Carpe Diem Exploring The Beauty Of Haiku #1828 Baransu (balance)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This month we are exploring the beauty of haiku. That means I challenge you to create haiku (only haiku) with certain kinds of haiku writing techniques, as we have seen here many times.

For this episode I challenge you to create a haiku with the so called "baransu" (balance) haiku writing technique. Let me explain the "baransu" technique in short. As you maybe know we are familiair with the Tan Renga, the two stanza Renga, in which we try to create the second stanza through association on the scenes in the first stanza.

With the "baransu" technique we are doing the same thing, but than through association on the separated lines of the haiku. With the "baransu" technique we can bring balance in our haiku.

Let me give you an example:

'a walk through the city' ... in this line we see already a few possible things to associate on e.g. "walk" and "city". I have chosen to use "walk" to associate on.

'step by step I discover' ... in this line the possible associations can be on "step" and "discover". I have chosen to use "discover" and came to this third line:

'a newly built world'

Let me bring the three lines to each other, than the following haiku will be formed:

a walk through the city

step by step I discover

a newly built world

© Chèvrefeuille

The above haiku is, in my opinion, Baransu, in balance. That balance I have reached through associating on the different images in every line of the above haiku.

Another example, this time I use that renown haiku by Basho, "frogpond":

the old pond

a frog jumps into it

sound of water

© Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

I will start by re-producing the first line here: the old pond. What are the possibilities to associate on? I think "old" and "pond" will do. "Old" has to do with 'classic', 'yesterday', 'age', 'a long time ago'. Which one can I use? I think I will try 'yesterday' to start creating the second line of this "baransu"-haiku.

'yesterday ... Irises bloomed' .. hm nice line, but what to use to associate on? In this line I can associate on 'yesterday'. 'Irises', and 'bloomed'. 'Yesterday' has to do with time; 'Irises' are purple mostly and 'bloomed' can mean 'blossoming' or 'decay' too. I will use 'Irises' to associate on and than this line 'pops-up' 'only a faint purple'.

Now I will bring the three lines together:

the old pond

yesterday ... Irises bloomed

only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

What do you think? Are these lines 'baransu', in balance? I think so, but that's just my humble opinion.

What a beautiful and challenging haiku writing technique this "baransu" is. So now it's up to you to create a "baransu" haiku. Enjoy the challenge.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 25th at 10:00 PM (CEST). You can submit your haiku by clicking on our logo below.

Carpe Diem #1239 shifted flowers (unknown artist)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a wonderful month we have. All those pieces of beauty we call "modern art" and we really have seen wonderful art works. Yesterday we had the "crossed house" or what do you think of that beautiful episode we had on "sacred geometry" ... well I think all the art was gorgeous and with today's episode I hope to do that again.

This episode I have titled "shifted flowers", it's a painting by an unknown artist, at least I couldn't find the artist's name or better said "I couldn't decipher the name on the left down side".

I think this painting is gorgeous and I will try to explain why I have chosen the title "shifted flowers". In this painting you can obviously see flowers, but they are fainting away into a formless scene of colors.

And that brought an old haiku in my mind. This one I created in the "Baransu" episode of our first series of Haiku Writing Techniques:

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

This haiku describes in a way the painting of today.

shifted flowers

A short episode, but to say more would be a "sin" ... this painting speaks for it self.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 23rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new "weekend-meditation" later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #911 Equilibrium/Balance

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new episode is starting ... and it is a joy to read in the notes of Hamish that he refers to one of the Haiku Writing Techniques which I dare to create myself, baransu (or balance in your haiku). I hope this episode of today will bring baransu again to your attention. Let me give a short explanation of this Haiku Writing Technique.

Introduction

Baransu or bringing balance into your haiku has to do with association. If you write your first line of a haiku, than you have to associate on images in that line to write your second. The same counts for that second line. To write your third line you have to associate on images in your second line. I will give you an example.

"snowflakes fall", on which "image" I can associate? This can be on "snow", "snowflakes", "white" (because of the color of snow) or on "fall", this can be "autumn" of on "falling". Let me give it a thought. I will use "white". The second line can be "a white blanket covers the earth". A nice second line I would say.
Okay let me take a look at the possibilities to associate on for the third line: "white", "blanket", "covers" (maybe the cover of a magazine?) or "earth", earth in winter is mostly dark or black or deep brown. Let me give these ideas a thought. Maybe I will go for the idea of the cover of a magazine. Than that third line would be something like "Christmas edition".

This is the "way" to a "baransu"-haiku. I will bring the three lines together now:

snowflakes fall
a white blanket covers the earth
Christmas edition

© Chèvrefeuille

Not a very strong example of this "baransu" haiku writing technique, but it has brought me a nice haiku I think.

