Carpe Diem's Seven Days to Christmas #4 shooting stars

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Carpe Diem is counting down to Christmas with haiku and today we have our 4th episode of that countdown. This time I have chosen for shooting stars, because Christmas started with the Star of Bethlehem and Christmas is a time of good wishes ... so shooting stars are in my opinion a great prompt for our Christmas Countdown ... if you see a shooting star than you can do a wish ... that's the legend told of course ...

I love to share a haiku which I published on one of the Wordpress weblogs of Carpe Diem Haiku Family for a prompt of the Shadows meme:

thousand shooting stars
nothing to wish for anymore -
it’s raining silver

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Star of Bethlehem

This episode of our Christmas Countdown is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until December 23rd at noon (CET). We are almost there ... Christmas is coming closer ...

Carpe Diem #632, Frost

!! I am in the nightshift so I post this episode earlier than I normally do !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am excited ... Christmas Eve is coming closer and I am curious what Santa will bring me this year. Of course I hope Santa brings a white Christmas, but here in The Netherlands it's to warm for the time of year, so no white Christmas this year. Well ... we will keep on dreaming ... once it will come I think that White Christmas.
We are still busy with exploring Jane Reichhold's saijiki, list of kigo, "A Dictionary of Haiku" in which she has gathered all modern kigo (seasonwords) for all seasons and also for winter ... Today our prompt is frost and here are a few haiku which Jane has written as an example for this kigo.

granite patterns
fallen to leaves
frosted rust

flowers blooming
on dry sand and pond
frost

light spilling
into a waterfall
frost

© Jane Reichhold

Frost

What a gorgeous photo and those haiku by Jane are really nice. I like that third the most ... such a serene and mysterious image I see in front of my mind's eye ... Will not be an easy task to write a haiku in the same beauty ...

yearning for spring
the frost makes nature suffer -
snowdrops are blooming

snowdrops are blooming
they are longing for spring
after the dark winter

© Chèvrefeuille

Not as strong as I had hoped, but I like the image these two paint... I hope you are inspired by this post on frost .... This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 25th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode, a new Ghost Writer episode, later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem's Seven Days to Christmas" #3, candles

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas with haiku here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. And candles and Christmas are belonging together .... so today we will have candles for prompt. Candles are bringing light, warmth, joy, peace and romance. I can see myself in front of the fireplace on a deerskin, a nice glass of Gluhwein, candlelight, sweet music on the background and the one I love close to me ... sharing her love and warmth with me. Outside snow is falling and gardenlights burning .... at the other side of the street ... the doors of the church are open and awaiting the people to celebrate Christmas ...

As I was preparing this episode a haiku by Buson came to mind, but I had to change it a bit to fit Christmas, but here is the original first:

Lighting one candle
with another candle--
spring evening

© Buson

This one could be easily be for Easter, but we have Christmas within a few days so I have adjusted it to this time of year:

lighting one candle

with another candle -

Christmas Eve

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Christmas Candles

Christmas is coming closer and I am looking forward to what it will bring us all .... Just enjoy Christmas and remember the true meaning of it ....

This episode of our Christmas Countdown is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open for just 24 hours, so you can respond until December 22nd at 7.00 PM (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Special #123, Richard Wright's 4th "the scarecrow's old hat"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to create another CD Special with a haiku by our featured haiku poet this month, Richard Wright. It's his 4th haiku this month and I have read great haiku and tanka in response on his other haiku. This time I also love to challenge you a little bit.
Maybe you can remember our special feature "Soliloquy no Renga" in which I asked you to write a solo-renga with a maximum of 12 stanzas. I love to challenge you to write a Soliloquy no Renga with the haiku by Richard Wright as the "hokku" or "starting verse". (You can find the explanation of "Soliloquy no Renga" HERE)

Here is the haiku written by Richard Wright for your inspiration and to start the Soliloquy no Renga with:

The scarecrow's old hat

Was flung by the winter wind
Into a graveyard.

© Richard Wright

An extraordinary haiku I think. There are so much scenes to distill from this one and I hope you all will be inspired. Have fun!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until December 24th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, frost, later on. Of course there will also be a Christmas Countdown episode today!

Carpe Diem's Seven Days to Christmas #2 Christmas decorations

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are counting down to Christmas with haiku ... and today I love to talk about 'Christmas decorations' ... The most of you will have Christmas decorations all over their house inside and outside I think ... I have only decorated the inside of our house. Of course I have a Christmastree. This year with only white, silver and gold decorations ... My house feels warm and cosy and everywhere in the living room we have candles, twinkling lights and guirlandes of pine tree ... Softly sounds Christmas music ... ah, this time is wonderful and full of romance. The only thing we haven't yet is snow .... well we stay on dreaming of a White Christmas.

snowflakes falling

the world becomes a wonderland
I wake up

© Chèvrefeuille

I stil keep on dreaming about a White Christmas ... maybe it will be happening once again ... that would make Christmas even more beautiful ...

This episode is now open for your submissions and will remain open until December 21st at 7.00 PM (CET). Be inspired ...

Carpe Diem #631, winter solstice

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today it's December 21st and it's the day on which winter starts on the Northern Hemisphere. So I thought this was the opportunity to bring this prompt winter solstice ... I remember that we had 'winter solstice' for prompt back in 2013 June, because in that month we had all haiku written by Jane Reichhold whom was our featured haiku poet than. And today we have her modern kigo "winter solstice" for prompt, what a coincidence don't you think so too?
There were wonderful haiku inspired on that haiku than and I hope this time to read again wonderful haiku inspired on 'winter solstice' ...

winter solstice
the white night alone
with rolling surf

winter solstice
the sun in the south
with old folks

winter solstice
warmth of friends
return the sun

© Jane Reichhold

Credits: Winter Solstice (© photo Millie Gounder-Flynn)

And here is my attempt to write an all new haiku on winter solstice.

the longest night
bright stars sparkle through the clouds -
Christmas carolers

© Chėvrefeuille

I had to stay in the Christmas feeling ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 23rd at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode, our fourth haiku by Richard Wright, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #630, Straw

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As we are on our way to the end of 2014 we have had wonderful modern kigo (seasonwords) compiled by Jane Reichhold in her saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku" and today we are going further with the exploration of those wonderful modern kigo. Today we have straw for prompt and that's a nice one, but also a challenging one.

I love to share a haiku by Matsuo Basho (my master) in which he writes about straw. Here it is:

komo wo ki te   tare bito imasu   hana no haru

wrapped in a straw mat
who can this great one be?
flowers of spring

© Basho (1644-1694)

With this haiku came a preface "welcoming the New Year in Kyoto", this haiku is translated by Jane Reichhold and of course I have to share a haiku on straw written by her:

on frozen snow
still warm from the cow barn
broken straw

© Jane Reichhold

Credits: Cows in the snow (Dutch website)

A wonderful, almost Christmas fitting haiku ... a nice one ... How to write my own haiku on straw? Well here it is ... a little bit romance in this dark time before Christmas.

between straw bales

two youngsters exploring love

their first kiss

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... a nice one I think .... sometimes I have to go outside my normal way of writing haiku ... and so I came up with this one ... I can imagine how this must be for these youngsters. I still remember my first kiss like yesterday.

I hope this episode will inspire you to write an all new haiku (or Tanka). Just enjoy .... and share.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until December 22nd at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our next episode, winter solstice, later on.