Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #108 Turn Back Time (4) CD Imagination ... Still Life

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday October 27th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new (special) weekend meditation episode in which we are turnig time back and look at special features ... that were featured here at CDHK. Maybe you can remember that I introduced our special CD Imagination feature in which I challenged you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on a given image.

I will give you an image for your inspiration, you have to use the given image this time, so please use the given image for your inspiration.

Still Life (image © Dina Belenko)

Let the image inspire you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form. Have a great weekend!

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday October 27th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 3rd at noon (CET) I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1718 Bougainvillea (CD Imagination)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful CDHK-month "Field Of Flowers", only today I have chosen not a "real" field flower, but a flowering bush called "Bougainvillea". The Bougainvillea is often seen as wall decoration against white walls, mostly in the more southern countries, like for example Spain and Turkey.

Today I love to challenge you to create a Japanese poem inspired on a given image, so you can say this is a CDHK Imagination episode. Ofcourse you can use your own image, but it has to be an image of the Bougainvillea.

Here is the image for your inspiration:

Bougainvillea (image found on Pixabay)

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

Carpe Diem #1552 autumn colors along the highway (CD Imagination)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the last week of this wonderful month full of celebration of autumn. Recently I told you that we will go on a journey again here at CDHK. Next month we will ride the Pan American Highway (from Canada to Argentina) straight through the Americas. So to bring you already in the mood for this journey I have a wonderful image for you taken somewhere along the Pan American Highway. So today I hope to inspire you with only an image ... so this is a CD Imagination Without Limits challenge.

Here is the image for your inspiration:

Autumn Along The Highway (image found on Pinterest)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 2nd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1517 Hope (Imagination)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What an awesome month we have already and what a joy it is to read all of your responses. I know I am a bit behind with commenting but don't worry I will for sure visit you all.

This month all our prompts are the letters of the alphabet and today I have the letter H for you. I have chosen to challenge you today with an image to inspire you, an Imagination episode so to say. I hadn't enough time to create a big episode so this Imagination choice was the most easy to use.

The goal is to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on an image in the chosen theme "hope".

Hope

A wonderful image to work with I think, of course if you have another image with the same theme, hope, you are free to use that.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 15th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .... have fun!

Revisit: Latifa Prayer episode "I Hope"

Carpe Diem #1485 creating memories

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I had to work and that wasn't easy because of the heat, but well .... we finally had some showers of rain and temperatures have become more acceptable for the Dutch, say around 25 degrees Celsius. We still have a wonderful warm summer and this is one of the summers we will never forget.

Well this wonderful Imagination Without Limits is almost over, today we have our penultimate episode. After this month we will go on a journey around the world and discover various pieces of folkmusic like fado and tarantelle. But that's for later ...

I have found a very nice photo for you to work with, it's a photo I took a few years ago somewhere in my hometown. It's in the neighborhood of my mom, that's also the neighborhood were I grew up a teenager.

the nature of my hometown (photo © Chèvrefeuille)

I have only nice memories of this neighborhood and I cherish them with whole my heart. My youngest daughter, her friend and my youngest grandson are now living in that neighborhood too. It's a photo I took while walking with my grandson to my mother, his great grandmother.

wandering
memories of long ago
creates new ones

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... what do you think ... this haiku / senryu is really awesome (how immodest) ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 5th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode, the last one of July, later on.

By the way ... I am a little bit behind with commenting, but I hope to catch up a.s.a.p.

Carpe Diem #1484 pouring rain

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to bring you all a new episode of our wonderful Kai. This place is for you. During the years of our existence, almost six years, we have become a warmhearted family of haiku-loving Haijin. And that makes me proud. I thank you all for being part of this warmhearted family and I hope we will be here as we are celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2022, but that's for later.

Again it is tropical weather here in The Netherlands, today temperatures rose to almost 40 degrees Celsius, to much to handle for the Dutch people. Nature needs water, we need water ... but it looks like that will be faraway for us. We need rain .... a lot of rain.

Pouring Rain (image found on Pinterest; photo © Kiki Sloane)

after the heat
finally pouring rain
I dance naked

© Chèvrefeuille

I really hope that there will be rain very soon, because we the Dutch ... need water, not only for our selves, but also for nature.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 2nd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our nesxt episode, a new weekend meditation, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1483 Honey

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Imagination Without Limits a month full of beautiful images to inspire you. I hope I can inspire you again through a nice image I found somewhere on the Internet. I am still searching for the owners of a few images I used here, but it's not easy to find them. So if you are the owner or you know who the owner is of the images I have used than please write me a note. To avoid problems I will already say "my excuses for using your images. I have done everything to track you, but couldn't find you".

Honey

I love the taste of honey and I always thank the bees for producing it for us. Those bees are working hard to give us the tasty honey provided by Mother Nature.