Hamish on Equilibrium/Balance

Like many senses, the sense of balance or equilibrioception has both mental and physical sides. Physically, the act of keeping balance is both a subconscious as well as conscious sense, and it is therefore one of our physiological  senses. The ability to always maintain balance is part of the function of our ears, though we keep balance visually, and astronauts have problems with sense of balance when returning to earth and excess motion, for example on a merry go round can result in loss of balance, as well as vertigo, and indeed too much alcohol.

The broken escalator phenomenon, also known as the Walker Effect, is the sensation of losing balance or dizziness reported by some people when stepping onto an escalator which is not working. It is said that there is a brief, odd sensation of imbalance, despite full awareness that the escalator is not going to move. It has been shown that this effect causes people to step inappropriately fast onto a moving platform that is no longer moving, even when this is obvious to the participant.

Some animals have better equilibrioception than humans, for example a cat uses its inner ear and tail to walk on a thin fence. Equilibrioception in many marine animals is done with an entirely different organ, the statocyst, which detects the position of tiny calcareous stones to determine which way is "up."

Plants could be said to exhibit a form of equilibrioception, in that when rotated from their normal attitude the stems grow in the direction that is upward (away from gravity) while their roots grow downward (in the direction of gravity) this phenomenon is known as Gravitropism and it has been shown that for instance Poplar stems can detect reorientation and inclination.

Here on Carpe Diem Haiku we previously explored the notion of 'balance' ( or baransu) as a haiku technique. Let's bring that technique back for your haiku today. Let's see how you show that sense of balance in your haiku, using techniques previously learnt.

Credits: Sunflower Field

My response

Balance ... it has not only to do with movement, but I think it also has to do with "inner balance". You have to be "in balance" mentally to stay focused on the things you have to do in your life. As I look at myself than I need "inner-balance" to do my work as an oncology nurse. I have very ill patients who need my care and attention and my love, so I can only give that to them if I am in balance myself.
To stay in balance myself I use to write. First novels and later I wrote more and more haiku to keep myself in balance. In my poetry I can find that balance through the scenes in my haiku, but also through being your host here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. I wonder ... what if I had not the opportunity to write or being your host? Than I think I would be less successfull in my job as an oncology nurse.

in the light of dawn
sunflowers reach to the blue sky
praising their Creator

© Chèvrefeuille

A nice haiku in which I see "balance" in the strenght of the Sunflowers reaching to the blue sky. As I "analyze" this than I associated on "light of dawn" to come to "sunflowers". And on "blue sky" to come to "Creator" in the third line. A nice "baransu"-haiku I would say.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 7th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, movement, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Utabukuro #5 Origami frog

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's Saturday again, and as you all know it's my weekend off, but as Always I do the special episodes myself. And today that's an all new episode of our special feature "Carpe Diem Utabukuro".

This feature is based on a haiku by Basho which he wrote when he was around 22 years of age, it's one of his earliest known haiku according to Jane Reichhold. The logo above is a bag with a wonderful Japanese woodblock-print and in the logo you can read the romaji translation of the haiku on which this new feature is based. I will give that haiku here again:

はなにあかぬなげきやこちのうたぶくろ

hana ni akanu
nageki ya kochi no
utabukuro

© Basho

And this is the translation by Jane Reichhold:

flower buds
sadly spring winds cannot open
a poem bag

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

The goal of CD's Utabukuro is not difficult, because I just ask you to share a haiku or tanka which you admire. That haiku or tanka can be one of a classical or non-classical haiku poet or one by yourself. You can choose what ever you like, but it has to be a haiku or tanka. Maybe the haiku brings you sweet (or sad) memories or you just like it. Explain why you have chosen that haiku or tanka to share here "in" CDHK's Utabukuro, poem bag, and ... that is the second task for this feature, write/compose an all new haiku inspired on the one you have chosen.

William J. Higginson (1938-2008)

This time I have chosen for a series of three haiku written by William J. Higginson (1938-2008) a well known American haiku poet, who once was the president of the Haiku Society of America. He has written wonderful haiku and these three in particular I like the most. I will first give the three haiku which I have chosen:

origami frog:
what old pond is he hoping
to find in the dusk?

I look up
from writing
to daylight.

writing again
the tea water
boiled dry

© William J. Higginson (1938-2008) 

Origami: Jumping Frog

That first haiku touched me, because it brought immediately that wellknown haiku by Basho, my master, in mind:

ふるいけやかわずとびこむみずのおと

furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

an ancient pond
a frog jumps in
the splash of water

© Basho (1644-1694)

The haiku by Higginson is a nice reproduction of this classic haiku and it refers towards that classic haiku by Basho. I like the humor in it.
I think you can recall the haiku which I wrote as an example of the baransu haiku writing technique with the first line of this well known haiku by Basho:

