This blog is about haiku. A classical haiku counts 5-7-5 syllables. Chèvrefeuille (the pseudonym of Kristjaan Panneman, a Dutch haiku poet) however writes his haiku in the Kanshicho-style. In the Kanshicho-style the classical syllable count isn't used. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), a haiku poet, wrote his haiku in Kanshicho-style for several years, but he returned to the classical way of haiku writing. !!! Anonymous comments will be seen as SPAM !!!.
After a month of writing haiku every day we are back to the normal rhythm. Today the prompt for Haiku Heights is home a wonderful prompt I think to write a haiku about. So let's go ... and look if I am in a good flow to write a haiku (or a few).
in the backyard overgrown by Ivy my old bike
my old bike leaning to the hot wall of my home a hot summer day a hot summer day in the backyard of my home sparrows bathing
sparrows bathing in the fountain of the mansion what refreshing
what refreshing seeking shadow under the willow in the backyard
Sometimes I write 'Ins Blauen Hinein' a haiku and today I love to share one of these Impromptu verses. Just written today when I sat on the terrace. Maybe this is what haiku means ... haiku is a moment as short as a pebble thrown in a pond ... this was such a moment.
It was almost noon and when I looked up to the sky I saw the sun and the moon standing together at the sky. This brought me the following haiku:
already noon still together the sun and the moon - ah! what a joy I like this one.
The prompt for today is Moon and I had to write a haiku (or a few) on our beloved satellite the Moon. So let's go do this ...
through the seasons every human changes a lot the moon stays herself the moon stays herself from waning to growing in circles in circles of color she, the moon, hides her face behind the veil behind the veil she, our beloved moon, changes through the seasons
I was looking for some nice relaxation music on You Tube and ran into a wonderful video on 'The Flight of an Eagle. Wonderful video on Eagle's Flight with wonderful music by Karunesh (a great artist). I discovered his wonderful music several years ago and was immediately in love with his wonderful music. I even made a hyves about him.
Back to my today's new post on Flight of an Eagle. Eagles are wonderful creatures with graceful flight it is really stunning to see them fly.
above the polder graceful Eagle in his flight searching for prey
endless sky - King of Birds praying Om Mane Padme Hum praying in my dreams to be an Eagle in his flight what a freedom
It's really a wonder how this wonderful creature 'King of the Birds' as the American natives say, with his strength can bring you a deep spiritual feeling. Really awesome.
Next to the Egret ... the Eagle is one of my totems, both stand for strong meanings respectively 'Everlasting' and 'Holy Spirit'. I cherish my totems and in my dreams I visit them a lot, or when I am meditating I feel like an Eagle in his flight ... looking all around the world and see how wonderful Mother Earth is and how sad it is to see that we, her inhabitants, are demolishing her surface. Makes me sad ... but also filled with joy, because I know that Mother Earth is strong and will survive bringing us always a new Spring, new Hope and new Strength.
high above Mother Earth I feel like an Eagle watching searching for new life
searching for new life inside with my Inner Eye flight of an Eagle
What a delight ... writing about such a wonderful animal.
I am awarded by Hyde Park Poetry for Thursday Poets rally week 73. Thank you for this award, I will accept it humble and we pride. I nominate for Thursday Poets Rally week 74 Sajeev Kumar Menon for his poem Innocence
Another Wonder Wednesday at Poets United. Last week I tried this for the first time with a haiku on 'tea-ghost' and this week I will try it again. This week it's all about changing yourself, be yourself and try something new therefor I have chosen to write an Acrostic Haiku.
Haiku writing, composing is a wonder. To say a lot with so less words ... it's not only a wonder, it's an adventure. In our modern times we have such much different haiku forms and that's why I call haiku ART ... we have Pi-Ku, Naisaiku, Cascading Haiku, Non-traditional Haiku and last but not least we have the Acrostic Haiku.
I wasn't aware of all those haiku forms 'till last February. I participated in the February Haiku Challenge of Few Miles (the website of SiS), a daily haiku meme in which we had to write haiku on a given prompt or theme. In that challenge I had to conquer also other forms of haiku. The toughest one was the Acrostic Haiku. I had never heard of that form so I had to search for information about the Acrostic Haiku. I found an article about that form on DevianArt I read it again and again ... it was really a struggle, but I had to try and well ... I did. I came up with the following Acrostic Haiku in which POETRY is the Acrostichon and EAST the Liaison. I think you can understand why I chose those two words (smiles).
Perfect way Of writing haiku Eastern thoughts a s Tulip bulbs Redder than red Year after year
Well ... I can tell you it wasn't an easy one to compose, but I was proud that I had crafted my first Acrostic Haiku ever. It was hard to write it and after writing this one I concluded that I never will write, compose an Acrostic Haiku again.
Until now I didn't write an Acrostic Haiku again, but ... well see for yourself.
A rainy day Under the umbrella Tears of Joy
u
t
United again by Music of the Swan lake Newly weds
In this Acrostic Haiku you can see that sadness and joy can walk together. In nature all is music. Autumn stands for decay and detachment as Swan Lake does also, but love conquers everything.
