Saturday, August 18, 2012

Haiku Heights 'green'

Haiku Heights

Another Haiku Heights is on. This weeks prompt is green a nice prompt I think, but not a difficult one. Let's go do it ...

Summer heat
Green leaves turning yellow
Already autumn

Already autumn
This tropical heat in the Low lands
Yearning for coolness

Well see you all next week.

Have a great weekend.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday Preview Aurora Borealis


Dear Haijin,

A new Tackle It Tuesday Preview for next week's theme. Next week's theme is Aurora Borealis or The Northernlight as seen on the Northpole and Southpole (than called Aurora Australis or The Southernlight)

The Northernlight or Aurora Borealis
An aurora (plural: aurorae or auroras; from the Latin word aurora, "sunrise") is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere). The charged particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. Aurora is classified as diffuse or discrete aurora. Most aurorae occur in a band known as the auroral zone, which is typically 3° to 6° in latitudinal extent and at all local times or longitudes. The auroral zone is typically 10° to 20° from the magnetic pole defined by the axis of the Earth's magnetic dipole. During a geomagnetic storm, the auroral zone will expand to lower latitudes. The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky which may not be visible to the naked eye even on a dark night and defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurorae are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora which vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye to bright enough to read a newspaper at night. Discrete aurorae are usually observed only in the night sky because they are not as bright as the sunlit sky. Aurorae occasionally occur poleward of the auroral zone as diffuse patches or arcs (polar cap arcs[), which are generally invisible to the naked eye.


In northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. Discrete aurorae often display magnetic field lines or curtain-like structures, and can change within seconds or glow unchanging for hours, most often in fluorescent green. The aurora borealis most often occurs near the equinoctes. The northern lights have had a number of names throughout history. The Cree call this phenomenon the "Dance of the Spirits". In Europe, in the Middle Ages, the auroras were commonly believed a sign from God.

Aurora Australis or Southernlight

Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis (or the southern lights), has almost identical features to the aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone and is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, New Zealand, and Australia. (Source: Wikipedia )

It's a phenomenon which I find wonderful ... such nice colors the night's sky gets when this occurs ... really awesome. So the theme for next week's Tackle It Tuesday will be Aurora Borealis, but you also may use of course Aurora Australis. I am looking forward to your contributions next week. Have fun reading this Preview and let your thoughts go over it ...

See you next week for a new Tackle It Tuesday issue.

Sincerely

PS.: By the way ... as a I already had thought ... Aleph ... was a difficult theme so this Tackle It Tuesday on Aleph will be open for another week. For Tackle It Tuesday Aleph you can contribute your haiku 'till August 27th 11.59 PM. Good Luck everyone.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Blue Monday

Smiling Sally

Blue Monday ... the wonderful weblog of Smiling Sally I knew already, but I never really posted something there or I was to late. I remember that I posted something around Easter 2012, but it was to late. So now ... I am on time I hope.

blue waves scatter
the seashore destroyed
clouds moving

clouds moving
showing a sky full of stars
still dark blue


still dark blue
dune grass rustling
blue waves scatter


Credits: Blue Waves

Well ... Sally I hope I was on time this time ...

The Mag #130

Credits: Francesca Woodman

I visited The Magpie Tales weblog today and ran into this wonderful Photograph. It's a mysterious one ... is this human male or female, maybe both or is it a mystical being such as e.g. a mermaid or merman. I can't figure it out. As I look to the hands of this being I surely would say it's a male, but I have read some post of other contributors to The Mag in which it's a female. So what to do?

a neuter image
can't figure it out
it's all humanity

it's all humanity
searching for the truth
finding it


finding it
wasn't easy to do
this is mysterious


this is mysterious
it's a male Venus with his shell
a neuter image


Credits: Sharon Sieben - Venus of Milo
Well ... what do you think of this one?

Tackle It Tuesday, Aleph


Also posted for: The Poetry Pantry #110 of Poets United

Dear Haijin,

Well ... another week has passed by, so a new Tackle It Tuesday has to start. It's a bit early, but I will have a busy week so therefore I thought ... let me post the new Tackle It Tuesday a bit earlier than I did the other episodes. Have fun and enjoy this new Tackle It Tuesday.
This week's theme "Aleph", based on the novel by Paulo Coelho, isn't an easy one. It's really a challenge I think to write a haiku inspired on this wonderful novel by Paulo Coelho. I have read it twice and I found it stunning, very spiritual, very intens and very personal. I can't remember that in his earlier novels he was the main character in the story. In "Aleph", he himself is the main character and I find that great.
I myself am a author too and I can recall the first novel I wrote in 2007 titled: "Netsach, the universe of the seven magical worlds` in which I unknowingly became the main character as my readers told me later.

In the Tackle It Tuesday Preview which I posted on August 8th you can read more about this wonderful novel by Paulo Coelho.

