Carpe Diem #1723 Honeysuckle

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful month in which we are creating a bouquet of wild flowers and today I have chosen the flower from which I took my "nom de plume" ... the Honeysuckle.

As a haiku poet I use a "haigo" or "penname" and as you know my "haigo" is Chèvrefeuille (French for Honeysuckle). I am a Dutch haiku poet and I write almost all my haiku in English. I even find it very difficult to create haiku in my own language, Dutch. Sometimes I even think in English and that's sometimes, e.g. at work, a "pain in the a..", but I cannot help it.

For today's prompt I have chosen a haiku in which my "haigo" is used.

sweet perfume
lingers in the warm summer night
Honeysuckle blooms

© Chèvrefeuille

And here is an oldie from my archives:

searching my inner self
following the way of Honeysuckle
path of wisdom*

© Chèvrefeuille

* Honeysuckle, in her spiritual meaning is the path of wisdom to find your inner self.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 19th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #75 Poetry Archive (2) Honeysuckle

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday March 10th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new weekend meditation. After a busy day it's time to relax and that's were our weekends are for. This weekend I love to challenge you again to dive into your archive. This new feature is titled "Poetry Archive" and I think you all know what this feature is about? Yes ... that's correct ... I invite you to dive into your poetry archive and share haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form that mean a lot to you. Please share with us why you did made the choice and try to create a new haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on the poem you have chosen.

For this weekend I also dived into my archive(s) and I found a wonderful haiku themed "honeysuckle", as you can read in the title of this episode. Of course I have chosen this theme because I love to share a "honeysuckle-haiku".
As you know I use the haigo (pseudonym) Chèvrefeuille which is French for Honeysuckle. It's a wonderful plant, bush, that climbs towards fenches and houses and the flowers have the most sweet perfume. Of course Honeysuckle has also a deeper meaning. I have chosen a haiku in which you can find that deeper meaning.

my dreams wander
along the path of my life ...
Honeysuckle blooms

© Chèvrefeuille (2015)

And as you maybe remember the other goal is to create an all new haiku inspired on the haiku of your "archive-choice". So here is my new haiku inspired on this haiku.

in the twilight
dreams whirl through my mind
Honeysuckle perfume

© Chèvrefeuille (2019)

Well ... I hope you will find your own wonderful haiku in your archive. Ofcourse there is no need to choose a Honeysuckle haiku ... but if you have a nice Honeysuckle haiku feel free to use it.

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday March 10th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until Sunday March 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new regular episode later on. For now ... have a wonderful weekend full of inspiration.

Carpe Diem Utabukuro #3 how it all started

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am a day late with this new episode of "Utabukuro", but I just had to make a new episode. As you all know this special CDHK feature is about haiku (or tanka) you like. Use a favorite haiku or tanka and explain why it's so special for you and to write an all new haiku (or tanka) inspired on your favorite. No prompt or something, but this time a theme "how it all started".

I discovered haiku in the late eighties and I remember that I wrote my first haiku themed Honeysuckle. I became addicted to haiku and several years later, as I became more known worldwide I choose the "nom de plum" Chèvrefeuille, French for Honeysuckle. I think I have written a lot of haiku (and tanka) during the years and so my archive grew to at least 10.000 haiku (and tanka) I think. So a rich archive as I may say it myself (smiles).

In 2005 I wrote my first English haiku, which you could have read in our first episode of "Utabukuro". That haiku brought me in a way worldwide fame, but that's not my place to say so, sounds to immodest.
As the years went and come I realized that there was more to promote haiku, my beloved haiku, and so I started several weblogs on haiku, but the greatest development was our Carpe Diem Haiku Kai which I started in October 2012. I love to share the first haiku I wrote for CDHK here again.

waterfall of colors
leaves whirl through the street -
departing summer

(c) Chèvrefeuille

I wrote it to inspire my first visitors at Carpe Diem (as CDHK was titled than) with the first prompt ever "waterfall".

waterfall of colors

It was the start of one great adventure and that adventure is still going on. We are running towards our third anniversary .... as I started with CDHK I didn't know it would become as great as it already is and of course I hope that CDHK will grow further. There were several occasions that brought to a point to stop with CDHK, but I couldn't, I just couldn't. Why stop with a great formula?

