Carpe Diem #1266 Koharu (Indian Summer)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are on a trip along memory-lane and today we are going back to November 2012, the last episode I posted then, was the first prompt for December 2012, so maybe I could have chosen another, but I like this theme as used today, because here in The Netherlands we have an Indian Summer or as we call it in Dutch "na-zomer".

Back in 2012 koharu was the first prompt at CDHK that was a classical kigo, or seasonword, a part of haiku that we cannot forget. In December 2012 all our prompts were classical kigo for winter and koharu (Indian Summer) was the first classical kigo I introduced. Why did I choose for those kigo then? I will try to explain that. As I started with CDHK I had a "silent" wish to share my knowledge about haiku, and the writing of haiku, with my visitors, you. So it was just a choice to introduce one of the classical rules of haiku ... the use of a kigo or seasonword.

Autumn Flowers (image found on Pinterest

A seasonword, as it already says, is a word that directs you to the season in which the haiku (or tanka) was written. Through those seasonwords you can relate easily to the scene described / painted in the haiku. Let me give you an example:

tulips bloom
in all kinds of colors
in the backyard

© Chèvrefeuille

In this haiku the kigo (seasonword) is tulips a kigo for spring, because tulips are flowers of spring.

Another one:

full moon
above the heath
points the way

© Chèvrefeuille

In this haiku, it is somewhat more difficult to "find" the season, but in the classical use of kigo moon is a kigo for autumn, because according to Japanese folklore, the moon of autumn is the most beautiful moon of the year.

Okay ... after this small piece of background I love to go on to our prompt of today, koharu (or Indian Summer). What is an Indian Summer? Let me give you a short explanation.

Indian Summer (credits)

Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The US National Weather Service defines this as weather conditions that are sunny and clear with above normal temperatures, occurring late-September to mid-November. It is usually described as occurring after a killing frost. (source: Wikipedia)

Indian Summer
inbetween seasons
roses bloom again

© Chèvrefeuille

To read the prompt from our history you can click HERE.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until October 9th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, millionaire, later on. For now ... have fun!

 

Carpe Diem Preview 7, looking back

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are almost halfway our second Carpe Diem month. So it's time to look back to all those wonderful little gems and diamonds you've shared.
We started with two days of Halloween, All Souls Night and All Souls Day. I read wonderful haiku e.g.the set by Green Speck.

all souls night invite,
party of the afterlive,
red delicacies

spooky haunted house,
sorry tales, revisited,
scary adventures

(c) Green Speck

Dulcina of Dulcina's garden provided us with a wonderful series inspired on the Galician Legend 'La Santa Compana'. I will reproduce a few haiku:

souls' night procession
wanders through roads and forests,
barefoot, candle lights

chains sound in the mist
white cloaks, shrouds, hoods, in full pain -
Galiza's Legend

(c) Dulcina

Or this one written by myself:

in the chapel
the sound of whispering voices
All Souls Day

(c) Chèvrefeuille

Bjorn Brudberg wrote this haiku for All Souls Day:

graveyard memories
visiting the relatives
flickering candles

flickering candles
communicate with elders
souls of ancestors

(c) Bjorn Brudberg

Magical Mystical Teacher came up with:

in a desert place,
far from the mummers dance,
twisted spirits roam

(c) Magical Mystical Teacher

Another wonderful haiku on All Souls Day was written by Kathy Donlan of 'A rest from Moon viewing':

wisps of cloud
a hazy halo
wreaths the moon 

(c) Kathy Donlan

After Halloween, we entered the Rainbow-week which was inspired on haiku by Kaykuala. He wrote a wonderful post for our first Carpe Diem month on the prompt rainbow and in this second Carpe Diem month he did it again.

spanning Tokyo Bay
Odaiba leisure island
the destination

(c) Kaykuala

The above haiku was inspired on the Rainbow-bridge over Tokyo Bay.

Rainbow-bridge over Tokyo Bay

Loredana Donovan of 'Blogging Away' wrote the next haiku on rainbow This one was part of a haiku series 'After The Storm'. I will reproduce one of that series:

follow the rainbow
into the heights of the sky -
find serenity

(c) Loredana Donovan

Joanne of 4Joy granted us with the next set of haiku inspired on rainbow.

we will meet again
through curtain of mist o'ver bridge
wondrous reunion

joyous times now past
meeting again in new love
to hold you once more

(c) Joanne

Rinkly Rimes posted a brilliant haiku:

a curve of beauty
multi-coloured perfection
a gift after rain

(c) Rinkly Rimes

It was a colorful Rainbow-week, every color of the rainbow was used and brought wonderful haiku. It was really a joy to host the Rainbow-week. And I granted all of our contributors with the Rainbow Week Award. I will reproduce here of every color a haiku or few.

