The Haiku Challenge, day 12

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 12 – February 12th – Theme or Word: Colors Form: Naisaiku

I am not so familiar with the Naisaiku so I had to read the way to do at the Naisaiku-blog. First I thought "this isn't my kind of poetry", but when I read the way to write Naisaiku again I thought "this is fun and so close to me".
The Naisaiku uses the real classical haiku in which it was possible to switch the lines e.g. a good haiku (a classical one of course) has three lines, the first and third sentence can be exchanged. I will give an example.

This one was the first haiku I ever wrote in English:

a lonely flower
my companion
for one night

This is written in the classical Kanshicho-style and when I exchange the first and third line the haiku becomes:

for one night
my companion
a lonely flower

Unless the exchange of the both lines this haiku remains the same. As I understand ... in a Naisaiku this is what I have to do: choose a haiku which is reversible and make it a new form. Well I have tried it with the one I gave above.

a lonely flower
my companion
for one night
A LONELY FLOWER

for one night

my companion

a lonely flower

Doing this is fun! I love this artificial poetry. Maybe I will write a few Naisaiku on the theme colors.

colorful bouquet

a joy to look at today

memorial day

colorful bouquet

memorial day

a joy to look at today

colorful bouquet

  

This is really fun, so I have to write another one :-)

modern art

fantastic colors

amazing

modern art

amazing

fantastic colors

modern art

Credits: Modern Art

See you again tomorrow.

Naisaiku, scattered silence

Jamaican Lizard Cuckoo

On my poetry blog I have published a few Naisaiku and ... well I have to say it's a wonderful manner to write haiku. So I thought "I have to publish a Naisaiku on my haiku-blog". This one is made from an older haiku I have written a few years ago.

cry of a cuckoo

breaks through the early day -

scattered silence

scattered silence

scattered silence

breaks through the early day -

cry of a cuckoo

Sincerely,

Haiku Heights "Desire"

This week a lovely prompt "desire", I have searched for some synonyms and came up with the following ones: yearning; longing; wish for and require. There are more synonyms of desire, but I have chosen the ones I can work with.

full of desire
eyes of my granddaughter
on her birthday

so sad, leaves fall
I am longing to see
cherry blossoms bloom

the freezing cold
I am yearning for summer
the shortest day

a shower of stars
the little boy smiles
what do you wish for?

falling in love
it just requires another one
my heart is pounding

Sincerely,

The Haiku Challenge, day 11

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 11 – February 11th – Theme: Paint the Image
Inspirational Image by: Narayana Nethralaya

Painting with words inspired by this photo. First I would like to say: This Haiku Challenge is great, I love how this has been put together. An every day theme, words, pictures and new forms. Thank you for this Challenge Few Miles. Chapeau!

Back to today's challenge.

morningglories bloom
like the eyes of my wife
I fell in love

look into the eyes
of the people around you
share your love

great eyes
the eyes of Buddha
full compassion


Well see you tomorrow :)

The Mag 103

I ran into another weblog with a challenge. I have to write a haiku (or short poem) inspired by a picture. This weeks picture:

This will not be easy.

decomposed flowers
silent witness of a relative
red tear-stained eyes


I don't know if this is the one fitting to this picture, but I loved writing this one.

This one is published on:

The Mag

Sincerely,

Croaking Frogs

As you can see, dear visitors, I have changed the lay-out of my haiku-blog. I also have changed the lay-out of my other weblogs. The result .... you can see here, but also on my other weblogs. They have all the same lay-out so it has become an unity.

Maybe you know the very famous haiku by Matsuo Basho:

old pond

a frog jumps in

sound of water

It's a wonderful haiku. And it was one of the first haiku by Basho which I read. I wrote another frog-haiku inspired by this one of Basho.

croaking frogs

scent of the old pond

in the evening

It's what I call an Impromptu verse, just written "ins blauen hinein" right on this moment. Basho has written wonderful haiku. If you would like to read more about Basho and his haiku visit my other blog Basho Revisited.

On that weblog I publish essays about verses by Basho and in every episode I try to write a new haiku in the same tone and sense as the one by Basho.



Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

The Haiku Challenge, day 10

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 10 – February 10th – Theme: Write a Haiku describing about a Special day in your life...

I started writing this day's entrance for the Haiku Challenge a few days ago. It made me feel a little bit sad that I couldn't start with a new haiku, because the theme wasn't known right then. So I wrote 'ins blauen hinein' and go with the flow.

dazzling thunder
in the middle of the night
New Year's Eve

Just an impromptu verse, maybe it fits with the "surprise theme".

Well it didn't fit the surprise theme, but I had to save this one for this day's challenge.

