Carpe Diem's Road to Yesterday Celebrating Five Years of Japanese Poetry #1 Introduction "right from the heart"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Let us take a trip back in time, back to September 2012, especially September 17th 2012. On that day I put Carpe Diem online with a kind of introductory, welcoming episode, for a new daily haiku meme inspired on a few other daily haiku memes in which I participated.

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September 17, 2012:

our first logo

This is my new weblog. I am Chèvrefeuille a Dutch haiku poet. I love to start a new daily meme for haiku poets. This weblog is the base for that haiku meme.
I hope to see a lot of visitors to enjoy the fun of writing haiku, a classical Japanese poem, on a theme given every day.

be inspired
write your little verses
right from the heart

I hope to see you all soon.

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As I look back to that time of preparations for the first ever prompt at Carpe Diem I smile. What nervous I was if it would work, if I could make it happen ... a daily haiku meme ... I was excited as I started, but also anxious ... because it had took me a lot of time and I just hoped it would work, it would become a success ... At that time I thought: "I just will give it a try, maybe it will last only for a few months, but than I have tried it". At that time I really hadn't thought that Carpe Diem would still exist several years later, yes of course I hoped it would be a success ... but there was at first the language. I had chosen to use English, but that's not my maiden language and at that time I didn't wrote a lot in English, but ... during the years I think my English has become better, at least good enough to write the blogs / episodes.

When the preparations were ready I finally could publish the first episode, Waterfall, that was on September 21st 2012, but the submissions started on October 1st 2012.

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September 21st, 2012:

For starters ... I will give the first prompt for this new daily haiku meme today. So you can think about it and be inspired.
Carpe Diem is a new daily haiku meme in which you can share your haiku. The haiku (or senryu) can be a classical or a non-classical one. It's all up to you. The first prompt for CARPE DIEM is waterfall. I think this is a great prompt to start with. Let flow your inspiration like a waterfall and share your haiku with us.

waterfall of colors
leaves whirl through the street -
departing summer

© Chèvrefeuille

Source: whirling leaves

Please be so kind to share a thought in the comment form. Do you have an idea for a new prompt? Well ... share it with us. I look forward to your contributions for this new haiku meme. And I hope it will be a success. I will try this to the end of the year ... so I hope that I can continue this haiku meme in January 2013.

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And so it started ... Carpe Diem, a daily haiku-meme. Back than the most episodes were short, mostly because of the fact that my English wasn't good enough, but also because of me being nervous if this project would succeed.
Well ... next month we will celebrating our fifth anniversary ... and I really hadn't thought that Carpe Diem, nowadays called Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, would be still alive and kicking. CDHK has grown, we are a real family of haiku loving poets, and there are more parts of CDHK and of course there was the wonderful cooperation with Jane Reichhold. She inspired me to go on and was also the one who gave me the inspiration, the idea, to create exclusive CDHK e-books.

Five years after the start of Carpe Diem ... a good reason to celebrate and I have to thank you all, my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers ... you all are my inspiration, my source, my engine to go on with Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

like a family
you my dear friends I embrace -
unconditional love
shared by a bunch of haiku poets
from all over the world

© Chèvrefeuille

I am looking forward to our fifth anniversary next month and I hope you all do too, because we make Carpe Diem Haiku Kai together.

Have a great weekend.

Namasté,

Chèvrefeuille, your host

Chèvrefeuille, your host

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge weekend-meditation #1 raindrops

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge weekend-meditation

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

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first "weekend-meditation" of September 2017. This month I have "new" weekend-meditations for you. This month those will be Tan Renga, Soliloquy no Renga and Rengay. For this first "weekend-meditation" I have chosen a Tan Renga challenge. (More about Tan Renga and examples of Tan Renga you can find above in the menu).

Tan Renga is a short renga created by two poets. The first stanza, 3 lines (hokku) and the second stanza, 2 lines (Ageku). The 2nd stanza you have to create through associating on images in the first stanza. To make this first "new" weekend-meditation a real challenge I ask you to create Tan Renga with two classical haiku I will give. To make it even more a challenge I love to challenge you to create a so called "squared" Tan Renga, that means you have to create a short renga of four stanza (or two Tan Renga).

Shantytown Soweto

Let me give you an example:

hokku:

so many temples
all breaths become one
the steps flow            

together with the one I love
on a pilgrimage to happiness               (Chèv)

happiness shared
as we walk through shantytowns
bread and water                                    (Chèv)

unconditional love
as we walk our path together               (Chèv)

This is what I call a "squared Tan Renga", the hokku was written by one of our former family-members, and the three following stanza were created by myself.

raindrops

Okay back to our present "weekend-meditation". Here are the two haiku to use:

The first haiku to use and create a "Squared Tan Renga" with is one by Kobayashi Issa, one of the five greatest haiku poets:

three raindrops
a greeting card from heaven...
midsummer heat

© Issa

And here is the other haiku to create a Squared Tan Renga with:

flying away
following the rainbow
into heaven

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I think this is an awesome "weekend-meditation" and I am looking forward to your responses. This "weekend-meditation" is open for your submissions next Sunday September 10th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will close on September 17th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new 'regular' episode around that time too. You can find a preview for the next 'regular' CD Imagination episode on our CDHK Tumblr. Have a great weekend!

Carpe Diem #1251 Bluebells at sunset (by Inguna Plume)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to create a new episode of CD Imagination for you. I love how this month goes already. All of your beautiful work ... I am so proud to be your host. It makes me humble "who am I to deserve this"... I don't know, but it's almost my second job next to my work as an oncology nurse to host Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... and I thank you all for the honor you all give me by participating in CDHK.

