Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is the place to be if you like to write and share Japanese poetry forms like haiku and tanka. It’s a warmhearted family of haiku poets created by Chèvrefeuille, a Dutch haiku poet. Japanese poetry is the poetry of nature and it gives an impression of a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water. ++ ALL WORKS PUBLISHED ARE COPYRIGHTED AND THE RIGHTS BELONG TO THE AUTHORS ++ !!! Anonymous comments will be seen as SPAM !!!
!! Open for your submissions next Sunday January 6th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
As I promised you all the weekend meditations of January will be a "follow-up" of our Pan American Highway adventure last December 2018. This is the first weekend meditation of January and I have a nice challenge for you I think.
We have arrived at Tacna Peru, close to the Chile border, and as you maybe know Peru was once part of Spain and the main religion was Catholic church. For this weekend meditation I have a wonderful image for you of the "Catedral de Tacna" to inspire you. Next to that image I love to challenge you to create a haibun with a maximum of 250 words (including the poetry) in which you try to describe your "inner journey".
This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday January 6th at 7:00 PM (CET)and will remain open until January 13th at noon (CET). Have a wonderful weekend.
Welcome at the last regular episode of December 2018. On the last day of 2018 we have arrived in Peru at the city of everlasting spring, Trujillo. Trujillo has a rich history and it's know for its wonderful colonial buildings.
This month we were on the road ... haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway. As I told you in one of the earlier posts, we will not complete this roadtrip straight through the Americas from North to South. We will go on with our roadtrip in our upcoming month January 2019. Every weekend-meditation we will go on the last stages of the Pan American Highway.
Trujillo is a city in coastal northwestern Peru and the capital of La Libertad Region. It is the third most populous city and center of the third most populous metropolitan area of Peru. It is located on the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth at the Pacific Ocean, in the Moche Valley. This was a site of the great prehistoric Moche and Chimu cultures before the Inca conquest and subsequent expansion.
Trujillo is also known as the "City of Everlasting Spring", is considered the "Capital of the Marinera", a traditional dance in Peru, "Cradle of the Peruvian Paso horse", as well as the "Capital of Culture of Peru". It has sponsored numerous national and international cultural events, and has a lively arts community. Current festivals include the "National Marinera Festival", the Trujillo Spring Festival and the International Book Festival, which is one of the most important cultural events in the country.
Trujillo is renown for its so called "Marinera dancers". Marinera is a coastal dance of Peru. Marinera is a graceful and romantic couple's dance that uses handkerchiefs as props. The dance is an elegant and stylized reenactment of a courtship, and it shows a blend of the different cultures of Peru. The dance itself has gained a lot of recognition and is one of the most popular traditional dances of Peru. The city of Trujillo has been the national capital of this dance ever since the passage of law No. 24,447 on January 24, 1986. The Trujillo Marinera Festival has been held in Trujillo since the 1960s. In 2012, the Congress of the Peruvian Republic declared October 7 as Marinera Day in Trujillo City, which is celebrated with a parade and dance expressions.
The origin of the Marinera is generally traced back to the Zamacueca. However, there are several other theories about where it comes from. The dance is traditionally accompanied by several instruments: cajón, clarinets, guitars, drums, and bugles. (Source: Wikipedia)
I hope you enjoyed this music video and maybe it inspired you to create Japanese poetry.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Januari 6th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, the first of 2019, later on. Next month we will explore the beauty of classical and modern kigo for winter.
First I have to apologize for being late with publishing our new regular episode. There were circumstances that needed my attention. We are on the road ... haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway.
A few days ago we entered Southern America and today we have arrived at another wonderful city along this Highway ... Quito, the Capital of Ecuador. Quito has a long history that goes back into the 15th century, but in this century Quito became a "bigger" and more important city.
As I was preparing this episode I ran into a beautiful photo of Quito's ancient center, the El Panicello you can see on this photo. It's a hill of vulcanic rubbish and it's a place of interest in Quito. For this episode I have taken the "easy" way ... I will give you the photo for your inspiration.
Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai, the place to be if you like to create Japanese poetry and share it with the world. Here at CDHK we are on a journey along the Pan American Highway and writing haiku, tanka or other kinds of Japanese poetry in praise of this longest Highway on the world. The Pan American Highway is a road straight through the Americas from North to South. Before the weekend we entered the Darien Gap and now ... we have set foot in Southern America ... and are visiting Turbo Columbia. This will be the first stop in the last six regular episodes of "Haiku Along The Pan American Highway".