During the years of CDHK I created several special features and since late 2014 I have built my own publishing house "Chèvrefeuille's Publications" and I started to make/create e-books. Of course I was delighted as I got the exclusive rights to publish the e-books of Jane Reichhold at CDHK .... yes CDHK has grown to a community in which unknown and wellknown haiku poets and poetesses have opportunity to share their haiku, tanka, haiga and haibun ... isn't it awesome. This is not only my merit, but we have accomplished it together and that makes Carpe Diem Haiku Kai the place to be if you like to write and share haiku (and other Japanese poetry forms).

As I told you above I have an outgrown archive of haiku and I just love to share here several haiku which I wrote on Honeysuckle. Hamish once wrote "Chèvrefeuille's favorite theme for his haiku are Cherry blossoms". That's very true, but next to the Cherry blossom I have another favorite theme ... yes Honeysuckle. I have written a lot of haiku themed Honeysuckle and so here are a few examples from my archive:

Honeysuckle (in French Chèvrefeuille)

midsummer night -

the scent of Honeysuckle
tickles the senses

fortuneteller touches
the heart of Honeysuckle
the path to wisdom

midsummer night
Honeysuckle in full bloom
Ah! that perfume

scent of Honeysuckle
the smell of dew on her flowers
Holy incense

my dreams wander
along the path of my life ...
Honeysuckle blooms

Honeysuckle blooms
sharing her sweet perfume
I dream away

(C) Chèvrefeuille

Of course I have to create an all new haiku inspired on this favorite(s) ao here I go:

closing the garden
no one to disturb my thoughts -
Virginia Creeper

(C) Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Virginia Creeper

All haiku themed with Honeysuckle. I will make a compilation of all my haiku on Honeysuckle this month and will make it available here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

This episode of Carpe Diem Utabukuro is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Saturday July 4th at noon (CET). Have fun! Share your favorite haiku, tanka or haibun with us all and write an all new one inspired on that favorite haiku (or tanka, or haibun).

Carpe Diem Special #148a, Kikaku's "above the sea"

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

Yesterday (May 27th) I had planned a CD-Special, but through lack of time I couldn't write that episode, so I do that now.
Our CD-Specials this month are all haiku written by disciples of Basho and today I have chosen a haiku by Kikaku (1661-1707), one of Basho's closest friends and students. Kikaku has almost the same attraction to the beauty of nature as Basho had and he (Kikaku) has written wonderful haiku. Later in his life Kikaku fell in love with the city and his haiku changed dramatically, but were all beauties. Here are two haiku written by Kikaku to inspire you all.

this wooden gate
shuts me out for the night
winter moon

above the sea

a rainbow, erased by
a flock of swallows

© Kikaku (Tr. Michael K. Bourdaghs)

Both are really beautiful in my opinion and that first one comes close to the beauty of the haiku by the master, Basho, himself. In our regular episode for today, from all directions, we also see a haiku with "gate" in it, so I think that Basho was in love with the city too, but that's just a guess.

finally home
I shut the gate of my garden
ah! the Honeysuckle

© Chèvrefeuille

Honeysuckle (my pseudonym)

This CD-Special is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 30th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem "Little Creatures" #8 "Mosquitoes and Honeysuckle" (Two haiku by Buson)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

For this episode of "Little Creatures" I have two wonderful haiku written by Yosa Buson in which little creatures and Honeysuckle (the English translation of my 'nom de plum' Chèvrefeuille) have the leading role. I ran into these haiku as I was preparing our "Big Five"-month (last May). At that time I woldn't use them, but now ... in this new episode of "Little Creatures" I had to use them. So here we go.

ka no koe su nindo no hana chiru tabi ni

the voices of mosquitoes,
whenever the flower of the honeysuckle
falls

© Buson

This is one of the most interesting examples of the extraordinary sensitiveness of the haiku poets; or rather, of the way in which they bend their loving eyes and ears upon the slightest of things. The honeysuckle (nindo) is not a very striking flower, white, and afterwards becoming yellowish. It does not fade in winter, and from this comes its name, "enduring winter".
When a flower falls, mosquitoes that have been hiding in the undergrowth rise up, and their humming is heard. The voice of the mosquito also is very small indeed, not to be heard far away from the ear. We have in this verse two hardly noticeable things, yet they and their chance relation are clearly perceived and expressed.