OK ... back to today's theme: describe with a haiku a Special day in your Life. Well ... let me look. I had to thought very deep to find a Special Day in my life. It did cost me some time, but I came up with the following Special Day.
I don't know the exact date, but I was very surprised to learn that a haiku of mine had gotten a honorable mention in the haiku-invitational (a haiku-contest) of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. This international success occurred in 2010. The following haiku was the one which got the honorable mention:

the cooing of pigeons
between blooming cherry trees -
the cool rain

I was, for sure, honored. I had never thought that one of my haiku could win something like a honorable mention. But it did. With this haiku my name as an international haiku-poet was set.

Another Special Day, was last year December 2011, when I got my copy of "Spasms of Life", an anthology of haiku and other Japanese poetry published by Wonder Haiku Worlds, an international website about haiku and other Japanese poetry. In that anthology eight haiku and one senryu composed by me were contributed. I was honored and proud to read my haiku in such a prestigious anthology. It dazzled me. After starting my second blog Basho Revisited I was asked to write essays about Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) for Wonder Haiku Worlds.

Just a few special days in my life. I am happy that my haiku are so well known and it makes me humble ... to see what my haiku can do with others.

I live with haiku
this short Japanese verse
makes me happy

so less words
to say a lot
that's haiku

haiku my life
haiku the air I breath
I am all haiku


See you tomorrow.

The Haiku Challenge, day 9

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 9 – February 9th – Theme: Paint the Image
Photo Clicked by Siva of: Siva's Art Work

Today another challenge to "re-paint" in words a wonderful photo by Siva A colorful photo with a lot of locks.

Siva's Artwork

unchain your heart
give your inner beauty 
like nature does

closing the gate
to become a real master -
cherry blossom falls

break the lock
look around, open your heart
be part of the world

Credits: Rusty Lock

rusty lock
easy to break
start living

It wasn't easy to write these set of haiku. I think I painted the picture with words, but if they are really haiku? You may say, my dear visitors.

'till tomorrow

The Haiku Challenge, day 8

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 8 – February 8th – Quote: This Above All, To Thine Own Self Be True

This will be a tough one. I never have used a quote as an inspiration source. So this will not be an easy one. But of course I have to try this. I understand that I have to use part of the quote in the new haiku.
Let me see ... which part of the quote I will use?

I think I will try to make one on "this above all' and one on "to be true to yourself", maybe not in the same words, but it has to be the feeling of the both parts of the quote.

OK, here I go:

this above all
is the clear truth about me
I am a haiku poet



Look! the little girl says
That caterpillar will be soon
a cocoon

And than? Father asks
It will become a butterfly
and that's the truth

' till tomorrow

one day
a little verse caught me
from far away

The Haiku Challenge, day 7

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 7 – February 7th – Theme: Life Form: Paint/Write your Imagination on an Image for the theme.

Also published for the Poetry Pantry







LIFE What about life. Life is wonderful, I love the nature around me, I love the people who are in my direct surroundings. I love the way birds sing and flowers and trees are blossoming in Spring. I love summer, when the sun stands high on the sky I love to be outside in nature. In autumn I love the fruits nature is giving us. And winter ... well I love winter but it is not my favorite season.

For today I have to write a haiku on LIFE accompanied by a picture or photo ... a Haiga.

Well I have to look around in all the pictures I have and write a haiku by it. I will try to paint with my words and I hope I will succeed.

cherry blossom blooms
so fragile, so wonderful
that's my life

Another one:

the cobweb trembles
blue butterfly struggles
to stay alive

'till tomorrow :)

The Haiku Challenge, day 6

Written for The Haiku Challenge 2012 - Day 6 – February 6th – Theme or Word: Think Form: Haiku & Pi-Ku

Day 6 of the Haiku Challenge 2012.

Haiku I write since the late eighties, but I haven't heard about Pi-ku so that's a challenge already. Of course I have to try Pi-ku. Maybe it doesn't work, so forgive me.

Rodin's Thinker

stands alone and forgotten

overgrown by Ivy

Credits: The Thinker

The Thinker

alone

no more thoughts

Not a very well composed Pi-ku I think, but .... well I enjoyed it.

Until tomorrow

The Haiku Challenge, day 5 "acrostic haiku"

Day 5 – February 5th – Theme: 'Ur' Choice - Form: Acrostic Haiku

I had never heard of the "acrostic haiku", but on Deviantart I discovered an article by Mattiello about this form of poetry.
It is a form in which I have never wrote a haiku or another poem, so this was really a challenge to compose this one for day 5 of The Haiku Challenge. I am glad that the theme isn't prescribed, only the form. Well ... let's go than. Here is the first Acrostic Haiku I ever have written.

For this acrostic haiku I have used the words POETRY for the acrostichon and EAST for the liaison.

Perfect way
Of writing haiku
Eastern thoughts
a
s
Tulip bulbs
Redder than red
Year by year

Why I used the words Poetry and East?
Haiku is poetry and of course my passion and because haiku is a Japanese form of poetry. (The Far East)

It took me a while to compose this Acrostic Haiku because I am not familiar with this form of haiku. Well ... it did work out ... after a while and I am proud on this Acrostic Haiku.

See you tomorrow,

Sincerely,