Turbo is a port city in Antioquia Department, Colombia. It is located on the coast of Gulf of Urabá, 340 km north of Medellín (the department capital and second largest Colombian city). This port city is the capital of the Urabá region of Antioquia. The place where Turbo is today was known as Pisisí, but by 1741 people were already talking about Turbo. By a decree on May 11, 1839, the central government spent one thousand pesos for military service barracks in Turbo. In 1840 the republican president assigned one thousand fanegas of uncultivated lands for the new population. It was established as a municipality in 1847. Turbo lies near the southeastern tip of the Darién Gap.
According to several sources Turbo has nothing to offer. So it is not a place to stay for a while.
For this episode I found my inspiration in the above photo by Adam Lee:
We are haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway straight through the americas from North to South and we arrived in Mexico. Mexico the country with all those wonderful ancient cultures, but also renown for its wonderful music, but that's not were this episode is about.
The Pan American Highway is renown for it's beautiful landscapes, but there is also a gap in this Pan American Highway. This gap is known as the "Darién Gap" and it's a part of the Highway, a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest within Panama's Darién Province in Central America and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department in South America.
Let me tell you a little bit more about this "gap" in the Pan American Highway. The Darién Gap is a break in the Pan-American Highway consisting of a large swath of undeveloped swampland and forest within Panama's Darién Province in Central America and the northern portion of Colombia's Chocó Department in South America. The gap begins in Yaviza, Panama and ends in Turbo, Colombia, and is 106 km (66 miles) long. Roadbuilding through this area is expensive and the environmental cost is high. Political consensus in favor of road construction has not emerged.
The geography of the Darién Gap on the Colombian side is dominated primarily by the river delta of the Atrato River, which creates a flat marshland at least 80 km (50 mi) wide, half of this being swampland. The Serranía del Baudó range extends along Colombia's Pacific coast and extends into Panama. The Panamanian side, in sharp contrast, is a mountainous rainforest, with terrain reaching from 60 m (197 ft) in the valley floors to 1,845 m (6,053 ft) at the tallest peak (Cerro Tacarcuna, in the Serranía del Darién).
Today, most intercontinental travelers bypass the sixty-mile gap by boat or plane. But some adventurous souls still try the trek overland. A 1959 expedition crossed the gap in Jeeps and Land Rovers, and George Meegan's 1988 book The Longest Walk describes his seven-year stroll from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska, including his transit of Darién on foot. Today, the gap is even more dangerous than it was on Meegan's trip—a lawless wilderness where, even with a guide, it's not easy to steer clear of drug traffickers, bandits, and corrupt cops. Yaviza, Panama may look tantalizingly close to Turbo, Colombia on the map, but the last remaining 60 miles of the world's longest highway aren't getting completed any time soon.
Enough inspiration I think. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 27th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new weekend meditation later on. For now ... enjoy wandering the Darién Gap.
Welcome at a new episode along the Pan American Highway were we have arrived at Mexico City the capital of Mexico. Mexico City goes a long way back into history ... to the Aztec culture. I found a small piece when the city was established.
The city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was founded by the Mexica people in 1325. The old Mexica city that is now simply referred to as Tenochtitlan was built on an island in the center of the inland lake system of the Valley of Mexico, which it shared with a smaller city-state called Tlatelolco. According to legend, the Mexicas' principal god, Huitzilopochtli, indicated the site where they were to build their home by presenting a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear devouring a rattlesnake.
Dive into the wonderful history of Mexico City and create your Japanese poetry inspired on it.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 26th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
We are on a "haiku-ing" journey along the Pan American Highway and we have arrived at Mexico, the "entrance" to Middle America. Here in Mexico we will visit the rich history of this country and while going on on the Pan American Highway we will make trip back into time ... to for example the Mayan culture.
Today we visit Mazatlan and I found a wonderful litho by Seemann (1858):
Let me tell you a little bit about Mazatlan. Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipio, known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at 23°13′N 106°25′W on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California Peninsula.
Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning "place of deer." The city was founded in 1531 by an army of Spaniards and indigenous settlers. By the mid-19th century, a large group of immigrants arrived from Germany. Together, with the hard work of the Natives, they were able to develop Mazatlán into a thriving commercial seaport, importing equipment for the nearby gold and silver mines. It served as the capital of Sinaloa from 1859 to 1873. The German settlers also influenced the local music, banda, with some genres being an alteration of Bavarian folk music. The settlers also established the Pacifico Brewery on March 14, 1900.
