Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday #11 family tombstone

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's Wednesday again ... time for a new Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday, that special feature in which I challenge you to complete a Tan Renga with a given haiku by a classical or non-classical haiku poet.

Your task is to add your two lined stanza (approx. 7-7 syllables) through association on the scenes and images in the given haiku. This week I have chosen a haiku by a modern haiku poet, Nicholas Virgilio.

Tombstones

Here is the haiku to work with:

adding father’s name
to the family tombstone
with room for my own

© Nicholas Virgilio

And now it's up to you to create a Tan Renga with this haiku by adding your two-lined stanza. Enjoy the challenge.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 4th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #1804 New Beginnings ... candlelight

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Yes ... another episode of our wonderful Kai, because I was late with our Monday episode, "snowdrops".

Today I love to challenge you two times. I love to challenge you to create a "fusion-ku" with two given haiku and to create a Troiku with your new "fusion-ku". I have chosen two haiku by Jane Reichhold extracted from her online Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku", section New Year.

Here are the two haiku to work with:

a new year
rising from wild seas
a few stars

filling
the glass with candlelight
champagne

© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

Champagne and Candlelight (© photo Isabella Cabre)

Two beautiful haiku by the Queen of Haiku (and Tanka), Jane Reichhold. She was once my co-host and taught me a lot about all kinds of Japanese poetry ... I miss her still.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 3rd at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem #1803 New Beginnings ... snowdrops

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our wonderful Haiku Kai. This month it's about New Beginnings and it means all things that start new. Today I have chosen the prompt "snowdrops", those beautiful small white flowers that start blooming in Winter already ... Snowdrops are the first signs that Spring is near.

Snowdrops (image found on Pinterest)

snowdrops blooming
waving goodbye to Winter
nearly Spring

© Chèvrefeuille

Look at those beauties ... so fragile, but strong.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until February 2nd at noon (CET). Enjoy the fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #113 Troiku Hineri ... at dawn

!! Open for your submissions Sunday January 26th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

The last days were very busy, so I couldn't publish or regular Friday episode and a bit late with the Weekend Meditation. My excuses for it.

This weekend I love to challenge you to create a Troiku Hineri. What doea it mean? I will give you a haiku. With that haiku you create a Troiku. Than you have three new haiku. The Hineri (with a twist) is that I love to challenge you to create with those three new haiku NINE new haiku following the Troiku idea, so you have to create three new haiku from every haiku you created from the given haiku.

I have chosen one of the first haiku by Yozakura, the Unknown Haiku Poet. Here is his first haiku to work with:

yoake ni arau tsuyude watashino ashisaichoubi

at dawn
I wash my feet with dew
the longest day

© Yozakura (1640-1716)

A nice challenge I think for this weekend. Have an awesome weekend!

This Weekend Meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday January 26th at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until February 2nd at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #1802 New Beginnings ... without beginning

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Maybe you think "What?" because of the title of this new episode "without beginning". Maybe it brings you ideas of that classical dillema "What was first the chicken or the egg", but no ... that's not the dillema here.

"Without beginning" points towards the circle, or the wedding ring. The wedding ring is a milestone, it's a new beginning, but its form ... a circle ... is without beginning. So today our prompt is related to the circle ... without beginning.

I recall an article I once read about deathpoems and one of the examples was the deathpoem by Shinsui.
During his last moment, Shisui's disciples requested that he write a death poem. He grasped his brush, painted a circle, cast the brush aside, and died. The circle— indicating the void, the essence of everything, enlightenment— is one of the most important symbols of Zen Buddhism.

Deathpoem by Shinsui (* - 1769)

Isn't it a wonderful deathpoem? But as we look closer to this deathpoem ... we see were Shinsui started the "circle" (at the 'bottom' somewhat to the left, we can see the start of the brush). Does this mean a circle has a beginning and an end?

eternal circle
lotuses blooming and decaying -
ancient wisdom grows

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 29th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday #10 such a cold night

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's Wednesday again and that means ... time for a new episode of our special feature Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday. The challenge of this special feature is to create a Tan Renga with a given haiku by adding your second stanza of two lines (approx. 7-7 syllables). This week I have chosen a not so well known haiku by, my master, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).

kazuki fusu futon ya samuki yo ya sugoki

lying down
with quilts over the head
such a cold night

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

Japanese Quilt

As you can see, in this haiku Basho uses rhyme, a not so very well known haiku writing technique, because, as you maybe know, in (translated) haiku the use of rhyme isn't common (according to Western studies).

Rhyme is a major component of Western poetry. In Japan most of the sound units (onji) are built on only five vowels, and rhyming occurs naturally. Yet, haiku translated into rhymed lines often need so much padding to make the rhyme work that the simplicity of the poem gets lost. However, if the reader takes the time to read the romaji version of the above haiku by Basho. one can see how often the old master employed the linkage of sound in his work. The rhyme, in the above haiku, occurs in "kazuki", "samuki" and "sugoki"..

So that brings us a new challenge ... try to let your 2nd stanza, of two lines, rhyme too.

This Tan Renga Wednesday episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 28th at noon (CET).

Carpe Diem #1801 New Beginnings ... first cry

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

"Listen ... listen carefully ... Do you hear the first cry of a new born?" I always enjoy the first cry of a new born. That can be a new born human, but also a new born bird for example. Maybe if you have a super hearing ... you maybe can hear the first blossoms cry out their joy ...
Here in The Netherlands we have one of the warmest winters ever. There are already birds building their nests, the Daffodils are blooming ... it's a very strange happening ... maybe it's the Global warming ... maybe not ... I don't know, but it feels already like spring here in the Netherlands.

halfway winter
daffodils bloom, cherry trees almost --
first cry of a newborn

© Chèvrefeuille

Daffodils bloom

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until January 27th at noon (CET). Have fun!