Carpe Diem #689, Melancholy

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This is the last regular prompt which I will do this week. As you all know Jen of Blog It Or Lose It will take care for our regular prompts for March 20th, 21th and 22th. And as you all know ... last month she did great and I have already had a sneak preview of her episodes and they look great. So Jen ... thank you for helping me out.
A few announcements which I love to share with you all:

Next Friday (March 20th) there will be no Tan Renga Challenge, not because of lack of time, but more because I think the Tan Renga Challenge gives you all to less inspiration, but maybe that's a wrong idea.
Next Saturday (March 21th), the start of spring on the Northern Hemisphere, there will be no bi-weekly "Little Creatures" episode. I have decided to skip that special feature for one week, so our first "Little Creatures" episode will be March 28th.
Than to conclude these announcements ... I am proud to tell you all that I have gotten permission to use haiku written by Kala Ramesh next month. Kala Ramesh, a famous Indian haiku-poetess, will be our featured haiku-poet for the CD-Specials in April. It makes me happy that I may use her haiku in a month in which we will discover the Bhagavad Gita, an Indian Epos.

Ok ... back to our prompt for today. Today we have melancholy for prompt, but what is melancholy? I have found the following meaning(s):

1. a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression.

2. sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.

I don't really know if that's what I am feeling when I am melancholic, but maybe that's more my idea, because English isn't my mother tongue.
As I am melancholic than I am in a kind of mood that gives me a strong longing to go back to my childhood, to re-live my history. Sometimes as I am in that kind of mood ... I become sad and tears stream ...
"Was it really better than?" I have given this prompt serious thought and I decided to make a haiga with a picture of my childhood.

long time ago
when I was just a child no worries -
just happiness

© Chèvrefeuille

In the background on this haiga you can see my older brother (who died almost 20 years ago) it's one of the photos which I cherish. Than ... there were no worries, no sadness ... we just were kids and could do anything ... yes I had a wonderful youth.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and it will remain open until March 22nd at noon (CET). Upcoming weekend I am free and Jen will take over. Thank you again Jen for helping me out.

Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques #11 "baransu"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

For this episode I have dared to create a new haiku writing technique which I have called Baransu. Baransu is the Japanese word for balance and I think haiku needs that balance.

The birth of a new Haiku Writing Technique.

As I started preparing this episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques (CDHWT) and picked up the challenge to create a new haiku writing technique I had the Tan Renga in mind.
As you all know Tan Renga is a short chained renga composed by two poets. One poet writes the first stanza, the hokku, and the second poet writes the second stanza, the ageku, by associating on the images in the first stanza.
The first stanza looks like a haiku and has three lines (5-7-5 syllables) and the second stanza has two lines (7-7 syllables). What has this to do with Baransu, this newly created haiku writing technique? I will try to explain it.

Haiku has three lines as you all know and maybe we can bring balance in these three lines, by association. I will give an example (by the way the following haiku are just for explaining Baransu).

Example 1:

'a walk through the city' ... in this line we already a few possible things to associate on e.g. "walk" and "city". I have chosen to use "walk" to associate on.
'step by step I discover' ... in this line the possible associations can be on "step" and "discover". I have chosen to us "discover" and came to this third line:
'a newly built world'
Let me bring the three lines to each other than the following haiku will be formed:

a walk through the city
step by step I discover
a newly built world

© Chèvrefeuille

The above haiku is, in my opinion, Baransu, in balance. That balance I have reached through associating on the different images in every line of the above haiku.

Example 2:

Let me try to create another 'baransu'-haiku, but now I will use a famous haiku by Basho ... and yes ... there it is again "the frogpond":

the old pond
a frog jumps into it
sound of water

© Basho (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

I will start by re-producing the first line here: the old pond. What are the possibilities to associate on? I think "old" and "pond" will do. "Old" has to do with 'classic', 'yesterday', 'age', 'a long time ago'. Which one can I use? I think I will try 'yesterday' to start creating the second line of this "baransu"-haiku.
'yesterday ... Irises bloomed' .. hm nice line, but what to use to associate on? In this line I can associate on 'yesterday'. 'Irises', and 'bloomed'. 'Yesterday' has to do with time; 'Irises' are purple mostly and 'bloomed' can mean 'blossoming' or 'decay' too. I will use 'Irises' to associate on and than this line 'pops-up' 'only a faint purple'.
Now I will bring the three lines together:

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

What do you think? Are these lines 'baransu', in balance? I think so, but that's just my humble opinion.