Honeysuckle (nindo)

And this is the other haiku by Buson:

ka no koe su nindo no hana chiru goto ni

the honeysuckle;
with every petal that falls,
the voice of the gnats

© Buson

Here the sense of hearing is at its most acute, poetically speaking. Of all sounds, the voice of the mosquito is the most mysterious, of deeply subtle meaning. Of all flowers, the whitish-yellow honeysuckle (nindo) is the most forlorn. Each time the voice of the gnats is noticed, the flowers become more remotely near. Each time a flower falls, the sound of the gnats is more profound in the heart.

What an awesome set of haiku by Buson ... they look similar, but their meaning is slightly different. Maybe the second is a "re-done" version of the first haiku ... I don't know, it's possible. I have tried to catch both haiku scenes in one haiku. I don't know if I have succeeded, but we will see ...

honeysuckle flowers fall
one by one, awakening mosquitoes,
covering the Earth

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this episode of "Little Creatures" and I am looking forward to all your wonderful responses.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Thursday October 16th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #86, Honeysuckle

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Well ... we are on our way in 2013. I have enjoyed the last three months very well and I am glad to see that our contributors group is growing. Our last December month wasn't easy I think, because of the use of the classical kigo, but it was a joy. So I will use classical kigo for Spring in March, the first month of Spring and also for Summer and Autumn later on this year.

Today our prompt is Honeysuckle a bit vainglorious I think, because it's the English translation of my 'nom de plume' Chèvrefeuille. I think that the most of you know that Chèvrefeuille is not my real name. I have chosen that name because I like the Honeysuckle and her perfume ... and it's an old classical custom to take on a 'nom de plume' as a haiku poet.

Honeysuckle

I hope to read wonderful haiku on this prompt and I will enjoy reading them all, but ... during lack of time I will catch up later with commenting, not only on this one, but also on the other Carpe Diem episodes.

her sweet perfume
tingles my senses
Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle
spiritual way to my Inner Self
what an adventure

The spiritual meaning of Honeysuckle is 'the way to the Inner Self'.

When I took this 'nom de plume' I was looking for myself. I was in a depression and had completely lost my touch with Earth. I sought my way in the occult and that wasn't a good choice. I became ill and couldn't work at all. I even had suicidal thoughts. With the love of all my friends and family I became well again and right on that time the Honeysuckle in my backyard started to bloom. Her perfume and fragile blossoms brought back my love for nature and brought me back to Earth. It wasn't a time which I am proud of and I am surely want look back again from now on.

caught by her love
her sweet perfume and blossoms
Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle
brought me back to Earth
finally home again

Credits: Honeysuckle

This prompt will stay on 'till January 4th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will publish our new prompt 'yesterday' later on today around 10.00 PM (CET).

Have fun, enjoy the read, be inspired and creative. Share your creativity with us ... and please leave a comment after linking.

PS.: Do you have suggestions for prompts? Share them with us on the 'prompt suggestion' page.

Carpe Diem #28, perfume

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy it was to read your haiku on childhood yesterday. I really liked them all. Today we have another wonderful prompt perfume and I think that this one will bring nice haiku on all kinds of flowers and their perfume. Good luck and be inspired.

Lavender

lavender field

their perfume overwhelmes me
pleasant dreams

pleasant dreams
a lavender stuffed pillow
Ah! that perfume

Japanese Honeysuckle 

sweet perfume
honeysuckle blooms
makes me drowsy

sweet perfume
the scent of the one I love
Ah! Honeysuckle

Hm ... the perfume of lavender and honeysuckle ... how sweet ... Mother Earth provides us with all those wonderful perfumes.

Have fun and be inspired. Write your haiku from your heart and share them with Carpe Diem.

This prompt will stay on 'till October 29th 11.59 AM (CET). I will post the new prompt flying today around 10.00 PM (CET).