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

And there are more haiku written, inspired on this one, so here is another example:

little child
reaches for the water lilies
not seeing the frog

© Chèvrefeuille

Or what do you think of this one composed by Yozakura (the Unknown Haiku poet):

against his nature,
a frog in front of the fireplace -
the cry of a stork

© Yozakura

All wonderful haiku I think, and all in some way connected to that famous "frog pond"- haiku.
The other two haiku by Higginson touched me because of the imagery in it. I see myself as the poet who sees the new day rise and who let the tea water boiled dry. I really can imagine those scenes. As I am busy preparing the posts for CDHK than I am all with haiku and cdhk and time flies without thinking of time. So those two haiku can be easily be written for me ... as I am totally with haiku ...

time flies
another 24 hours gone
writing haiku

© Chèvrefeuille

And I love to share a "tea-haiku" which I once wrote back into 2012 for Poets United's Wonder Wednesday. (You can find that post HERE).

translucent tea cup
hides a deep secret
ghost of tea

geisha's secret life
gathering tea leaves
for her lover

© Chèvrefeuille

Geisha

I hope you did like the read and I hope to see nice posts in response ... you don't need to use the haiku mentioned here by the way, you can choose a favorite haiku or tanka and share your feelings with us, the only thing needed is that you have to write an all new haiku or tanka inspired on the poems you have shared. Have fun.

This Utabukuro episode is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and it will remain open until next Saturday July 25th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #747 arrival of summer

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new month of Carpe Diem in which we will celebrate SUMMERTIME by using the Saijiki (list of kigo) "A Dictionary of Haiku" by Jane Reichhold to whom I am so grateful that she is part of Carpe Diem and has granted me permission to use her modern kigo for summer and her haiku.

Summer, and on the southern hemisphere, Winter, is almost there. As I started to prepare the prompt-list for this month I first thought to make two lists, one with summer kigo and one with winter kigo, but that took to much time. So I decided to use the summer kigo because I am living on the Northern hemisphere. Maybe I will do that later on this year as we are going into autumn (Northern) and spring (Southern) .... but that's later this year.

Summer ... my season of the year. As you maybe could have read in one of our earlier posts I love to be in the nude in nature and summer is the season for that. Of course it's prohibited to do that in public, but here in The Netherlands we have places where you may be in the nude in nature and of course ... I can do that in my own garden if possible.
Summer .... the sun is on her highest point and nature is in full bloom. Temperatures are rising and (even here in The Netherlands) the rain is sometimes a long time away. I see the beaches and feel the warm sea breeze ... hormones fly through my body and at those times I enjoy looking back to the time I was a youngster and fell in love for the very first time, making love in the woods or at nights on the beach ... yes nice memories. All those feelings connecting me with summer and nature ... really awesome.

Credits: Arrival of Summer - oil-painting by Cristine Sundquist

Our prompt for today is arrival of summer and here in The Netherlands we are really longing for summer after a cold and very wet May ... of course we had a few warm days in May, but not as much as we have mostly.

Every prompt this month is a modern kigo (seasonword) for summer as gathered by Jane Reichhold and in every episode I will share a haiku by Jane Reichhold based on that modern kigo for summer. So today the haiku which I love to share is based on arrival of summer.

summer again
sun pennies in the sky
of the river

© Jane Reichhold

What a wonderful scene don't you agree? The sun reflects in the stream  and her beams are giving the surroundings a magical and mysterious look ... awesome.

mountain stream
the ice has melted - dances in the sun
crystal waterdrops

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not a strong one I think, but it was the first thing which came in mind so I had to share it here. Here is another one but now I have tried to make a baransu haiku by associating on the images in the lines. I have taken the first line of my above haiku to start with.

"mountain stream" ... in this line I can associate on mountain and stream and than the following images appear; eagles, thin air, perpetual snow, bright sun light, bright blue sky and salmon, waves, water sounds, crystal clear, pebble-stones, freshness ..., but what to use in this baransu haiku for it's second line.
"salmon swims to the well in thin air" .... I don't know for sure, but I think this is what I would use for the second line. On what images I can associate? I can associate on salmon, well, thin air .... I have chosen to use salmon (in fact I use the spiritual meaning of salmon) in this third line.
"rebirth of summer"

Here is the final baransu haiku:

mountain stream
salmon swims to the well in thin air
rebirth of summer

© Chèvrefeuille

This haiku sounds great, but what do you think? Do I have to chance something in this verse? I love to make the second line a bit shorter, but I also want to capture and hold the scene in that second line. Maybe you, my dear Haijin, can help me with this one.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until June 3rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, our first CD Special by Rallentanda, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques #11 "baransu"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

For this episode I have dared to create a new haiku writing technique which I have called Baransu. Baransu is the Japanese word for balance and I think haiku needs that balance.

The birth of a new Haiku Writing Technique.

