now it's up to you my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers. Make the Tan Renga complete by writing/composing a second stanza towards it. Have fun!

This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Friday May 16th noon. Have fun, be inspired and share ...

Carpe Diem #442, Ghost-Writer Ese

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I understand that it's somewhat confusing to see these 'ghost-writer'- posts not using the given prompt as mentioned in our prompt-list, but the "ghost-writer" is free to choose his / her own prompt to inspire our Haijin, visitors and travelers to write haiku and share them with us. Of course you may also use the given prompt if you wish too.  (Look for the 'Ghost-Writer'- item HERE.)
I hope this week inspires you all to write wonderful haiku and maybe this week will make you enthousiastic to be a Ghost-Writer yourself for Carpe Diem ... if you would like to be Ghost-Writer for May 2014 than let me know and I will see what I can do for you. As all is going well than I hope to do a new Ghost-Writer week in week 19 (May 5th - 11th).

Oke ... here it is the post of our Ghost Writer, Ese, of Ese's Voice. Enjoy the read and share your haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun with our haiku-family here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
Because of the confusion you, my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers, are free to use the given prompt for today as mentioned in our prompt-list. For today that will be, Hazy Moon, or you can respond with your haiku on the inspirational post by Ese.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Spring is the season when everything awakes - in nature as well as all of the human senses. It doesn' t mean we suddenly start to feel something unexpected and never experienced before, although that is also quite possible. Just with the first green leaves and blossoming trees bringing more colours to life, also our senses seem to be dusted off after the long hibernation.

Sensuality and haiku are a lovely fit. It is the art of indirection, where so much is suggested and left to imagination. Less is more, and the images created in haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun are only the beginning of the path our thoughts take. Even a hint is enough to provoke, like in the following haiku by Hashimoto Takako (1899-1963):

Star Festival-
with my hair still wet
i meet him

Star Festival

Sensual touch in haiku is not something new, on the contrary -  it has been present in the art of quite a few Japanese (among others) poets for ages. Almost like a geisha in a tea ceremony - where her presence is sensed and enjoyed but never becomes intrusive. A glimpse of her wrist while pouring tea, a silent smile, a touch that is so mysterious one can never be sure about really feeling or only imagining it. The connection blossoming between her and a guest...just like between a haiku and a reader. Awaking senses, which stay on the back of the mind, making it wonder and wander...

Buson (1716-1784):

how long it seems
when you undo a woman' s sash
while lying in bed

With time the sensual haiku have developed and become more direct. This month our Carpe Diem prompts are modern kigo, based on "A Dictionary of Haiku", compiled by the famous haiku poetess Jane Reichhold. Among all of her haiku there is also a collection of the ones pouring sensuality. 

spring rain
your body
in me

Must admit I have written several haiku of the same mood thus the theme for my Carpe Diem "ghost - post" came to me naturally. I enjoy letting thoughts flow, melt with senses and challenging myself to find the words to reflect them.

kimono slipping
fingertips discover silk road
ecstatic sigh

Credits: Geisha on Bench, woodblock

Most probably you have guessed by now the prompt I have chosen for today is Sensual. Be inspired and inspire - your haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka or haibun always do... It is lovely when words have the power to awake senses, isn' t it?

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 11th 11.59 AM (CET). I will post our next episode, Ghost-Writer 4: Belinda, later on today.