Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #5 low sunlight

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to present a new episode in our Tanka Splendor month. I have alrady read beautiful tanka, but I am still a bit behind with commenting on all of your beautiful poems.
Yesterday I presented our second Tanka Writing Technique by Teika. So let us take a look at the two tanka writing techniques we have already seen here:

Mystery and Depth 
Appropriate Statement

By clicking on the above links you can read the episode again, because in this 5th episode I love to challenge you to create a tanka with the prompt low sunlight in this time of year (autumn) the low sunlight can be very dangerous in traffic for example, but low sunlight can also be interpreted as last sunlight of the day as the sun down is almost over. Low sunlight can give nice and beautiful mysterious scenes, and low sunlight can also be interpreted (with a little twist) as a moment of pleasure or romance.

© photo

Remember tanka was meant for love poems once, of course tanka without that are also tanka in my opinion, but maybe we have to try to stay close to the purpose of tanka ... being a love poem for a secret lover.

Here is my attempt to create a tanka:

the last sunbeams
illuminate the forest path
were I once walked
with the love of my life
loneliness hurts like hell

© Chèvrefeuille

In this tanka I have tried to use both techniques we have learned already and I think I am on the right path to make my tanka stronger and more beautiful.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 9th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, chestnuts, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #4 Teika's 2nd Tanka Writing Technique "Appropriate statement" - prompt: bare branches

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our Tanka Splendor month in which we will explore the "Ten Tanka Writing Techniques" by Teika. Today our prompt is the second Tanka Writing Technique by Teika "Appropriate Statement" to which I have "glued" the prompt "bare branches".

Fujiwara no Teika lived in the 13th century and was one of the first tanka poets who shared his thoughts about tanka with the world. He created ten writing techniques to improve his skills (and the skills of others) to write / create tanka.

Appropriate statement

From the former emperor Go-Toba's Secret Teachings, is his statement that the Priest Shun'e said of this style "that a poem should be composed so that seems to glide as smoothly as a drop of water rolling down the length of a five-foot iris leaf". The priest was known to have composed in a smooth quiet manner.

As example is this poem by Shunzei, #16:988 Senzaishū:

sumiwabite / mi o kakusubeki / yamazoto ni /amari kuma naki /yowa no tsuki kana

weary of the world
I thought to hide myself away
in this mountain village
but it reaches every corner of the night
bright radiance of the moon

In this Tanka Writing Technique we can see (and read) immediately that tanka and haiku are in a way the same. The only difference, according to this technique, is the form. Tanka has five lines (5-7-5-7-7) and haiku has three lines (5-7-5), but they both have nature as their most important theme. However ... in tanka we can find mostly a more secret layer on love, sensuality and sexuality, because tanka as we already know was derived from waka, which was a kind of love-poem to share secret love-affairs with.

bare branches colorful leaves fallen a natural quilt thoughts arise ... arouse the senses sharing warmth with the one I love

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 8th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our next episode, low sunlight, later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #3 rain

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This whole month we will explore the beauty of tanka, that wonderful five-lined Japanese poetry form that derived from waka, through the "Ten Tanka Writing Techniques" by Teika. At the start of this month I shared his first Tanka Writing Technique "mystery and depth". In Tanka these are very important. In ancient times the tanka was used for mystery and depth of love between secret lovers. They hide their deeper feelings of love in their tanka and that makes tanka a beautiful poetry form and maybe for the purpose of hidden love even better than haiku. However ... in haiku you can also hide secrets of love. For example:

midsummer night -
the scent of Honeysuckle
tickles the senses

© Chèvrefeuille

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

© Chèvrefeuille

Honeysuckle

Okay ... back to tanka and "mystery and depth" ... As I started this month I wasn't aware of the fact that I am not a great tanka poet, but I love to learn how to write tanka and I hope I can help to improve your tanka writing skills.

Today's prompt rain can be used perfectly with "mystery and depth" and that I hope to show in the tanka I wrote inspired on this episode:

ah! that summer rain
the perfume of the moist soil
tickles my senses
I lay down, naked, in her arms
surrounded by Honeysuckle

© Chèvrefeuille Well ... I hope I have inspired you to create tanka with depth and mystery hidden in it.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 7th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, Teika's second Tanka Writing Technique, later on. For now .... have fun!

