Tackle It Tuesday, passion

Dear Haijin (haiku poets),

Another week has gone. Again it was a busy week. I had to work the whole week at the hospital and I have started writing a new novel. I am not only a haiku poet, but also an author. Writing is my passion. Haiku is one of my biggest passions, but I love to write novels too. My novels are all written in Dutch. I hope someday that I can find the time to translate one of my novels in English, but that's ... maybe just a dream.
This week's theme for Tackle It Tuesday is "passion". Passion, what is it? Passion can mean romance, love or doing something passionate, such as writing haiku.

Passion, can also refer to the events that occur with Easter. The whole story on Jesus Christ can be called passion so that can also be a inspiration for you, my dear Haijin, to write a haiku about.

So this week's theme is passion. Write a haiku or set of haiku, classical or non-classical, on passion. Enjoy your writing and sharing it with Tackle It Tuesday. Maybe this haiku can inspire you, it's one of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), a haiku master. He is one of my favorite haiku poets and I see him as my Haiku Master who inspires me to write haiku.

sazo na hoshi   hijikimono ni wa   shika no kawa

surely star-lovers

using as a rug

a deer skin

I like this one very much. Basho was inspired by the Tanabata-festival, one of the greatest festivals in classic Japan. Tanabata is a Japanese festival celebrated each year on July 7th. It celebrates the coming together of Orihime and Hikoboshi, the stars we call Vega and Altair. In Japanese folklore they are celestial lovers, separated by the river of the Milky Way, except for one day a year.

Credits: Tanabata festival

The haiku tells us how a boy and a girl are laying down on a deer skin to watch at the stars to see Altair and Vega meet each other. It's a romantic haiku, but (in my opinion) also a haiku on passion.

When Tanabata is on, streets, houses and other items are covered with colorful strips of paper.

colorful strips of paper in the streets for the Tanabata festival 

It looks wonderful and I think this colorful picture can be a source of inspiration. Let the haiku or the wonderful pictures inspire you to write a haiku (classical or non-classical). Enjoy the fun ... see you next week.This episode stays on 'till Monday July 30th 11.59 PM 

OK ... my haiku on this week's theme:

midsummer night

walking along the seashore

with the one I love

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)