Honey ... well I think you will be inspired by this theme. Enjoy the fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 1st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Have fun!

Carpe Diem #1482 Lily of the Valley

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode in our wonderful inspirational month full of Imagination Without Limits. Today I have (again) a short episode, because I have had (again) a very busy day on the chemo ward. This month all my episodes rose from impromptu moments, I had no real list this month so it is to me a surprise too what I am coming up with.

Lily of the Valley

I hadn't the inspiration to create a new poem so I decided to share a tanka from my archive:

Lilies of the valley
their sweet perfume makes me drowsy
hot summer night
between silken sheets her warmth
honeysuckle coolness

© Chèvrefeuille (2015)

I hope you can find the inspiration. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 31st at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now .. have fun!

Carpe Diem #1481 Coffee Break

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We have a heatwave here in The Netherlands temperatures are rising towards 40 degrees Celsius. Really hot you can say. For us, the Dutch people, these temperatures are "killing", but ... well we cannot influence weather ... so we have to deal with it.

Today I had a very busy day on our chemo-ward so I have a short episode for you this time. I will give you only the image for your inspiration and the title of course (smiles).

Coffe Break (image found on Tumblr)

I am a real coffe drinking Haijin, because I don't like tea. So to create a haiku or tanka inspired on this image must be easy ... but (maybe it's the heat) I couldn't come up with a haiku or tanka. Maybe later ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 30th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1480 Sound Of Wind

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of the last seven (regular) episodes of this Imagination Without Limits month, July 2018. Next month we will go on a trip around the world to discover the folkmusic of many countries. I think that month will be awesome too. I am already busy with my research for it and I have heard wonderful folkmusic. I hope you all will like that upcoming month as much as I enjoy creating it.

You all will know that renown haiku by Basho:

old pond
a frog jumps
sound of water

© Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

Well ... I have found a beautiful image for your inspiration today and I think you will understand my choice of the title "sound of wind", maybe I can give you an idea by creating a new haiku inspired on the one by Basho, but with a slightly difference.

old pond
rippling water
sound of wind

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... what do you think? A nice one (how immodest).

Sound Of Wind

Here are two haiku from my archive:

evening walk
the sound of a wind chime
deep silence

again and again
the wind chime points me the way
to peace .... again

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you all will be inspired after the weekend and I am looking forward to your responses on "sound of wind". Have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 29th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1479 abandoned boat

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are "running" towards the end of this Imagination Without Limits month. I have read awesome responses and you all make me proud. Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is a real haiku-loving family and I can see, feel and read that in every haiku or tanka you have shared with us. Thank you all for being part of this wonderful haiku-family and that you are all active participants.

Today I have a wonderful image for you, this time one I found on one of the many Tumblrs I visit often.

abandoned boat

Look at this image. What a sad scene this is. The colors are chosen in a great way and those colors make this image very dramatic. What has happened? Why was this boat abandoned? What will happen to it as time goes on ...?

lost and alone
a boat, left in a hurry,
abandoned 

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... not as strong as I had hoped. Maybe I will come up with another one later on ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 26th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new weekend-meditation later on. I haven't decided yet which weekend-meditation feature I will choose.

Carpe Diem #1477 Walking Down to the Beach

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's again a very hot day here in The Netherlands, temperatures are rising above 30 degrees Celsius. Maybe the already the result of the global warming, but I think that's a to big word for it. At least until halfway August the weather will stay this way in The Netherlands. There are even weather forecasts that say that we will have temperatures rising until 40 degrees Celsius ... I hope not of course, but you never know.

Global warming it's a worldwide theme and it's a problem, not a little problem, but very big problem. Can we fight against this global warming? Or will there be only desert ...

Today I hope to inspire you through a beautiful image I found somewhere on Tumblr. In my opinion it's a nice image to work with. So are you ready?!

Walking down to the Beach

I wish I could dive into this image and dive into the cool water. Finding the coolness after a hot summer day would be awesome along the beach. The beach ... a place to meditate and contemplate, but also to make love ...

after the heat
together with my love
our own heat

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku/senryu)

With this love-poem I hope to insoire you to create also a love poem, a haiku or tanka? That's your own choice. Try to catch love in your poem.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until July 24th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on.

Carpe Diem #1476 Silver Park

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I have an announcement to make. As you (will) see at the right of our Kai, the link towards our forum is deleted. I have deleted the forum, because it didn't work well enough and it took to much of my time to keep it up to date.
Second I have another announcement to make ... next month August 2018 we will go on a journey here at CDHK. We will visit countries all over the world for their folk music. Every regular episode will feature a music video of a kind of folk music. I will try to tell you a little bit background on that kind of folk music and I hope that will help your muses to awaken.

