September Heights, day 7 Agile

Inspired by the theme at

Day seven (7) of our September Heights challenge. 'Till know I could write haiku on the prompts without searching for the meaning of the word. As you know English isn't my Mother tongue, 'cause I am from The Netherlands, and this day's prompt Agile I didn't know. So I had to search for the meaning and search for synonyms for it. Well I found the meaning of agile and so I found a few synonyms which I maybe can use for today's day prompt.
The synonyms I have chosen are: athletic, energetic, lively, quick, spirited and vivacious. I don't know if I gonna use all these, but I have to try ...

along the seashore
an athletic wanderer
looks at the waves

looks at the waves
the vivacious goose
missing its mate

missing its mate
but spirited as never before
the swan in the parc

the swan in the parc
finally found a new mate
along the seashore

Not a strong one, but ... well I enjoyed writing it.

Haiku Heights, Milky Way

Inspired by the theme at

Day 6 of September Heights is on. I have to come with a strong one because I contributed the prompt for today Milky Way.
In ancient times as e.g. at the Inca and Mayan Culture the Milky Way was seen as the womb and birth canal of women and fertility (I don't know if this is the good word). In ancient Japan the Milky Way was called the River of Stars and was also associated with fertility. So the Milky Way is female, but ... Let me look at the scientific way to the Milky Way.

Credits: The Milky Way, it's origin

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Earth. This name derives from its appearance as a dim "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky, in which the naked eye cannot distinguish individual stars. The term "Milky Way" is a translation of theClassical Latin via lactea, from the Hellenistic Greek γαλαξίας κύκλος (pr. galaxías kýklos, "milky circle"). The Milky Way appears like a band because it is a disk-shaped structure being viewed from inside. The fact that this faint band of light is made up of stars was proven in 1610 when Galileo Galilei used his telescope to resolve it into individual stars. In the 1920s, observations by astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies. (Source: Wikipedia)

Credits: The Milky Way

Well.... enough information on the Milky Way ... let's do some haiku writing (smiles).

the heavenly river
seen in the middle of the night
giving birth

giving birth
to billions of stars
the Milky Way

the Milky Way -
I can see the river of stars
through the broken window

through the broken window
I think of Galileo Galilei -
the sun in the middle

the sun in the middle
Earth is dancing around him -
the heavenly river

Hm ... I am not satisfied with this cascading one ... something is missing, but what ...? I don't know. It was a pleasure to write this set of haiku and that's enough ...
By the way I have also posted a September Heights haiku on my wordpress blog Basho2012 for the prompt Milky Way. Follow the link ... dive into my other weblog.

September Heights, Autumn

Inspired by the theme at

Day 5 of September Heights is there, write a haiku on Autumn. Nice prompt I think. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons so I have to come up with a good one (smiles). What do I like of Autumn? I love the Autumn moon, she is gorgeous in this season. The feeling of loss and departing. All those different colors of the leaves, the sweet smell of decomposing leaves. I love the mushrooms of this season. And what of the weather? The weather can be great. It can be warm and sunny, but it can also be cold and rainy with thunderstorms and heavy wind. Ah! Autumn ... a wonderful season.

The beautiful autumn colors of the American Oak ... aren't they wonderful and so fragile.

vanishing summer
leaves begin to color
Autumn will soon be there

Autumn will soon be there
the heavy rains and storms collide
trees uprooted

trees uprooted
tiles broken on the streets
the force of nature

the force of nature
finally after the Autumn storm
the sight of the full moon

the sight of the full moon
brings back good memories
vanishing summer

A wonderful cascading haiku I think in which I have tried to paint Autumn ... you, my dear visitors, may decide if I have touched Autumn.

See you tomorrow.

September Heights, day 4: Moon

Inspired by the theme at

Today's theme is one of my favorites ... Moon. I love the moon in all her manifestations and all those wonderful nicknames she is given through history. This is the September Heights so I associate this theme with the moon of Autumn which is, in my opinion the most wonderful one as it is (and was) for the classical and modern Japanese poets.

Corn Moon or Harvest Moon, the full moon of September

The full moon of September is called Corn Moon or Harvest Moon. This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon.
I love all those different names for our natural satelite the moon.