Now let me look at some other haiku co,mposed by the classical haiku poets to see if baransu is a technique they used, because I haven't read information about this 'balance in haiku - idea". Sohere are a few examples which I distilled from the 'four volume-haiku-bible' by R.H. Blyth. Of course I wasn't there (in the time of the haiku) so all thoughts are speculative.

suzukaze no totoki mori no miyai kana

the shrine
in the sacred grove:
a cool wind blows

© Chora (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

In this haiku you can see how Chora has done some associating on 'shrine' which brought him 'sacred grove', but than ... that last line 'a cool wind blows', were did he associated on? I think he associated on 'sacred grove' translating it to 'spirit' or 'ghost' and came up with 'wind' which could be easily seen as referring to 'ghost' or 'spirit'.
As I look at this haiku by Chora from the perspective of baransu than I think I can say this is a 'baransu-haiku' (in balance).

Another haiku, this is a great haiku by Buson:

mizugame ni kawazu uku nari satsukiame

a frog floating
in the water-jar:
rains of summer

© Buson (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

Buson introduces 'the frog' in the first line, so taht must be his theme, but how did he came to his 2nd and 3rd line? Did he compose this one using baransu?
Let us look to the 2nd line 'in the water-jar' as I will look at the association, the base of baransu, than he maybe associated on 'frog', a water animal and so he came to his second line. Than that 3rd line, could have been created by association on 'water-jar', because Buson mentioned the 'rains' in his third line. So this haiku can be seen as a baransu-haiku.

Of course this is all speculation, because I couldn't find anything about 'balance' in haiku in the sources I mostly use for my haiku and CDHK.

Resume:

First I discussed the way of association in the Tan Renga; than I tried to introduce 'baransu' (associative balance), a new haiku writing technique which I dared creating myself. Than we had a few examples in which I have tried to explain this 'baransu'- technique. I even tried my hand on the famous 'frogpond' haiku by Basho to re-form it in a 'baransu' haiku.
After that daring task I shared a few haiku by classical haiku-poets to try finding 'baransu' in it.
This episode was really great to make and I hope this new haiku writing technique will inspire you.

The task for this episode is to write/compose a 'baransu'-haiku and if possible, share your 'route of association' with us too.

Here are my examples another time:

a walk through the city
step by step I discover
a newly built world

© Chèvrefeuille

the old pond
yesterday ... Irises bloomed
only a faint purple

© Chèvrefeuille

And to conclude this episode I have written/composed another haiku in which I use baransu.

the cooing of pigeons
resonates through the grey streets -
ah! that summer rain

© Chèvrefeuille

Maybe you can find the 'route of association' which I have used for this haiku.

Well ... I hope you did like this episode of our Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques in which I introduced baransu too you all. I hope you like this new haiku writing technique.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until March 20th at noon (CET). I will try to publish our new episode, melancholy, later on. For now .... have fun!.

Carpe Diem #688, windmill

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today I have a nice prompt for you all and I am proud to bring this prompt to you all. Why? Here in The Netherlands we have a pride history with windmills. It's one of the things which come in mind every where on Earth as people talk about The Netherlands. Windmills, Tulips and Wooden shoes ... it's a cliché which is haunting us Dutch for a long time. Next to these maybe some one will say Vincent Van Gogh or Rembrandt as something which is really Dutch.

Windmills ... we have a lot of them here and as the centuries go by we have still that name ... windmills, windmills and another time windmills. As you all know The Netherlands are very flat, but through that flatness of my country we have a lot of wind ... Wind is one of our most important sources of energy, next to the Sun, electricity, oil and water.

Our prompt for today is windmill and I think I have a nice haiga to share here with you about windmills.

And of course I had to share also an image of one of our historical windmills. Maybe you know this sight in The Netherlands, it's called "Kinderdijk" it's one of the oldest sights with windmills ....

Aren't they wonderful? I am really proud on our Dutch windmill history ... and I hope this episode will inspire you to create wonderful haiga. Have fun!

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 20th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, an all new episode of our special feature Haiku Writing Techniques and I even dared to introduce an all new Haiku Writing Technique which I created myself, later on.