Mazatlán is also known for being the hometown and center of Banda sinaloense, a musical genre which began to develop in the XIX century and is now one of the most popular music genres in Mexico.
The above music-video is of Mexico's renown female singer of Banda, Jenni Rivera. Listen to the music and let it take you into Mazatlan's history and let the music inspire you.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 24th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode later on.
We are "haiku-ing" along the Pan American Highway and now we have arrived in Nogales Arizona also known as "New Spain" and that's why I themed this episode "An Epic Journey Through New Spain".
"¡Vayan Subiendo!"("Everyone mount up!") was the rousing call from Juan Bautista de Anza. In 1775-76, he led some 240 men, women, and children on an epic journey to establish the first non-Native settlement at San Francisco Bay. Today, the 1,200-mile Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail connects history, culture, and outdoor recreation from Nogales, Arizona, to the San Francisco Bay Area. A diverse group of 30 migrant families scratched their way across the frontier of New Spain, and carved their way into American history.
More about this "Epic Journey Through New Spain", you can find HERE. Enjoy the read!
Not a strong senryu I think, but it's a scene that points towards the above mentioned journey by Juan Bautista de Anza.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 23rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Than we will cross the border of Mexico.
PS.: Tomorrow around 5:00 PM (CET) our first episode of "Seven Days Before Christmas" will be online and with that I will continue our CDHK tradition.
Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are "haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway" and today we are finding a place to rest on Pacific Beach San Diego. San Diego has a Mediterranean Climate and that makes it a nice place to take time to meditate and contemplate and just enjoy the climate. So today I have a nice "crossroads" feature. As you all know the goal of "crossroads" is to create a "fusion ku". I have chosen a few haiku for you themed "beach" to work with.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 19th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
We are haiku-ing along the Pan American Highway, a 30.000 km long highway straight through the Americas from north to south. Yesterday we stopped at the City of Angels and today ... we will stop in ... say the opposite of Los Angeles, Las Vegas ... in the mddle of the desert were you can have a wonderful vacation and ... gambling.
Maybe you can remember our special feature "Out Of The Box" in which I challenged you all to create another kind of Japanese poetry or a different Far Eastern country like Korea for example.
Today I love to give you a "new" task. Think Out Of The Box with the themes of haiku. For example create a senryu, Cherita, Kyoka, or Sedoka. You also may "gamble" with the form by going free style. In other words ... "today it's your choice and not mine".
The above image is a "still" of a time-lapse of the Las Vegas Strip. It's a nice image and I hope it will inspire you to think "Out Of The Box" ... well go for it!
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Dacember 18th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. Today I had a very busy and exciting day ... I had my first working day on my new job at VU Medical Center Amsterdam. I started there after a period of uncertainity at the hospital were I used to work. I enjoyed this first day a lot it felt like a warm blanket ... Several years ago I worked here and now I am back and it felt almost the same. Of course there were new colleagues, but also familiair colleagues that worked there several years ago.
Today I have an CD Imagination episode for you. We have arrived at Los Angeles, the City of Angels. It seems that this is a wonderful city, but as I choose this theme for today I myself thought immediately at God's City of Angels, the New Jerusalem. So I have chosen a wonderful image of the New Jerusalem to inspire you.
It's a modern vision of the New Jerusalem, I couldn't find the artist who made this image.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I had a nice weekend, cold and wet, but I enjoyed it very well. Tomorrow I will start at my new job at the VU Medical Center Amsterdam The Netherlands. I am excited and nervous, but I love this new challenge. I will start on the Hematology unit as an oncologynurse and hopefully this job will bring me joy as did my former job. We will see it in the upcoming months.
This month we are on our way again. We are writing Haiku Along The Pan American Highway and today we have arrived at Sacramento. Sacramento has a long history and in Old Sacramento Waterfront, you can experience that history. It's a 28-acre national registered landmark and state historic park, that preserves an 1870 riverside scene, complete with sailing vessels, paddle wheelers, cobblestone streets, boardwalks and many other historic elements. Old Sacramento Waterfront is home to numerous special events throughout the year, including the world-renowned Sacramento Jazz Jubilee which attracts more than 300,000 visitors each Memorial Day Weekend.
Step into the historical background of Sacramento ... reliving the "ancient wild west" ... enjoy being part of that history.
Your task for today is to create a haiku, tanka or other Japanese form of poetry inspired on the Wild West.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 16th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
Welcome at a new stage in our "Haiku Along The Pan American HIghway" month. Not so long ago I saw a wonderful documentary about Yellowstone Park and I love to inspire you with an image taken in Yellowstone National Park titled "meadow".