Credits: Inner Fire
lives collide
Inner Fire burns
in the Aleph

in the Aleph
searching for my past
with the one I love

with the one I love
in the middle of the Aleph
lives collide


This wasn´t an easy one, but I loved writing this cascading haiku inspired on `Aleph` by Paulo Coelho.

See you next week for another Tackle It Tuesday.
This one will stay on ´till Monday August 20th 11.59 PM


Have fun, be inspired and please leave a comment after linking. Do you have an idea for a new theme please let me know.

Namaste,

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday Preview, "Aleph"


Dear Haijin,

As promised a new Tackle It Tuesday Preview to inform you all about next week's theme "Aleph". "Aleph" is the latest novel by Paulo Coelho a Brazilian author. I am a big fan of his writings. He writes with a kind of spirituality and enthusiasm. Last year, when I was on holiday in Turkey, I have read "Aleph" and a week ago I started reading it again. It's a very personal story and again full of spirituality and philosophy.


Credits: Paulo Coelho

In his most personal novel to date, internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho returns with a remarkable journey of self-discovery. Like the main character in his much-beloved The Alchemist, Paulo is facing a grave crisis of faith. As he seeks a path of spiritual renewal and growth, his only real option is to begin again—to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the landscapes around him.Setting off to Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian railroad, he initiates a journey to revitalize his energy and passion. Even so, he never expects to meet Hilal. A gifted young violinist, she is the woman Paulo loved five hundred years before—and the woman he betrayed in an act of cowardice so far-reaching that it prevents him from finding real happiness in this life. Together they will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, traveling a path that teaches love, forgiveness, and the courage to overcome life’s inevitable challenges. Beautiful and inspiring, Aleph invites us to consider the meaning of our own personal journeys.

Synopsis of Paulo Coelho's "Aleph":

In Aleph, Coelho writes in the first person, as a character and a man wrestling with his own spiritual stagnation. He's 59 years old, a successful but discontented writer, a man who has traveled all over the world and become widely acclaimed for his work. However, he can't shake the sense that he's lost-and deeply dissatisfied. Through the leadership of his mentor "J.," Coelho comes to the conclusion that he must "change everything and move forward," but he doesn't quite know what that means until he reads an article about Chinese bamboo.
Coelho becomes inspired by the thought of how bamboo exists only as a tiny green shoot for five years while its root system grows underground, invisible to the naked eye. Then, after five years of apparent inactivity, it shoots up and grows to a height of twenty-five meters. Taking what sounds like advice he's written in his previous books, Coelho begins to "trust and follow the signs and live [his] Personal Legend," an act that takes him from a simple book signing in London to a whirlwind tour of six countries in five weeks.
Filled with the euphoria of once again being in motion, he commits to a journey through Russia to meet with his readers and to realize his lifelong dream of traveling the entire length of the Trans-Siberian railroad. He arrives in Moscow to begin the journey and meets more than what he's expecting in a young woman and violin virtuoso named Hilal, who shows up at his hotel and announces that she's there to accompany him for the duration of the trip.
When Hilal won't take no for an answer, Coelho lets her tag along, and together the two embark on a journey of much greater significance. By sharing deeply profound moments lost in "the Aleph," Coelho begins to realize that Hilal can unlock the secrets of a parallel spiritual universe in which he had betrayed her five hundred years earlier. In the language of technical mathematics, Aleph means "the number that contains all numbers," but in this story it represents a mystical voyage wherein two people experience a spiritual unleashing that has a profound impact on their present lives.


"Aleph" reads as a movie. The reader is part of the journey and learns to look at his (or her) own journey,  called life. "Aleph" ... well I can only say: this novel is worth reading.


Credits: Cover Aleph
"Aleph" is the theme for next week's "Tackle It Tuesday". I hope that with this information given in this "Tackle It Tuesday, preview" you, my dear Haijin and visitors, can write a haiku. It can be a classical or a non-classical haiku that's all up to you. I think ... this upcoming theme isn't easy, but ... please try to write a haiku on this theme "Aleph".

This new theme for Tackle It Tuesday starts on Monday August 13th. Come and enjoy the fun. Be part of this new Tackle It Tuesday.

See you all next week

Warm Greetings,



Monday, August 6, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday, back to basic


Also shared with: Poets United's Poetry Pantry

Dear Haijin,

A new week for Tackle It Tuesday. As you all could read in "Tackle It Tuesday, preview" of last Wednesday August 1th, this week we are going back to basic. Back to the classical form of haiku as initiated by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694).


