SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY, prompt "review"

Another sensational haiku wednesday ... this week "review", looking back at the end of the year. How was it? This year was ... great ... I became an International known haiku-poet, the first anthology was published of Wonder Haiku Worlds and to that anthology I contributed 8 haiku and 1 senryu. It was a great honour for me.
And ofcourse this website of my. Yes ... I really had a great year.

another year
has passed away again
the same moon

the same moon
behind gunpowder fumes
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve
after the fireworks
Ah! that silence

Ah! that silence
the first day of a new year
the wind of last year

the wind of last year
plays with bare branches
nothing has changed


HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR WITH LOT's OF INSPIRATION


Sincerely,

HAIKU HEIGHTS prompt #99 "Christmas"

I have proposed the prompt for this week "Christmas" so I have to make a good one (smiles). Christmas? What does it mean?

Christmas, the festival of the Light coming to our world. Once ... a Child was born known as the Son of God. Christmas is, in my opinion, the holiday of the year. The message of Christmas has gone. All around the world wars and terrorism are now common. Where is the "peace to the world" which is the message of Christmas as the Angels once sang for the sheperds?
Now since we have Santa Claus, Christmas has become a time of giving presents and gifts to our loved ones, the joy of gathering and eating turkey and Christmas pudding.
Christmas once about peace to the world has become about love, giving and peace in our families and peace with our friends and beloved ones.
Christmas ... how to write about Christmas in a haiku (or set of haiku). Let's go do it, it's a challenge or isn't it?

preparing Christmas
decorating the Tree of Light
brings peace and joy

Christmas stockings
hanging above the fireplace
awaiting presents

at dinnertime
drinking eggnog, eating turkey
and Christmas pudding

a Child was born
in a cold winternight
Angels singing

peace to the world
while wars are being fought
tears of Christ

make it happen
enjoy the Holidays
Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas to all of you and may 2012 bring you all new haiku, poems, love, light and maybe ... just maybe ... at last

PEACE TO THE WORLD,

Sincerely

The Purple Tree House invitational for haiku prompt "Christmas and New Year"

I am honoured that the purple tree house has invited me to join their haiku challenge. They have given the prompt "Christmas and New Year" to write a haiku about. At their site, on the theme haiku, they have published a nice article about "how to write haiku".

They enclosed already an award and season greetings.

So here a few new haiku inspired by The Purple Tree House prompt:

dreams become true
this Christmas eve at last
a White Christmas


snowflakes whirl -
in front of the old church
the Tree of Light


this New Years day
after the wonderful fireworks
nothing has changed


yesterday's wind
on New Years Eve
still the same

As you can see. These haiku aren't in the classical way written. I write my haiku in an old classical style known as Kanshicho. In this style one can use another scheme of syllables. So many of my haiku have schemes of syllables such as 4-4-4 or 4-9-5 syllables and not the classical 5-7-5. This Kanshicho style was once an idea of Basho (1644-1694) a well known haiku master.

and a Happy New Year

THURDAY POETS RALLY week 58

Another week has gone by. A new Thursday Poets Rally has come. This last week was very busy. My wife had her birthday and all of our childeren and grandchilderen were at our home to celebrate it. It was a great day. We also decorated the Christmastree.
Inbetween these activities finding time to write haiku wasn't easy, but ... I was inspired and excited when I got the Thursday Poets Award for week 57. Another thing to celebrate.

I am honoured to have gotten this award for my haiku and I like to thank all of you who nominated me. Who am I to got this award which I humbly accept.
Well ... back to business. I am preparing a series of blog-items about Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), a haikumaster. I already published the first four parts of this new series, which I have given the title Basho Revisited (for example part one), earlier this week on my blog. In every part of Basho Revisited I am telling something about Basho's life and use a haiku written by him. Writing about Basho is easy, because I love his haiku and I am feeling a kind of bond with him. I also try to write a haiku in the same sense and tone of the haiku by Basho. I hope (and that's the challenge) that my haiku has a little of "Basho's Spirit".
According to fellow haiku poets, my haiku are in the same Spirit as the haiku by Basho. I can't say that of my own haiku, maybe you, my visitors, can tell me.

In part eight of Basho Revisited (not published yet) I used the following haiku by Basho which he wrote in 1676. It's a translation by Jane Reichhold and was published in "Old Pond: Basho's (almost) thousand haiku" also by Jane Reichhold.

essential to life
the little space under my hat
enjoying the coolness

This is a not so well known haiku of Basho. The Japanese hat in this haiku is the so called "kasa".

Credits: kasa

The "kasa" was an umbrella like hat. In some way through wearing this 'kasa' Basho always had his own shady place at hand.

The haiku I wrote in this part of Basho Revisited has the same tone, sense and humour I think.

such a hot day
my shadow needs to cool down
under the willow

Another one with the same theme:

hot summerday
the shadow of the willows
Ah! that coolness

Happy Rally!!

SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY prompt "preparation"

Another week has gone by. Another sensational haiku wednesday ... this week's prompt "preparation", what can I do with that? Well I thought "it's almost Christmas, Winter is coming", so I have written the next haiku:

preparing Christmas
decorating the Tree of Light
Christmas carols




Credits: Christmas tree

 winter preparation
squirrels gathering
their winter stock

winter garden
the black soil makes me sad
expecting Spring

cherry trees blooming
preparing the sweetness
of Cherries

it looks so strange
the backyard of the mansion
soon will flourish


Sincerely,

GOOSEBERRYGARDEN's Poetry Picnic on "nostalgia"

Gooseberrygarden's Poetry Picnic

I am invited to the Poetry Picnic of the Gooseberrygarden to write some new poems, in my case haiku. I am grateful that they have invited me (again) to join in. The theme for this Poetry Picnic is families, memories and nostalgia. Very well chosen themes, but not easy to write upon. So I have chosen for the theme "nostalgia".
This weeks contribution to the Poetry Picnic is based on a haiku by Matsuo basho (1644-1694), a haikumaster and my "idol".

if taken into my hand
melting in the heat of tears
autumn frost

This verse by Basho touches me deep. It's about his mother who died when he was a young boy. In the preface of this haiku he is saying the following:

"At the beginning of September I came back home. It was already long since my mother had died. The grass in front of mother's room had withered in the frost. Everything had changed. The hair of my brother and sisters was white and they had wrinkles between their eyebrows. We could only say: 'We are fortunate to be still alive'. My elder brother openend an amulet case and said reverently to me. 'Look, at mother's white hair. You have come back after such a long time. So this is like the Tamate box of Urashim Taro (an old legend in japan). Your eyebrows have become white'. We wept for a while and then I composed this verse.(Source: Jane Reichhold's Old Pond: Basho's (almost) thousand haiku)


This verse of Basho is not a well known one, but it touches me so deep, because it brings painful memories. My Grandparents are all gone and also my elder brother died. As I look into the mirror my hair is starting to become grey. When my brother was still alive he surely would be grey because he was several years older.

As inspired by this haiku of basho I wrote:

life passes -
in the early sunlight
the ripe melts


frost on the branches
melts in the early sunlight
life passes

Credits: Ripe on bare trees

my hair turned grey
as if it was the frost
on bare branches


a pebble
thrown into the old pond
in an eye blink it's gone

This haiku has the same tone and sense of the one by Basho. Ripe melting in the sunlight goes fast. Life also goes fast and just like the ripe in the sunlight life passes. I think this is the meaning of writing haiku. Life is a fleeting world. Just like time flies our life passes by in just a moment, in just an eye blink.

Happy Poetry Picnic,

Sincerely,

HAIKU HEIGHTS, prompt "Covert"

A new challenge for Haiku Heights this weeks prompt "covert". I didn't know this word and so I don't know the meaning of it in Dutch. But ... on line translators are great so I found the meaning of Covert. To write about this prompt a haiku. It's not easy, but for sure I will come with a haiku.

covert garden

behind these great walls
all those flowers

colourful leaves

in the covert garden also it's autumn
Ah! the full moon

"It's a secret"

the little girl whispers -
a large snowball

Credits: Fox Glove Lake

in the old barn
behind the hay bales
a secret meeting


Sincerely,

SENSATIONAL HAIKU WEDNESDAY "malice"

A new Sensational Haiku Wednesday challenge. This week's prompt "malice" I didn't really know what to do with this one. Malice a tone of angriness, but I am not so good at writing about negative feelings such as malice, but I have given it a try.

such a malice

cherry blossoms in full bloom
the Spring wind!

Credits: cherry blossom

despite

the rough weather, through the clouds

the full moon

in the garden

despite the heavy rain

a snowman

PS. In the last two haiku I have used a synonym of malice ... despite.

Sincerely,

Gooseberry Garden: Poetry Picnic "my life"

For The Gooseberry Garden's Poetry Picnic a new series of haiku. This week about "my life". Well ... what can I say about "my life" in haiku?

my life
it's all moving around
a Japanese verse

haiku, haiku
and again haiku
just like Basho

male nurse
the patients are my care
just like haiku

in the low lands
I write my prose and poems
in Basho's Spirit

I think that with these series of haiku I have given a good view of my life. When you need to know more? Well ... look at my profile.

Happy Poetry Picnic,

Haiku Heights, prompt "space"

 

A new Haiku Heights challenge. This week on the prompt "space". Must be easy I thought, but I was mistaken. It wasn't that easy, but as always ... I have written haiku ...

gazing at the moon
the realisation of space
emerged ...

"look at the stars dad!"
my little girl reaches to the moon
space ... enormous

this tiny house
all it's space ... full of joy
and thousand flowers

Sincerely,