Tanka Kukai "Winter Love"

Dear friends,

Here is my submission for the first ever Tanka Kukai at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, my daily haiku meme. This first ever Tanka Kukai is themed "winter love" and here is my submission:

wonderful trees
covered with fresh snow
crystalizing sunlight
the backyard covered with snow
finally a white Christmas

© Chèvrefeuille

If you would like to participate in this first ever Tanka Kukai "Winter Love" than visit the post about it HERE.

See you ...

Carpe Diem "Use That Quote" August the month of "the power of words" tomorrow

Dear friends,

As you know I am the owner and host of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, a daily haiku meme. Recently I started a new month full of excitement ... August id themed "the power of words" and the goal this month is to create haiku inspired on quotes by known and unknown people.
Today the quote is by H. Jackson Brown, Jr, an author.

[...] "The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today." [...] H. Jackson Brown, Jr

This quote inspired me not at first, but just a few seconds ago I had a revelation and here is the haiku inspired on this quote:

Nightingale

a new day rises
the Nightingale praised its Creator
whole night long

© Chèvrefeuille

A nice one I think.

My New Weblog Is Launched!

Dear friends,

It's my pleasure to introduce to you my second Carpe Diem Haiku Kai weblog. As you maybe know I started a daily haiku meme in October 2012. At that weblog I give every day a prompt for your inspiration to write haiku, senryu, tanka or kyoka and share it with the world. I also started several Special items for inspiration. For example: "Tanka Shrine", a Special about Tanka or "Distillation" in which item I ask you to distil a haiku from a longer poem.
All those Specials, except the weekly Tan Renga Challenge and the Specials in which I share a haiku from another haiku-poet for your inspiration, I have brought to a new weblog.

That new weblog  titled "Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Special" is online now since January 6th 2014. I love to invite you all to visit that new weblog to read and be inspired to participate if you like haiku and other Japanese poetry forms.

You can find that new weblog at: http://carpediemhaikukaispecial.blogspot.com
and my first Carpe Diem Haiku Kai weblog you can find at: http://chevrefeuillescarpediem.blogspot.com

Feel free to visit and share, if you wish to, your haiku with these haiku-communities. You're welcome.

Namaste

Chèvrefeuille

Carpe Diem 313 Circle

Dear friends,

As you maybe know I have a daily haiku meme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and today our prompt is "circle" provided by Lolly, one of the contributors to Carpe Diem. As I was preparing the episode on "circle" I wasn't inspired to write my own haiku on "circle", but I couldn't stay behind of course so I publish here my haiku on "circle".

perfect abstract art
no beginning and no end -
seasons come and go

lost in a dream
running around in circles -
finding Inner Self

bound together
until eternity will call us
rings of gold shared

(C) Ring of Fire by Remo Wormmeester

ring of fire
passionate eternal love
between you and me

(The last two are in honor of my beloved wife)

Circle ... at first I thought it wasn't possible to write haiku about it, but I think I have succeeded, not very clear haiku, but for sure haiku-like. (smiles). Well ... see you ...

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #13, "just a kiss" (WabiSabi)

Good day, dear friends and followers,

As you maybe know I host a daily haiku meme at Carpe Diem and on a regular base I introduce there new features. Several months ago I launched the Tan Renga Challenge in which the goal is to complete a Tan Renga.
A Tan Renga has two stanzas, the first has 5-7-5 syllables and the second stanza has 7-7 syllables. It looks similar to the Tanka, the only difference is that a Tanka is written by one poet and the Tan Renga is written by two poets. (The Tan Renga is a short chained verse, as the Renga is a long chained verse.) This Tan Renga Challenge is a weekly event at Carpe Diem and this week the first stanza of the Tan Renga is by WabiSabi one of the contributors to the daily haiku meme at Carpe Diem. And I am grateful that WabiSabi gave me permission to use his haiku for the first stanza of this weeks Tan Renga Challenge.

at sunrise -
no words between lovers
just a kiss

(c) Wabi Sabi (8/24 2013)

Credits: roses

I think these roses are the best way to show the feeling in this haiku by WabiSabi and I think I will try to continu the second stanza also with that romantic touch. I hope I will succeed in that attempt.

First stanza (5-7-5):

at sunrise -
no words between lovers
just a kiss                                                        (WabiSabi)

Second stanza (7-7):

pink morning glory in full bloom
covered with crystal dewdrops                         (Chèvrefeuille)

Well ... what do you think?

See you .... later with more haiku ....