As I started preparing this episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques (CDHWT) and picked up the challenge to create a new haiku writing technique I had the Tan Renga in mind.
As you all know Tan Renga is a short chained renga composed by two poets. One poet writes the first stanza, the hokku, and the second poet writes the second stanza, the ageku, by associating on the images in the first stanza.
The first stanza looks like a haiku and has three lines (5-7-5 syllables) and the second stanza has two lines (7-7 syllables). What has this to do with Baransu, this newly created haiku writing technique? I will try to explain it.

Haiku has three lines as you all know and maybe we can bring balance in these three lines, by association. I will give an example (by the way the following haiku are just for explaining Baransu).

Example 1:

'a walk through the city' ... in this line we already a few possible things to associate on e.g. "walk" and "city". I have chosen to use "walk" to associate on.
'step by step I discover' ... in this line the possible associations can be on "step" and "discover". I have chosen to us "discover" and came to this third line:
'a newly built world'
Let me bring the three lines to each other than the following haiku will be formed:

a walk through the city
step by step I discover
a newly built world

© Chèvrefeuille

The above haiku is, in my opinion, Baransu, in balance. That balance I have reached through associating on the different images in every line of the above haiku.

Example 2:

Let me try to create another 'baransu'-haiku, but now I will use a famous haiku by Basho ... and yes ... there it is again "the frogpond":

the old pond
a frog jumps into it
sound of water

© Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

I will start by re-producing the first line here: the old pond. What are the possibilities to associate on? I think "old" and "pond" will do. "Old" has to do with 'classic', 'yesterday', 'age', 'a long time ago'. Which one can I use? I think I will try 'yesterday' to start creating the second line of this "baransu"-haiku.
'yesterday ... Irises bloomed' .. hm nice line, but what to use to associate on? In this line I can associate on 'yesterday'. 'Irises', and 'bloomed'. 'Yesterday' has to do with time; 'Irises' are purple mostly and 'bloomed' can mean 'blossoming' or 'decay' too. I will use 'Irises' to associate on and than this line 'pops-up' 'only a faint purple'.
Now I will bring the three lines together:

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

What do you think? Are these lines 'baransu', in balance? I think so, but that's just my humble opinion.

Now let me look at some other haiku co,mposed by the classical haiku poets to see if baransu is a technique they used, because I haven't read information about this 'balance in haiku - idea". Sohere are a few examples which I distilled from the 'four volume-haiku-bible' by R.H. Blyth. Of course I wasn't there (in the time of the haiku) so all thoughts are speculative.

suzukaze no totoki mori no miyai kana

the shrine
in the sacred grove:
a cool wind blows

© Chora (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

In this haiku you can see how Chora has done some associating on 'shrine' which brought him 'sacred grove', but than ... that last line 'a cool wind blows', were did he associated on? I think he associated on 'sacred grove' translating it to 'spirit' or 'ghost' and came up with 'wind' which could be easily seen as referring to 'ghost' or 'spirit'.
As I look at this haiku by Chora from the perspective of baransu than I think I can say this is a 'baransu-haiku' (in balance).

Another haiku, this is a great haiku by Buson:

mizugame ni kawazu uku nari satsukiame

a frog floating
in the water-jar:
rains of summer

© Buson (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

Buson introduces 'the frog' in the first line, so taht must be his theme, but how did he came to his 2nd and 3rd line? Did he compose this one using baransu?
Let us look to the 2nd line 'in the water-jar' as I will look at the association, the base of baransu, than he maybe associated on 'frog', a water animal and so he came to his second line. Than that 3rd line, could have been created by association on 'water-jar', because Buson mentioned the 'rains' in his third line. So this haiku can be seen as a baransu-haiku.

Of course this is all speculation, because I couldn't find anything about 'balance' in haiku in the sources I mostly use for my haiku and CDHK.

Resume:

First I discussed the way of association in the Tan Renga; than I tried to introduce 'baransu' (associative balance), a new haiku writing technique which I dared creating myself. Than we had a few examples in which I have tried to explain this 'baransu'- technique. I even tried my hand on the famous 'frogpond' haiku by Basho to re-form it in a 'baransu' haiku.
After that daring task I shared a few haiku by classical haiku-poets to try finding 'baransu' in it.
This episode was really great to make and I hope this new haiku writing technique will inspire you.

The task for this episode is to write/compose a 'baransu'-haiku and if possible, share your 'route of association' with us too.

Here are my examples another time:

a walk through the city
step by step I discover
a newly built world

© Chèvrefeuille

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

And to conclude this episode I have written/composed another haiku in which I use baransu.

the cooing of pigeons
resonates through the grey streets -
ah! that summer rain

© Chèvrefeuille

Maybe you can find the 'route of association' which I have used for this haiku.

Well ... I hope you did like this episode of our Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques in which I introduced baransu too you all. I hope you like this new haiku writing technique.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 20th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, melancholy, later on. For now .... have fun!.