Credits: Chrysanthemum Moon

In China the full moon off September is called Chrysanthemum Moon and in the classical Celtic culture the September full moon was called Singing Moon (or Muin - Vine -) as this month is named in the Tree or Ogham calendar). It has been so named in reference to the festive attitude known to every laborer who has toiled to complete work necessary to the survival of the community and now celebrates the completion of those labors.

This is a time for the exhilaration that comes with rest after your labors. Whether you know this as the Beaver Moon, the Fog Moon, or the Singing Moon, you are able to feel all energies marching resolutely toward completion, acceptance, and mellowing. The balance of light and darkness brought by the Autumnal Equinox on 9-21 is the culmination to be found at this turn of the Wheel.
The Summer King, mortally wounded by the grain harvests, prepares to make his way to the Summerlands deep within the mysterious underworld where all things are bound to travel before they are renewed with the spring. In his final sacrifice he offers to take your deepest fear, your heaviest burden, and your bitterest heartache with him on his journey.
This charitable offer to help you as you clear away your regrets and clean-up physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual clutter should be mirrored in your own offers of charity as your thoughts turn from what you need to preserve to carry your hearth and home through the darkness to come to what those around you still need to safely carry them through what is to come also.
The releasing of sorrows at this time of year is common to many cultures and often villagers would bring small representations of their regrets in the form of "corn dollies" to be thrown in the communal balefires lit to burn away the waste and unneeded husks of the recent harvest. (Source: Midnight Moonchild's website)

Singing Moon

Enough inspiration I think to write a haiku (or a few haiku) with the moon as theme. So let me try ...

through the broken window
I can see the Harvest Moon -
a love song for my wife

a love song for my wife
white Chrysanthemums and red roses
Singing Moon

Singing Moon
the Old Celtic druids already knew
Autumn equinox

Autumn equinox
I look at the Corn Moon
through the broken window

Well ... what do you think ... a canticle for the full moon of September ... see you all tomorrow

By the way: I hope to catch up with reading all your entries at September Heights. So much to read and so less time.

Tackle It Tuesday, despair

Another week has gone by. I have read the most wonderful haiku on the Blue Moon and I am glad that there where several contributors to Tackle It Tuesday. I have enjoyed the Blue Moon, last Friday, and I hope that you, my dear visitors, my dear haijin, have enjoyed it too.

This week's theme is despair not an easy one I think ... so I have searched for a picture to help you my visitors to understand despair and be inspired.

Credits: Farmer in despair (1932)

Maybe this picture will help to write your haiku. Write a classical or a non-classical haiku with this theme. Enjoy it, find your inspiration in the picture or maybe through my haiku which I enclose hereafter.

hopelessness
no harvesting this year
living in despair

living in despair
struggling to survive
hopelessness

It's very sad ... such a despair through this haiku set. Tears are almost there ... such a deep emotion is also haiku.
The linky widget will appear Monday September 3rd around 10 P.M. (Well ... I have opened it earlier (smiles))

This Tackle It Tuesday stays on 'till Monday September 10th 11.59 P.M. Please leave a comment after linking ... maybe you have a suggestion for next week's Tackle It Tuesday ... please let me know.

September Heights day 3: Loneliness

Inspired by the theme at

Today I have to write a haiku about loneliness I think this will be a tough one. Well ... I contemplated and meditated a little while on this prompt and I came with the following quote of someone (don't ask me, because I don't know the one who said this).

"Loneliness is ... having a wonderful memory and nobody to talk with".

That's loneliness how can I write a haiku on loneliness? I have searched for some inspirational pictures and came up with this picture:

Loneliness

Surely this prompt isn't easy ... I need some other inspiration sources ... So I have taken another inspiration source ... music



A song by Laura Pausini, Loneliness ...

a lonely flower
my companion for one night -
tears on my pillow

tears on my pillow
I will be dreaming alone
a lonely flower

This one is a re-make of one of my first haiku in English. Well I see you all tomorrow.