Carpe Diem Universal Jane #5 autumn scenes

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Last month (October) I started with "Universal Jane" a special feature in honor and tribute of Jane Reichhold who passed away last July. Jane was a very important "key" for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and she was one of our co-hosts. She will be remembered forever ... here at CDHK ... her spirit is dwelling here and I love that.

So this special feature is for honoring her and to let her inspire you through her haiku and tanka. This week I have a few "autumn" haiku for your inspiration:

October beach
in all the footprints
the tread of shoes

maple hills
stain the evening sky
autumn

autumn river
covering my feet wet
with golden leaves

autumn's dusk
the smell of burning leaves
brings tears to my eyes

© Jane Reichhold

I love these haiku they all give me a real feeling of autumn the season of falling leaves, decay, Halloween and letting go. Autumn is my favorite season. Nature shows her most wonderful colors and as winter is nearing the wonderful structures of bare branches are awesome.

raking the garden the sweet scent of rotting leaves arouses my senses

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 7th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Tanka Splendor #2 Mist

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We have started with our adventure ... exploring the beauty of Tanka through the "Ten Tanka Writing Techniques" by Teika. Yesterday I shared his first Tanka Writing technique "Mystery and Depth" and today I love to challenge you to create a tanka inspired on Mist by using this first Tanka Writing Technique.

A few days ago it was Halloween, so I thought maybe I have to try to catch this "mystery and depth" in a tanka themed Halloween ... sounds great doesn't it? So here is my response on this prompt mist with the following tanka:

stories told
white witches dancing on the heath
just tendrils of mist
scaring little children
"the boogie-man comes!"

© Chèvrefeuille

White Bitches (In Dutch: Witte Wieven) this is how we call this kind of mist on the heath

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 7th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, rain, later on. For now ... have fun!

Delayed posts

Dear Haijin,

I hadn't time to write / publish our regular prompt and 'Universal Jane' episodes. I will publish them later today.

Namaste,

Chèvrefeuille

Carpe Diem Special Japanese Poetry In The Lowlands #1 Jeanine Hoedemakers'

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have decided to bring this month a few Dutch haiku poets, my colleagues so to say, and as I am preparing this first episode of "Carpe Diem Special Japanese Poetry In The Lowlands" I realize that I have taken up a real challenge. I have to translate the haiku of my fellow Dutchmen into English I of course will do that I only hope I do honor their work with my translation(s).

This first episode is about Jeanine Hoedemakers, a gifted haiku poetess, who has already published a few haiku books. I got to know her through the Haiku Kring Nederland (the Dutch Haiku Circle) several years ago. I was just a starting haiku poet and loved to make my haiku better. So I decided to become a member of the Dutch Haiku Circle. Jeanine then was coordinating the so called "chain letter" of the Dutch Haiku Circle. A group of haiku poets who shared their haiku with each other through a letter. I am still a member of that chain letter and I love it. It's a chance to read the work of others and comment on it to improve the haiku (or tanka) shared.

Jeanine is a long time member of the Dutch Haiku Circle and she always enjoys reading work of others and share her own work. She is a very active member of the Dutch Haiku Circle for sure more active as I am.

Jeanine Hoedemakers

Next to being a great poet, shae also is a very gifted photographer and painter. In this episode of "Japanese Poetry In The Lowlands" I love to share a haiga and a tanka to inspire you.

nu de rozenstruik
te groot werd voor de pot
moet hij de grond in
we moeten goed onthouden
zegt hij, hoe klein het begint

the rosebush
too big for the pot
should be earthed
we must remember
he says, how small it starts

© Jeanine Hoedemakers (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

And here is a beautiful haiga she created:

haiga Pair of Snails (photo and haiku © Jeanine Hoedemakers)

hij geeft haar een zoen nog een, bedelt ze lachend,

in slowmotion © Jeanine Hoedemakers he gives her a kiss another one, she begs with a smile, in slowmotion © Jeanine Hoedmakers (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

Of course there are a lot more beauties by Jeanine Hoedemakers, but that's maybe for another month. You can visit her (Dutch) website by clicking on the above given link.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 6th at noon (CET).

Have fun!