In this Acrostic Haiku I have tried to compare Autumn's falling and dancing leaves with a ballerina in her Tutu dancing Swan Lake.
I used Autumn as the Acrostichon and Tutu (a skirt worn as a costume in a ballet performance) as the Liaison.
I hope you enjoyed reading this, to me it was (again) a struggle to write it, but also a great joy.
Well ... maybe 'till next week's Wonder Wednesday.
My new daily haiku meme Carpe Diem, seize the day is online. You can post there your haiku every day on a given prompt.
Enjoy the fun, be inspired and share your haiku with the world. Here below you can see the prompts for the whole month October. (Click to enlarge)
As you can see I have enclosed five special prompts (nr. 1-5) on haiku written by Basho. You can read here what the meaning of this special prompt is.
Visit also my other weblogs:
Hope to see you around on one of my weblogs. Maybe you will participate in Carpe Diem, seize the day ... well be my guest and enjoy the fun and inspiration of writing haiku.
A week has gone by ... time flies ... and you can't stop it. So a new Tackle It Tuesday is on. The theme for this week is tea. Tea ... a lovely hot drink, but also as ice-tea a good drink. Tea is worth a ceremony as we can see in classical Japan.
In Japan (even now) the tea ceremony is wonderful. I have once written a haibun on the tea ceremony of Rykyu, unfortunately that haibun I have written in my maiden language Dutch. The tea ceremony is full of spirituality and aesthetic. Here below I have enclosed a video on the Tea ceremony. Enjoy watching it.
Tea ... what about tea? Just tea ... enjoy it ... you.re so blessed when you drink tea (it's not my kind of drink, I am more of coffee). Take a cup and be inspired to write a haiku.
drinking tea together with friends what a party
what a party being part of Rykyu's tea ceremony drinking tea is art
This prompt will stay on 'till Monday October 8th 11.59 PM
By the way please visit my new weblog Carpe Diem, seize the day. It's a new daily haiku meme and I will give every day a new theme/prompt.
This is the last day of September Heights, it was a joy to participate in this challenge to write a haiku every day on a given prompt. Today our journey will end and we have to wait 'till April 2013 for a new April Heights.
The prompt for today is free given by Rachana. So I can take this for real and write a haiku on 'free' or I can write a haiku without a given prompt, that's also free I think. But ... I would like to share a few haiku which I have written in the past.
Last Spring I contributed a set of haiku to the haiku-contest of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (VCBF) as I did in 2011 and in 2010. In 2010 one of my haiku got a honorable mention which made me very proud. This year ... none of my two haiku got a prize or a honorable mention, but I love both haiku very much and I think they are both wonderful. The VCBF haiku-contest is over so I can post my contribution of this year here.
I love seeing my Cherry Tree bloom. It's almost magical when I see the fragile blossoms open. In the moonlight they look even more fragile ... so wonderful and mysterious.
such fragility sprouting cherry blossoms in pale moonlight
cherry blossoms bloom in the moonlight so fragile ah! the Spring breeze
Well ... it was really a joy to be part in this September Heights. And if you, my dear visitors, have need for another daily haiku meme ... come visit my new weblog Carpe Diem, seize the day ... you can write a daily haiku on a given prompt. This new daily haiku meme will kick-off October 1st with the first prompt waterfall.
For closure:
I loved reading all your entries for September Heights. I am sure that I have missed a lot of your posts, but ... I hope you will forgive me. During lack of time I couldn't comment on all your wonderful posts. Hope to see you again somewhere, some place ... see you all next April Heights.
Almost over ... counting down the last days of September Heights. Today we have battlefield for prompt. September Heights was a battlefield. Every day we had to write a haiku on a given theme. Sometimes it wasn't easy and sometimes it was. I have read wonderful haiku and (as I read the comments on my haiku) I think I have written nice haiku. There were difficult prompts for me, because English isn't my maiden language. I tried to write haiku on every given prompt. OK back to the prompt of today.
When I read this prompt a haiku written by Basho came in mind. Basho wrote it at an ancient battlefield which he encountered during his 'Narrow Road to the Far North -- Oku no Hosomichi', one of his journeys. This battlefield at Takadachi was now just covered with grass. He wrote the next haiku when he encountered it and cried afterwards.
waving long grass all that remains of ancient warriors trace of dreams
(This is a translation of the original by myself: the original haiku in romaji is: natsukusa ya / tsuwamono domo ga / yume no ato)
If you have time ... please read Basho's Narrow Road to the Far North, it's a wonderful haibun. I have read it several times and enjoyed it very much. Every time I read this haibun I encounter new things, new deeper meaning. Really it's worth reading.
Let's go and do some haiku writing on 'battlefield'.
a bridge to far allies taking the wrong way peace in reach unknown soldier slaughtered on the battlefield no more dreaming
The Unknown Soldier - Moscow
my battlefield writing haiku every day again can't find the words can't find the words writing in a foreign language my battlefield
Hm ... quite good I think. Love the differences in these haiku. Enjoy the read.
By the way: October 1st I will kick-off a new daily haiku meme Carpe Diem, seize the day. Be welcome to share your haiku with us.