September Heights, day 2: Color

Inspired by the theme at

September Heights, day 2: color ... Another nice prompt. Colors? Everywhere around me, around us are colors. The color of the sunrise, the color of the flowers and all those different tones of green of leaves and bushes. The colors of the birds ... and the colors of the people around us.
I am an observer ... when I sit on a terrace I love to watch people who are passing by. I enjoy that very much ... sometimes they walk towards me and starting to talk with me, but I also experienced sometimes some anger, because not everyone is glad to be watched at, but most of the time ... people are vainglorious (in the positive way of course) and love to be watched.
I myself, somewhat in vain maybe, love it when people are watching me. Yes ... I know ... not an act of a haiku poet heh ... but I am just a guy who writes haiku (and sometimes novels).

on the terrace
watching vainglorious people
colorful world 

colorful world
looking around in the streets
flowers blooming

flowers blooming
planted in red earthen pots
on the terrace




This was my take on color for today's September Heights, enjoy the read, see you tomorrow ... with another wonderful prompt loneliness. Be inspired ... enjoy ...

Warm greetings,

September Heights, day 1: drawbridge

Inspired by the theme at

Well ... this is it ... the kick-off of a new Haiku Heights Challenge. Let's go and have some fun with writing haiku inspired on given prompts.

Another new September Heights Challenge to write an every day haiku on a given theme. I loved doing this last April and I hope this new September Heights will be again a joy to participate in.
Let's go starting the haiku engines (smiles).

Today the prompt given is drawbridge. I think I can write some nice haiku with this one. So ... let's get on with it.

As you know I am living in The Netherlands. We, the Dutch people, have a long history in conquering the waters, but we are also known for our skills in bridge building. In our lovely capital, Amsterdam, we have some well known drawbridges e.g. "De Magere Brug" or "The Skinny Bridge".

Credits: The Skinny Bridge

It's one of my favorite bridges of Amsterdam. So I thought 'maybe I can write a haiku (or two) about this Skinny Bridge'.

walking through the city
crossing the canals of Amsterdam
the skinny bridge

the skinny bridge
here I lost my heart to her
walking through the city

Hm ... not a strong one I think, but that's not up to me to decide ... you my visitors can say what you think about it.

See you tomorrow,

Chèvrefeuille (a.k.a. Basho2012 and Kristjaan Panneman)

The Path of the Honeysuckle #2

The Path of the Honeysuckle part 2:  Closing the garden.

Today I will look closer to the spiritual meaning of the next haiku.

closing the garden
no one to disturb my thoughts -
Virginia Creeper

This one I have published in last February's Haiku Challenge of Someone Is Special. It was inspired by a picture of an open fence of a concentrationcamp. I remember that I also have written a blog about closing the garden on Basho Revisited my other blog. And I even have used the theme of the closed garden in one of my Tackle It Tuesday Previews 'Closing the garden' must have a spiritual, deeper meaning, because I have used it already a few times on my weblogs. So let's look a bit closer to the given haiku.  

In this haiku the closing of the garden is meant to give the mind some peace, but also to search for the deeper meaning of the thoughts. Thinking about the future? Thinking about life? All thoughts that are tumbling around in my mind. My head is so full of thoughts that I sometimes think that I need a second head. But ... that's of course not possible ... so I have to retreat for a while to order my thoughts. I have to close my garden, my house to find the peace back in my head, body and soul. Than I will find my freedom of thoughts back and that is the deeper meaning of the Virginia Creeper. The spiritual meaning of Virginia Creeper is 'seeking freedom and progress'. So the deeper meaning of this haiku is:

'To find freedom and progress in thoughts I have to empty my head by going on a retreat'.   Isn't it a wonderful haiku? So less words, with so much meaning.

Credits: Virginia Creeper

See you again ... next week for another quest into the spiritual meaning of haiku.  

Namaste,  

 

Sensational Haiku Wednesday, freestyle

Dear Haiku friends,

It's a long time ago that I participated in the Sensational Haiku Wednesday, because of lack of time and of course keeping my other blogs up-to-date. I remember that for this meme it's necessary to write a haiku on the given theme in the classical way. As several weeks ago I gave my own 'Back to Basic' theme for my haiku meme. It's not my piece of cake to write in the classical 5-7-5 way, but I can say right from my heart that I love to write sometimes a classical one. So this week's theme of Sensational Haiku Wednesday "freestyle" I will use to write another classical haiku.

finally dark clouds break
after the rains and thunderstorms
the bright and warm sunlight

This is really not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it very much. (Had to use a syllable counter ... smiles). Thank you for this opportunity to try (again) the classical way of haiku.

Thunderstorm

Well ... maybe next week again ...?