Carpe Diem Time Glass #25 entwined

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

It is my pleasure and my privilege to create another new episode of our Time Glass feature for you all. Our time challenging feature in which you have just 24 hours to respond on a given picture and a prompt with an all new haiku (or tanka) ...

This episode is our 25th Time Glass episode so we have a little celebration ... it's the silver episode and I have a wonderful picture for your inspiration.

Credits: Modern Art

And here is our prompt for this week's episode:

ENTWINED

I hope to read wonderful haiku and maybe tanka or even a haiga inspired on this picture and prompt. Have fun! And remember ... you have only 24 hours to respond ....

Carpe Diem Special #137, Santoka Taneda's 3rd "walking through "

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to create another wonderful CD Special with a haiku composed by our featured haiku poet Santoka Taneda (1882-1940) ... he has written a lot of haiku which are worth to share here at CDHK. This new episode is titled "walking through" and in this haiku composed by him we see one of the haiku writing techniques which I have introduced to you all "repetition". A short reminder: Repetition in haiku means "using the same words" more than once to make the scene stronger and more intense.

This month is Haiga Festival and so I have chosen to create a haiga with the to be used haiku by Santoka Taneda. It's more in tune than with our theme this month.

Fumi-wakeru hagi yo susuki yo

walking through
the bush clover, the pampas grass,
walking on through them

© Santoka Taneda (Tr. R.H. Blyth)

It's a gorgeous haiku I think and I even think I have turned it into a wonderful haiga. The photo however isn't mine (credits photo: here)  but it fits the haiku very well I think.

The goal of this CD Special is to write/compose an all new haiku inspired on the given one and in the same sense, tone and spirit as the given one. Maybe you can use the repetition writing technique in your haiku too, but that's not an obligation. Feel free .... and as you all know (maybe) Santoka Taneda was a 'fore stander' of the so called "free style haiku", so feel free to use that style ....

Here is my attempt to write/compose an all new haiku in the spirit of Santoka Taneda:

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

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not as strong as I had hoped, but I like the intensity of this haiku ... I have turned this one into a haiga too.

Credits: Weird Cabin with Wind Chime

It has become a nice haiga (how immodest) and I hope you like it too. This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 18th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, windmill, later on. For now .... just enjoy and have fun!

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge #77, Ese's "stroked by the lightning"

Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

Yesterday (Friday 13th) I hadn't enough time to create a Tan Renga Challenge for CDHK and I decided to skip TRC this week, but ... well yet here it is, because I ran into a wonderful haiku by Ese of Ese's Voice which I couldn't let go ... I hope Ese doesn't mind that I have used her haiku without asking permission.

stroked by the lightning
delicate peaks of sand dunes
-silence before the storm

© Ese

Credits: Lightning

A spectacular photo of lightning above a lake ... this is Mother Nature's rage for abusing her ... and it really gives wonderful photos. I have sought the Internet and there really were very beautiful photos of this natural phenomena ....

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge is to compose a second stanza of two lines respectively 7-7 syllables which continue the scene or make it complete. I have given it a try myself and this is what a came with:

stroked by the lightning
delicate peaks of sand dunes
-silence before the storm                                        (Ese)

a new day rises with the song of birds
the soft breeze caressing young leaves                  (Chèvrefeuille) 

Hm ... not bad I think. The power of lightning, the silence before the storm and than that finale that feeling of the dawning of a new day with the sweet song of birds and the rustling of leaves ... awesome!

This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday March 20th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem #687, Deep Silence

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Deep Silence what does that mean? To me it's enjoying the peace and quietness of nature. The sound of the breeze rustling through the leaves, the cry of seagulls, the rushing of a brook and more natural sounds, but it's also listening to wonderful music or the heartbeat of my beloved wife. Deep Silence is the source for my energy, but it also the source for inspiration .... in the deep silence of nature, or the deep silence of meditation brings inspiration, brings enlightenment ... to stay inspired you have sometimes the need for a retreat ... a walk through nature ...  a few days of into the mountains.
To stay inspired I take a weekend of each month. Next weekend it's my "deep silence" weekend and Jen (of Blog It Or Lose It) will be your host again ... maybe you too would like to be co-host for a weekend ... than please let me know.

deep silence
the beauty of a cobweb
morning sunrise

© Chèvrefeuille

I think this haiga is a great way to illustrate my idea about deep silence, our prompt for today. And now it's up to you ...

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until March 18th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our next episode, a new CD Special with a haiku written by our featured haiku poet.