Carpe Diem's Punjab

Today the prompt at Carpe Diem is based on the musical track "Punjab" by Karunesh, the featured WorldFusion artist this month there. So I have sought the Internet for some more about Punjab.
Punnjab lays in the NorthWestern part of India and it's also called "Country of the five rivers", so with that I maybe can write a new haiku. So let me try.

between five rivers
a land of magic and mystery -
colorful world

colorful world
in tune with the universe ...
Punjab

Not a strong set, but I like it a lot. I wonder ... "how would life be there?"

Credits: Punjab

Well ... if you like writing an sharing haiku then maybe "Carpe Diem, a daily haiku meme" is something for you. Feel free to visit ...

Carpe Diem's Caravanserai

Good day dear friends,

It's a while ago that I published here on my haiku-blog, so today I love to change that. As you all maybe know I host a daily haiku meme Carpe Diem. This month (August) all prompts I use are (except the Specials) music videos by Karunesh, a New Age artist and muscian. Several years ago I discovered his wonderful music and I created a weblog about him on the Dutch Social Network Hyves.
His music is relaxing and meditative and for sure worth listening to.

Today I shared a music video titled "Caravanserai" a wonderful video which inspired me to write the following haiku:


through sands of time
I walk towards a caravanserai
to refresh my mind


Not a very strong one, but I think this haiku paints the feeling of wandering through the world to find myself which came up as I was listening at the music. I felt lost and alone, searching for knowledge, thursting for the truth.


Well ... maybe we see eachother another time again.

Namaste

Valley Stream

Today I love to share a weblog on a haiku by Onitsura (1660-1738) a haiku poet which is the haiku master for this month of Carpe Diem. Today we had a wonderful haiku written by him:

tani-mizu ya ishi mo utayomu yama-zakura


the wild cherry:
stones also are singing their songs
in the valley stream


This haiku by Onitsura is meant to be as a source for inspiration. So I was inspired and wrote this haiku:

gurggling valley stream
brings joy to the heart of Mother Nature -
Il Silenzio

Credits: Valley Stream

Isn't it a beauty? And that page to which the caption refers .... well you have to visit that. It's really a wonderful website and a joy.

Well ... see you agian next time ...

New Year's Eve

Published on:

I had to write a haiku on our prompt for today 'New Year's Eve (toshi no yo) and this is what it became:

nothing changed
still the same haiku poet
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve
the rustling of Camellia flowers
nothing changed

See you all another time ...

Carpe Diem's Rose (a reprise verse)

For Carpe Diem, seize the day, a daily haiku meme I have written the next haiku on 'rose'. I love this prompt and I hope that you like the haiku.

november ending
while the first snow falls -
a last rose blooms

departing Autumn
the end of this year coming nearer
longing for Spring

a new hope rises
departing of this years autumn
lighting a candle

credits: yoruba girl dancing

Sincerely,

Misty Morning

Credits: Misty Graveyard

For Carpe Diem I composed the next haiku:

The prompt for today is MIST.

misty morning
the sound of church bells
wakes the dead

Another one:

through the mist
bellowing of cows
the sound of church bells

And for closure:

exposed to mist
an old sand stone church
looking as new

Credits: Penshurst Church

That was my contribution for Carpe Diem's prompt MIST for today. See tomorrow or whatever time and day.

Peonies

Isn''t it a wonderful flower? The Peony ... so fragile and colorful, but it can also be a big flower when the Peony is a ''double one".
I had to write another haiku inspired on this haiku by Issa:

the peony falls
spilling out yesterday''s
rain

This is my other haiku on peony:

pink flowers bloom
between green dewy leaves
a double peony

Hm it''s a beauty I think.

Have a nice weekend ... see you another day.

Basho ... one of my heroes

For Carpe Diem's 'hero',

Basho is one of my heroes, next to e.g. Gandhi. Why is Basho my hero? I am a haiku poet and Basho was a haiku master which I adore. I even have a weblog about him. Basho is my inspiration for writing haiku.

Basho's 'Small Path to the Deep North'

Today Carpe Diem has hero for prompt and I love to try to write a or a few haiku about Basho.

small ways
leading to Enlightenment
just like Basho

croaking frogs
Basho's old pond haiku
revisited

Old Pond
Frog Jumps In
Sound of Water

the sound of water
resonates through my garden
I feel like Basho

Basho's original hand written haiku (and haiga) 'frog pond'

Isn't it a lovely triplet of haiku inspired on Carpe Diem's 'hero'? My hero ... Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).

Matsuo Basho, my hero

 Well ... this was my take on 'hero'. Who is your hero?