Thank you

Today I had a very busy day on the unit were we give our chemo ... we had 12 patients and it was really a though day, but we had also wonderful conversations and there was laughter ... Sometimes I feel proud that I can and may be part of the journey of our patients. They are all very strong people and they are all very realistic, but they all go for it ...

Okay ... back to our episode of today, maybe you have already seen the preview of today's image at our CDHK Tumblr, and if not ... no problem ... here it is:

This photo is titled "bluebells at sunset" and it's taken by Inguna Plume, visit her account at 500px.com by clicking on the caption beneath the image.

Bluebells at sunset by Inguna Plume

fragile
bluebells
fainting 

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku)

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 13th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new "weekend-meditation" later on. For now ... have fun!

Carpe Diem #1250 Autumn Colors

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Isn't it amazing? This is our 1250th regular CDHK prompt. I never had dreamed that it would be this big, but I enjoy it a lot and I hope you all enjoy CDHK. This month I challenge you all to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on an image. As we say "An image says more than 1000 words", and that's so true. Haiku is like an image, but with a lesser count of words ...
This month we are exploring the limits of our imagination.
As I look at the posts responses of the last two days I am glad that I created this month. It's really awesome to see how much differences I read in all of your poems inspired on the images I have shared. Isn't that a wonder? One image triggers so much different ideas and scenes ... awesome.

Today I have another beautiful image from Tumblr, this time I know who was the photographer of it. Today I love to ask you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form inspired on a photo by Kyle Bonallo, a great photographer. I love visiting his Tumblr that has his name Kyle Bonallo, visit him HERE.

On the Northern Hemisphere we are running towards autumn, my favorite season, I love how Mother Earth is changing into an ocean of colors, and that fresh smell of autumn ... wonderful.

Autumn Colors by Kyle Bonallo

hidden
between
colors

© Chèvrefeuille (experimental haiku)

Look at this photo ... become one with it, experience it ... this is Autumn.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 12th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new CD Imagination later on. You can find a preview of tomorrow's CD Imagination at our Tumblr.

Carpe Diem #1249 despair

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our new month has started with a wonderful image to inspire you. All responses are great to read and are "imaginations without limits" ... awesome.

Today I have another wonderful image for you, and maybe you have spotted it already on our CDHK Tumblr ... As saw that image I felt pain, loneliness, sadness, despair, broken love, depression and more like that. Look at that guy .. there in the middle of the forest ... completely alone ... lost ...

despair (image found on Tumblr)

This is a strong image full of emotions ... again I couldn't retrieve the owner of this image, so if you are the owner or you know who the owner is, please let me know.

alone
one flower
tears fall

© Chèvrefeuille

An experimental haiku (as I call it), full of despair, full of sadness, full of loneliness ... fits the scene I would say.

By the way our new image you can find on our CDHK Tumblr 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 11th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new CD-Imagination later on. For now ... be inspired!

Carpe Diem #1248 ending road

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to start a new month of CDHK. After our "modern art" month I have another beautiful month for you I think. Maybe you can remember our special feature in which I challenged you to create haiku (or tanka) inspired on an image, or a photo, that special feature was titled "Carpe Diem Imagination". This month, while we are on our way to our fifth anniversary (next October), I love to challenge you to create haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form, inspired on an image I have chosen. Of course I love to read poems inspired on the given image, but I know that several of you don't love the idea to use images from others for their inspiration, and ... well if you have trouble with the use of the images I share than you may use images made by yourself. If you use an image made by yourself than please share a little background on your image if possible.

I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. I had for sure a great weekend. Well let's take of with our first prompt of this month themed "Imagination Without Limits". Here is the first image which I love to share here. It was found on Tumblr, but I couldn't retrive the actual owner of the rights, so if you are or know the one who took the photo, please let me know.

What do we see? I see water and something that looks like a bridge or something. The bridge is broken and the path is ending ... there is no way of passing through ... or you have to have a boat or have to swim.

wet feet
broken bridge
ends my path

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I am looking forward to your responses and I hope to read gorgeous haiku ... no need to follow the classical rules, but if you want to ... feel free.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 10th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode later on.
By the way you can find the theme for this month above in the menu, but you will not find a prompt-list, because I decide every day this month which image I am going to use.

Carpe Diem Writing and Enjoying Haiku #6 new ways

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday September 3rd 2017 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new "weekend-meditation" episode. This week it's an episode of Writing and Enjoying Haiku, in honor of Jane Reichhold and in tribute of her. This week I love to challenge you to go, as we did last month (August), "outside the box" ... don't follow the rules of the haiku, but break free from it's rules. This episode I have titled "new ways" and that's what we are going to do ... taking new ways ...

An example:

nebula
rises
free at last

© Chèvrefeuille

So in the way of Santoka Taneda, or Jane Reichhold herself. Jane wasn't of the classical way of writing haiku, she invented the fragment and phrase idea, as we have seen here several times, for example this haiku by Rivrvlogr:

lake in brilliant red
glint of hungry fish leaping
dawn touches the waves

© Rivrvlogr

Do you see the fragment? (line 1 and 2) The phrase in this one is the 3rd line

Well ... you can also play with the lay-out as several of you have done already in earlier responses.

Just feel free to take a new way to write and enjoy your haiku (or tanka or other Japanese poetry form), or just take the same way you have done ... this time it's "out of my hands" .... think "out of the box" as we did in our "modern art" month ...

Have a wonderful weekend, full of inspiration.

PS.: Now Online our new CDHK month September 2017 ... full of imagination

This episode is open for your submissions next Sunday September 3rd at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 10th at noon (CET). Have fun!