Carpe Diem #897 snow viewing

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to see how you all are interactive with CDHK. I am glad to hear that you all appreciate that new feature I created "Carpe Diem Vernacular". I will publish the first episode of CD Vernacular today, but first this.
As you could have noticed I have created a new CDHK e book "Tepid and Bittersweet" in which I have gathered all the entries of our 3rd and 4th kukai. I hope you all will like this new e book. It's downloadable at the right side of our Kai.

Okay ... today our prompt is snow viewing and it's based on Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku", so its a modern kigo (for winter). There are several examples by Jane, but I love to share first a few haiku by our classical haiku masters.

iza saraba  yukimi ni korobu  tokoro made

well then,
let’s go snow-viewing
till we all fall down

© Matsuo Basho

uma sôna yuki ya fûwari fûwari to

looking delicious
the snow falling softly
softly

yuki-guni no yuki iwau hi ya asagi-zora

a day to celebrate
snow country's snow!
a pale blue sky

© Kobayashi Issa

Credits; Snow viewing

morning snow

where can I throw away
the tea leaves?

© Chiyo-ni

furuike no oshidori ni yuki furu yuube kana

at the old pond
snow falls on mandarin ducks
in twilight

hatsuyukino sokowo tatakeba takeno tsuki

the first snow
emptying itself to its last flake--
the moon above bamboo

© Yosa Buson

All beautiful haiku inspired on the beauty of snow. Isn't that what this prompt is about? Celebrating the beauty of snow?

Here is an example by Jane Reichhold:

giant snowflakes
bring to the window
adult faces

© Jane Reichhold

Credits: Snow viewing by the Sumida River (woodblock-print by: Utagawa Hiroshige)

I am not a big fan of snow, but as it finally covers the Earth I love to step in it barefooted to feel the softness and cold of snow. It's an amazing feeling and it always looks like a fairytale. It's sad to know that through global warming we will not have lots of snow anymore here in The Netherlands. I have seen snow, but to my grandchildren snow must be a wonder ... because they haven't seen it often.

fresh fallen snow
the backyard looks like a fairytale -
on bare foot 

© Chèvrefeuille

I found a nice "modern" haiku about snow viewing written by haiku poetess Katsura Nobuko (1914-2004) and I love to share that haiku here as a kind of closure for this episode.

going snow viewing
one by one the walkers vanish
whitely falling veils

© Katsura Nobuko

I think this episode has become a nice one. So I hope it will inspire you to create all new haiku.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 19th at noon (CET). Have fun.
I will try to publish our new episode, Yukibare (clear sky between snowfall), later on.

Carpe Diem Special #183 Ese's fourth "inevitable"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today I love to share another wonderful haiku composed/created by our featured haiku poetess Ese of Ese's Voice. She won our "peace of mind" kukai and next to an e-book which we will create next year, she won the "honor" (if I may say so) to be our featured haiku poetess for November.

Ese, just recently, "closed" her wordpress weblog "Ese's Voice", because of personal reasons. The haiku for today is distilled from her last post on the WP weblog and I love to share, a wonderful poem, or just wonderful words she also shared at "Ese's Voice" hidden behind the title "the danger of being me". In this poem she describes who she is and what her ideas and dreams are.

I BELIEVE

that every journey begins with a single step, laughter really is contagious and family isn't a word but a sentence;
that there are no better antiques than old friends;
in a difficult climb to earn the view from the top of the mountain;
that when I am good I am very good, but somehow I seem to be better when I am bad;
in „The God Of Small Things”, „The Kite Runner” , „My Poor Marat” and „The Prophet” as much as I believe in „The Little Prince”;
in coffee, green tea, caramel ice-cream and crème brûlée;
in Indian summer, winter twilight and pouring rain;
that rugby is like war – easy to start, difficult to stop and impossible to forget;
in music of different forms, colors, tongues and rhythms;
that it takes two to tango…

I am a Believer.

I think our days would be more meaningful if everyone believed in something. Either yourself, a flight to the Moon or simply tomorrow. Viva La Vida!

Such wonderful words, such a wonderful poem ... that's who Ese is ... a Believer ...

After closing her WP weblog she started a new weblog on Tumblr (also called "Ese's Voice") and that's the place where she often posts new haiku or re-blogs haiku from other wonderful haiku poets.

Credits: snow red leaves

Okay ... back to the haiku for this episode of CD-Special ... "inevitable" is (in my opinion) a very strong haiku with a very true deeper meaning ... everything in our life is inevitable ... as it is in nature. Here is Ese's haiku for your inspiration:

inevitable
the dance of a falling leaf
with a snowflake

© Ese

Isn't it a beauty? Strong in its choice of words, the balance of the seasons following each other inevitable ...

The goal of this CD-Special is to create/compose an all new haiku inspired on the given haiku trying to touch the sense, tone and spirit of the haiku poet(ess). So here is my attempt to write a haiku inspired on this beauty by Ese.

fresh fallen snow
sprinkled with the colors of autumn
everlasting

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this CD-Special and that it will inspire you to write an all new haiku.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 25th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, torn apart book (reading nature), later on. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all here at our Haiku Kai.