Carpe Diem ... sunny day

I had to write a few new haiku on our prompt for today 'yellow'. I have already read wonderfully composed posts ... so I have to come up with a few good ones (smiles).

one sunny day
my black thoughts
turning yellow

sunflower field
reaches 'till the horizon
what a joyful sight

'look up there grandpa'
my grandson points to the sky -
yellow dragon kite

 Well ... I hope you liked it.

Rainbow Bridge

Published for: Carpe Diem, seize the day!

Today the prompt for Carpe Diem is Rainbow (reprise) and it's the start of a whole week prompts on the rainbow and the colors of the rainbow. But what is a rainbow?

A rainbow is an optical and meteorological phenomenon that causes a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on to droplets of moisture in the Earth\’s atmosphere. It takes the form of a multicoloured arc, with red on the outer part of the arc and violet on the inner section. Rainbows can be observed whenever there are water drops in the air and sunlight shining from behind at a low altitude angle.

rainbow bridge
bridges the highway to heaven
knocking on heaven's door


'can I walk that bridge?'
the little child points to the rainbow
ah! such an imagination


Cool! Nice imagery I think. Well ... I loved writing this one on rainbow. See you next time.

Behind the window

For Carpe Diem Special Prompt #5

Special Prompt #5

Today we have the last Special Prompt for Carpe Diem's October month. This month I shared haiku by Basho and the one for today is:

in one house
prostitutes lie down to sleep
bush clover and the moon

Basho wrote this when he was at an Inn along his Narrow Road to the Deep North. And a pair of nuns asked him and his companion Sora if they may travel with them for a while. Basho refushed that and wrote this haiku afterwards.

It's a very delicate theme he uses, but ... prostitution is of all times heh.

In Japan prostitution is forbidden, but the government looks the other way and tolerates it. To write another haiku inspired at the one by Basho and in the same spirit as Basho will not be easy.

late night walk
hookers behind windows -
Hunter's Moon

Hm ... I love this scenery. Is it in Basho's Spirit?

Another one:

behind the window
in the Red Light district
love for sale

Not bad either. Can I write another one? I will try ... maybe a classical one ... counted ...

love for money
sailors drunken as hell
giggling prostitutes

Not a totally counted verse, missing a few syllables, but I think this one is in the same spirit as the one by Basho.

Well ... so far our Carpe Diem Special Prompts by Basho. Next month the Special Prompts are haiku written by Kobayashi Issa.

Namaste

Fly like an eagle

For Carpe Diem's flying

Our New Logo for Carpe Diem's November

fly like an eagle
as free as a bird in the sky
living my dream

Himalayan peaks
stretching out to heavens
high above the Earth

flying high
praying and chanting "Om Mane"
over the mountains

See you next time.
 

Laughing Autumn

For Carpe Diem, seize the day a daily haiku meme

This is our November logo for Carpe Diem

Today the prompt for Carpe Diem is "laughter", it's the opposite of our yesterday prompt "tears" and I love to share a few haiku on "laughter".

laughing Autumn
joyful colored leaves
and Chrysanthemums
 
late night walk
the sound of decaying leaves
beneath my feet

Credits: Romance

romantic night
burning candles, red wine and my love -
the sound of rain

What a feast! Laughing Autumn ... well ... I love Autumn in all of it's facets. Maybe ... this is a continuation of the haiku I gave in our new Carpe Diem episode. It's up to you ... I enjoyed writing these haiku ... It gave me a real Autumn feeling.

Sunflower

For Carpe Diem:

The theme/prompt for today's Carpe Diem is sunflower and I love to share this haiku with you. I love sunflowers, they look like a bright sun ... strong and awesome.

in my garden
sunflowers bow their heads
in honor of the sun

in honor of the sun
I plant a pair of sunflowers
in the backyard

in the backyard
no sun at all will be seen
only sunflowers

only sunflowers
those beautiful little suns
in my garden

Isn't it beautiful? To see sunflowers on places without sun? Sunflowers are a joy to look at and are bringing a little bit light in the shadow.

Well .... see you tomorrow maybe ... than our Carpe Diem prompt will be 'praying'.

Carpe Diem, Nightingale 2

Also published and shared on: Rebecca's Haiku My Heart

I had to share a few more haiku on Nightingale. I love his sound very much and I am almost like the Emperor from the fairy tale. When I hear the Nightingale sing tears begin to come. A deep emotional relaxation almost meditative. So here it goes.

silence ...
on the thin line of day and night
Nightingale's song

Nightingale's song
makes the night less lonesome
shedding tears

every day night walk
through the neighborhood
a Nightingale

invincible
the song of the Nightingale
makes my day

the scent of Honeysuckle
dreaming of my beloved wife -
a Nightingale's voice

Well ... did you like them? I hope so ....