RED:

mysterious sight
the rising of the Red Moon
midsummer event

(c) Chèvrefeuille

red geraniums
ruby apples, scarlet leaves, 
fires natures' kindling

(c) Becca Givens 

wind from Lake Michigan
hitting trees in November
foliage keeps bright red

(c) Rheumatologe Lothar

ORANGE:

orange leaves shining
glimmering in sunlight days
seasons moving on

(c) Carol and ArtMuseDog

an orange
the size of the sun
fills my plate

(c) Mark M. Redfearn

YELLOW:

memories from past
yellow flowers on her grave
left us long ago

(c) Bjorn Brudberg

white daisies
sun-streaked freckled face
day is done

(c) Becca Givens

golden fall delight
tamarack shines on road side
needles fall to soon

(c) Siggi of Maine

the rays through the leaf
reveal the veins still alive
beating in the tree

(c) Dulcina

GREEN:

unconditional love
shared with the world
green heart beats

(c) Chèvrefeuille

summer time visit
La Coca mist fills the space,
cools air, spirit calms

(c) Siggi of Maine

Credits: Blue Jay

BLUE:

Sagura woman
imploring blue sky for help -
lizard flicks its tongue

(c) Magical Mystical Teacher

blue of a sky and
accompanied with sunshine
is one so refined

(c) Kaykuala

my lady blue eyes
mere idlers and vagabonds
seek to win your hand

(c) Mark M. Redfearn

INDIGO:

color made from plant
indigo truly depth hue
folklore tales speak words

(c) Carol and ArtMuseDog

dull is the pain, grief
red, green, blue, orange, yellow
quietly earth breaks

(c) Shakira

indigo inked night
luminous silvery moon
enchanted faeries

(c) Becca Givens

indigo night sea,
stars above, burning brightly;
fall night warms spirit

(c) Siggi of Maine

when God was a child
with lips painted indigo,
she danced with the moon

(c) Mark M. Redfearn

clad in indigo
nomads through the desert
oasis waiting far away

(c) Rheumatologe Lothar

VIOLET:

little small faces
staring deep into my eyes
Delta Violets

(c) Chèvrefeuille

violet mountains
painted by the setting sun
we haste further on

(c) Bjorn Brudberg

remember Violet?
Mr. Wonka, chocolates?
Give me more prompts. NOW!

(c) Robyn

the lenten altar
purple shrouded crucifix
invisible sight

(c) Joanna - 4joy

tender winter's night
soft violet casts for snow's shade
passion in the cold

(c) Siggi of Maine

On November 11th we had our first Special. This month the Specials are haiku written by Kobayashi Issa (for short: Issa) and his first inspirational haiku was one with the meaning of his name, 'cup of tea', in it:

rising into
the year's first sky ...
tea smoke

(c) Issa 

This haiku inspired me to write:

tea smoke wisps
on New Year's Day
just like last year

(c) Chèvrefeuille

Carol and ArtMuseDog wrote:

leaves fallen down
little heroes of nature
food for tomorrow

(c) Carol and ArtMuseDog

Bjorn Brudberg was also inspired and posted a nice haiku set:

fragrant tea
new year promises
willow sleeps

(c) Bjorn Brudberg

Or Dulcina's post:

climbing millky clouds
on January's first morning
coffee aroma

(c) Dulcina

collecting on glass
tea pot steaming warm liquid
new year chill dispelled

(c) Joanne - 4joy

steaming cup of tea
smudging first sky's winsome face -
mist from the Lowlands

(c) Mark M. Redfearn

A few of you, my dear haijin, used the wrong haiku by Issa because I gave another one by Issa in my last Rainbow week post:

evening's fall colors -
the rainbow in the valley
fades away

(c) Issa

Dulcina and Siggi of Maine used that haiku by Issa. By the way nothing wrong with that (smiles). Siggi wrote the next haiku inspired on that 'wrong' haiku by Issa:

rainbows every day
reminders hope is nearby
stop, look and listen

(c) Siggi of Maine

Our 'hero' prompt inspired several haijin to share their heroes with Carpe Diem, a little selection:

all dogs are heroes
they just need an occasion
to prove their courage

(c) Dulcina

hero legacy
monument to celebrate
conquest of a deer

(c) Bjorn Brudberg

I am stranded here
night is black and I see you
hero on rickshaw

(c) Tarun Mazumdar

Mahatma Gandhi
fighter for freedom
without violence

(c) Chèvrefeuille

As I post this Carpe Diem Preview the prompt 'fire' (provided by Dulcina) is still on, so that prompt I will look back at in the Preview of the second half. I already have read nice haiku on Fire e.g. this one by WabiSabi  :

winter sunrise
melts an old icicle-heart
with fire

(c) Wabi Sabi

This haiku by WabiSabi concludes this first Carpe Diem Preview in which I looked back to all your wonderfully composed haiku.
  

Thank you all for giving me a purpose to go on with Carpe Diem.

Namaste, Shalom, Blessed Be 

Carpe Diem #32, All Souls Night/Halloween

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today our first Carpe Diem prompt for November All Souls Night/Halloween and a new logo for this month. I wonder how this month will go. Will Carpe Diem grow further? Will I read wonderful haiku again? We shall see.
Our first Carpe Diem month was really great. I am glad that I can host this event for another month. Of course at the end of this month I will grant the Carpe Diem Award for November to one of our haijins. Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with Carpe Diem.
Our first prompt isn't easy and therefore I hope to inspire you with a nice You Tube video of Loreena McKennitt 'Mummer's Dance', this is also the prompt for tomorrow, but I had to share this wonderful video based on the wonderful song by Loreena McKennitt.

Listen to the music and maybe it will inspire you to write a haiku.

Here's mine:

all souls night
the sound of howling wolves
awaken the dead

awaken the dead
by singing holy hymns
all souls night

I love it when a haiku feels good.

This prompt will stay on 'till November 2nd 11.59 AM (CET). The new episode of Carpe Diem I will post today around 10.00 PM (CET). The prompt than is mummer's dance/all souls day.

Enjoy the fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us here on Carpe Diem.