Look at that image ... I can almost iagine how it must feel to be there on that meadow together with the one I love. The sun caresses our naked bodies and we entangle with each other in a hot sensual kiss ... wow ... imagine that!
Here is your task for today: Create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on the above image themed love. Here is my attempt:
hot summer day making love on the meadow sweet perfume of grass
What an awesome journey this already is, but I hope I can amaze you all with all the natural beauty along the Pan American Highway. Yesterday we visited Vancouver and today we make our first stop in America. It wasn't easy to find a new theme for today, because I couldn't choose ... But I have found a wonderful theme for you ... it's really amazing.
Our first stop in America is at the Crater Lake National Park. Let me tell you a little about this Crater Lake. Crater Lake inspires awe. Native Americans witnessed its formation 7,700 years ago, when a violent eruption triggered the collapse of a tall peak. Scientists marvel at its purity: fed by rain and snow, it’s the deepest lake in the USA and perhaps the most pristine on earth. Artists, photographers, and sightseers gaze in wonder at its blue water and stunning setting atop the Cascade Mountain Range.
Here are a few images of this beautiful Crater Lake to help you awaken your muse.
I am in awe ... speechless as I see the beauty of Crater Lake. Wow ... how would this Crater Lake look in autumn ... well even more beautiful as you can see hereafter.
Well I hope I have inspired you with the beauty of this Crater Lake.
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 12th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now have fun!
Welcome at a new stage, a new episode, in our journey along the Pan American Highway straight through the Americas from north to south. Today I love to "stop" in Vancouver. Maybe you are familiar with the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) and if you are familiair with it than you also know that during the VCBF there is a haiku contest. I have had the pleasure to have won a Honorable Mention in this contest. Let me give you the haiku that won a HM:
the cooing of pigeons between blooming cherry trees - the cool rain
Ofcourse you can see the Vancouver Cherry Blossoms at the start of spring, and now it's winter, so you have to wait a while. But I think Vancouver has the most wonderful Cherry Blossoms of the western world.
daydreaming cherry blossoms bloom again bare branches
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 11th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
We have started with a new journey from the north of Northern America (Canada) to the south of Southern America (Argentina) following the Pan American Highway. During circumstances I hadn't time to prepare this episode in a great way. So I have chosen to challenge you with an image.
Here is the image you can use, but if you would like to use another image that's okay too, but that image should have to do with the Pan American Highway:
Look at this image ... what an awesome view this is. Look at those colors and that "spooky" cloud against the mountain-wall. And than look at that beautiful colored sky ... a real beauty this image is. It's for sure a great image for all the beauty we will encounter along the Pan American Highway.
clouds change moving along the bright sky I fell in love
My excuses for being late with publishing our first regular of December 2018. This month we will go on a journey again and maybe we can create a haibun with each other about this journey. This month we will travel along the Pan American Highway. This highway goes from Canada to Argentina, so we will travel through the American Continents from North to South. Why this choice? Well let me tell you why I have chosen this theme. Here in The Netherlands we have a TV show titled "World Trip On Wheels". In this TV show four groups are traveling along the Pan American Highway by car with their "tiny houses" (a kind of trailer). I love this show and I thought immediately as it started "this is a nice theme for CDHK". So this month ... the theme is "Haiku Along The Pan American Highway".
For this first regular episode the theme is "departure" and our journey departs from Calgary. Let me give you a small background about this Pan American Highway:
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads stretching across the American continents and measuring about 30,000 kilometres (19,000 mi) in total length. Except for a rainforest break of approximately 160 km (100 mi), called the Darién Gap, the roads link almost all of the Pacific coastal countries of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's longest "motorable road". However, because of the Darién Gap, it is not possible to cross between South America and Central America with conventional highway vehicles. Without an all-terrain vehicle, it is necessary to circumnavigate this terrestrial stretch by sea.
The Pan-American Highway passes through many diverse climates and ecological types, from dense jungles, to arid deserts, to barren tundra, some of which are passable only during the dry season, and in many regions driving is occasionally hazardous.
Well ... are you ready? Come on let us go on a journey along the Pan American Highway and try to create haiku, tanka or other form of Japanese poetry. This will be an amazing trip ...
Here is my "departure" haiku:
rising sun from a far away place nightingale's song
I hope you all will enjoy this wonderful journey. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 9th at noon (CET). I will try to pubklish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!
PS. This month we are using the MrLinky widget. The one we will use opens in a new screen / tab.
