Showing posts with label New Year the fifth season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year the fifth season. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Carpe Diem #1842 End Of Year

 


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

The year 2020 is almost over. What a year it was. The pandemic, corona, and the tough times healthcare had (and still has). Even here at our wonderful Haiku Kai, we have had our lockdown and, how sorry I am for it, we still have that lockdown here at CDHK.

As you all know I am an oncology nurse and covid-19 takes all my energy and now it is even more worse, because my Mom has Covid-19 too. She is almost 91 and I am worried about her. As you (maybe) know, my Mom lives in a nursing home for the elderly, because of her dementia, and she lives in the nursing home were I am working myself.

In our nursing home we have a very big covid-19 outbreak and that makes that I really don't know how and when I can start posting our daily posts again.

It makes me sad, but ... well it is out of my hands, I cannot control what is happening at the moment in the world and in my personal life.

If I look back ... than 2020 is a year we will always remember as the "corona-year" and as I look at myself, 2020 will be a year full of loss. At the nursing home we have lost a lot of our patients to Covid-19 and a lot of my co-workers, are suffering of Covid-19 too. We just have to do our work with almost one third less co-workers. So it is tough, very tough.

I really hope that 2021 will be a year in which we all can return to a (more) normal life without Covid-19. I really hope that you all, my dear Haijin, are okay and in good health. Take care my dear Haijin ... take care.

I wish you all a wonderful new year and I hope that 2021 will bring us joy again.


In classical Japan (following the Lunar calender) there was a fifth season ''New Year", and this season was from approximately 20 december 'til 20 January. I have a few haiku which have been written for this season:

the Great Morning:
winds of long ago
blow through the pine trees

© Onitsura

The Great Morning is the morning of New Year's Day.

for this New Year's Day
the sight we gaze upon shall be
Mount Fuji

© Sokan

And a last one:

the first sunrise
there is a cloud
like a cloud in a picture

© Shusai

All wonderful haiku on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.


And here are a few haiku by Issa and Basho:

my shadow too
in good health...
"Happy New Year!"

New Year's gift of tea--
where did you go
on your journey back to me?

© Issa

Both are wonderful "new year" haiku. Let me look at a few haiku by Basho on New Year:

has spring already come?
I feel wealthy this New Year
with five sho of old rice

New Year's Day
I feel lonely just like
an autumn evening

And what do you think of this one by Yozakura, the Wandering Spirit?

nothing changes
every day will be the same
this new year


A wonderful series of haiku about New Year's Eve of New Year's Day. Let those haiku inspire you:

after New Year's Eve
life hasn't changed a bit -
another year gone

listen! listen!
the sweet silence
the day after

New Year's Eve
fireworks enlightens the sky -
bad ghosts flee

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you enjoyed this episode of our Haiku Kai. And I hope you are inspired to create your own haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 7th at 10:00 PM (CET). Enjoy your New Year's Eve and I hope that 2021 will bring us more joy ...
You can find the linkinking widget hidden in our logo below.


Sunday, January 5, 2020

Carpe Diem #1792 New Beginnings ... New Year's Day


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First ... HAPPY NEW YEAR ... to you all. Let us make this a wonderful year full of love, beauty and inspiration. This month is themed "New Beginnings" and that's what this year will bring us all I hope.

As I told you several days ago my mother has been institutionalized in a nursing home for the elderly people. She has peace with it, but ofcourse it's not easy to cope with this new beginning for her and for me. Time will bring us healing for this ...

The theme for this month is New Beginnings and today we start with ... New Year's Day ... Our classical haiku masters wrote a lot of haiku about New Year's Day ... here are a few examples:

New Year’s Day
dawns clear, and sparrows
tell their tales

© Ransetsu
Japanese Crane

it’s play for the cranes
flying up to the clouds
the year’s first sunrise …

© Chiyo-ni

the first dream of the year —
I keep it a secret
and smile to myself

© Sho-u

New Year’s Day–
everything is in blossom!
I feel about average.

© Issa

Year after year
on the monkey’s face
a monkey’s face


© Basho

Japanese Calendar (Wikipedia)

The old calendar
fills me with gratitude
like a song


© Buson

New Year comes,
and I become poorer
than before


© Shiki (never published and recovered in August 2018)




All wonderful haiku on New Year's Day. In Haiku philosophy we count five seasons and the first season is New Year, it's roughly the period of December 15th and January 15th. So I challenge you to create a classical haiku themed New Year, to celebrate the new year.

Here is mine:

New Year's eve --
through the bare branches
the wind as always

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 12th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!