Okay ... back to this new episode of our wonderful Kai. As I told you earlier this month I love to share images of my hometown this month too. And today I have another wonderful image for you. It's our so called "Silver Park" and it is situated in front of the hospital were I am working as an oncology nurse. In this same "Silver Park" the youth of our town have created what they call "Silver Hills", it's a skateboard yard with all kind of tricks. It's a wonderful place to relax for them and it's really a joy to watch them while doing their tricks.

"Silver Park" (photo © Chèvrefeuille

The hospital you cannot see on this photo, but it's situated more to the right in this photo. The name of this park is derived from the Silver Birches around this park and that brought a haiku from my archives in mind:

in pale moonlight
silver birches look like ghosts
rustling leaves

© Chèvrefeuille (2012)

And a new one, more inspired on the image:

sound of water
waterlilies dance in the sun
ah how refreshing!

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN (TOO) for your submissions and will remain open until July 23rd at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Have a great day full of inspiration!

Carpe Diem #1475 raindrops sparkle

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Kai. As I am preparing this episode I realize that I haven't posted our episode of Monday 16th, my excuses for that. So this episode is our Monday July 16th episode and I will create another episode today also.

Here is your image to inspire you. It's a wonderful image of flowers in the rain. Rain that's what we need here in The Netherlands, because it's almost three weeks very warm (hot) and we haven't had one drop of rain. So nature is suffering from drought here. This image is a nice way of saying ... let rain let it rain!

Raindrops Sparkle

after the drought
flowers sparkle the dust away
in the summer rain

© Chèvrefeuille

(The image I found on zedge.net)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 22nd at noon (CEST). Immediately after this episode I will publish our new episode.

Carpe Diem #1473 Fragile Beauty

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. This month it's all about imagination and I think that's one of the pillars of haiku. Why? Because as a haiku poet you have to imagine the scene you try to catch in your haiku, but it also 'triggers' the imagination of the reader.

Again I have a lack of time, so again I have made it myself easy. I only will give you an image to inspire you.

Plum Blossom (photo © Chèvrefeuille)

scent of plum blossoms
mingles with the scent of the hearth
winter departure

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 18th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1472 emptiness

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

My apologies for being late. I had a very busy day on our chemo-therapy unit. So I hadn't time earlier to create this new episode of our Imagination Without Limits month, July 2018. So ... because of being late I will only give you the image for today to inspire you. I think it's another beautiful image and I hope it will inspire you to create your Japanese poetry.

Emptiness

what happened?
left coffee cup
her perfume

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 17th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1466 Contemplation

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you did like our first Imagination Without Limits episode "the blue door" and that it inspired you to create your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form. Today I have a wonderful new image for you that I have given the title "contemplation". Look at the image, let it speak to you, become one with the scenen and awaken your muse.

Here is your image for today:

contemplation

The above image of a young monk praying I use as the wallpaper for my smartphone. It gives me a kind of inner strenght, silence and the feeling that I am following the right path. By the way I find this young monk very attractive. I don't know if you can accept that a guy says this about another guy. Look at his face .... smooth serene soft devoted in deep contemplation he prays for the world and for his own wellness ... He has his eyes open ... with a clear loving and acceptation of all and everything around him. It's a strong face ... full of gratitude ...

his eyes
radiating love
in silence

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 9th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. For now ... have fun ... awaken your muse.

Carpe Diem #1465 The Blue Door

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend full of inspiration. Welcome at the first (regular) episode of a new month full of prompts, themes and wonderful images. July 2018 starts with a nice image to kick off this wonderful new month full of Imagination Without Limits.

This month all the prompts will be images for your inspiration. Last year we had also a month full of Imagination Without Limits and that was a big success. So I hope this month, this 2nd edition of Imagination Without Limits will also be a great success.

In every episode I will share an image for your inspiration. If possible use the image given, but if you like to use your own images than that's okay too.

Here is our first image to work with:

The Blue Door

Look at this image. I ran into it while surfing around on the Internet and I was caught by the mystery of this Blue Door. What's behind it? Who lives there? How will the house behind this Blue Door look? Where will it bring me too .... imagine that you enter through this Blue Door ....

sound of water
behind the blue door
a garden of peace

© Chèvrefeuille

Let the image speak to you and let your muse help you to find the inspiration ... step into the mystery behind the Blue Door.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until July 8th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode, another inspiring image, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Imagination With Paul Militaru #3 the Holy Bible

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's time again for our special guest's beautiful photos to use for your imagination to create a haiku or tanka. Today I have a nice photo of the Holy Bible made by Paul. I hope this photo will inspire you to create haiku or tanka.

If you use the photo in your post please add Paul's website towards it. Paul Militaru, photography portfolio. (https://photopaulm.com)

Well .... be inspired ....

the holy scripture
torn apart dances away
on the wind

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until October 19th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, camera, later on.

PS. The link towards Dolores' e-book "First Magnolia Bloom" works again.