For more on Basho visit Basho Revisited (one of my other blogs on Basho). Basho is a haiku master and he is my role model and I see him as my master. This week's theme of Tackle It Tuesday isn't easy to me, because I write in the Kanshicho-style (a haiku style that's more similar with the Western way of writing haiku).
As you all could read in the preview there are a few basic rules for writing haiku the classical way. I will give them here again:
  • 5-7-5 syllable count
  • a kigo (a so called season word)
  • and a deeper meaning based on the philosophy of the haiku poet
  • and of course ... haiku is a poem that's based on a short moment, short as e.g. the sound of a pebble thrown into water
The classical haiku originated from the Renga (a chain of poems) and is based on the first poem of such a chain called hokku. The name haiku was given to this hokku by Shiki (1867-1902). Shiki brought haiku into the 20th century. He also is, next to Basho, Buson and Issa, one of the four greatest haiku masters. Shiki was very strict in using the rules of the classical haiku, but Basho became the most known haiku master through his deep devotion as a Buddhist.

Let's go back to this episode of Tackle It Tuesday, back to basic. To me the classical way of writing haiku is very difficult as I mentioned earlier in this post, but ... well I have to try ...

For my inspiration I have used a picture of the rough landscape of the Island Rab in Croatia.


Of course you also may use this picture or another one for your inspiration.

the rough landscape
reaches to the deep blue sky
so impressive

Does this one follow the rules? Let's take a closer look.

The 5-7-5 syllable count? Yes
A kigo? Yes. The deep blue sky is a kigo for Summer
A deeper meaning based on my philosophy? Yes it does. I am a devotee to nature and in this haiku the deeper meaning lays in the word impressive. I am always impressed by the wonderful creation of or world. I caress  the strength of Mother Earth's nature. This haiku says: be careful with our beloved Earth it's a great wonder.

Well ... do you like this one? I surely do.

This episode of Tackle It Tuesday stays on 'till August 13th 11.59 PM. Please leave a comment after linking and if you have an idea for another theme for Tackle It Tuesday ... be so kind to share it with me.

Next weeks theme will be Aleph. Aleph is the title of a novel by Paulo Coelho, an author which I admire.
I will tell you more about Aleph in a new episode of Tackle It Tuesday Preview later on.

For this week's Tackle It Tuesday have fun ... be inspired.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Haiku Heights, stars



published for: Haiku Heights

A new Haiku Heights, this week's theme ... Stars.

looking at the stars
I feel little and humble
I bow my head

Hm ... a nice one I think ...

See you next week


Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday Preview, back to basic



Dear haijin,

As promised ... a new Tackle It Tuesday Preview for next week's prompt/theme.
The upcoming week I love to go 'back to basic'. All the way back to the time of Matsuo Basho (1644-1694} in that time haiku was strict in it's rules. The first rule was the syllable count 5-7-5; second there had to be a kigo (a word that refers to the season);  third  a deeper meaning mostly based on the philosophy of the poet.
Basho was a Buddhist and therefore in his haiku we can find the deeper meaning of life as Buddhism learns.

Buddhist Jakhong Monastery in Lhasa Tibet


When we look at the following haiku by Basho we can see the mentioned rules. Let us take a closer look at this haiku:

morningglories -
in the daytime a lock
upon the gate


Morning Glory

Let us look closer to this haiku:

rule 1: 5-7-5 syllable-count yes that's OK (a "-" can be seen as a syllable)
rule 2: a kigo (or a season-word) yes that's OK (Morning Glory is a kigo for Summer)
rule 3: a deeper meaning yes that's also OK, the meaning of this haiku is that Basho took time for a retreat to think about his life. So he locked the gate of his house. 

The classical haiku has a lot of rules, but the three I mentioned are the most important ones. 

As I learned to write haiku I had always difficulties with these rules, than I discovered the Kanshicho-style, in which Basho wrote his haiku several years. It felt OK when I started to write in this Kanshicho-style and I still continue to write in the Kanshicho-style in which the rules are a bit different according to the syllable-count. The Kanshicho-style is more similar to the Western form of writing haiku in which the syllable-count isn't the most strict rule.

But back to next week's theme 'back to basic'. The classical way of writing haiku is (at least to me) not easy, but it's a challenge ... and that makes it a great way to write haiku.
The above haiku is one of Basho's which I used on my other weblog Basho Revisited. As inspired on that haiku I wrote a new haiku in the classical way.

guarding the fence
around my cottage -
the Honeysuckle

Credits: Honeysuckle

This classical haiku isn't easy to write, but ... well ... take on the challenge and be inspired.

Well ... see you all next week again when this new Tackle It Tuesday 'back to basic' is on ... have fun and maybe it's a bit easier to write a haiku with this given information.

Warm greetings,

Chèvrefeuille 


Monday, July 30, 2012

Tackle It Tuesday, Holy Isle


Also shared with Rebecca's Haiku My Heart

Dear Haijin,

As I told already, in my last week's Tackle It Tuesday episode, the theme for this week's Tackle It Tuesday is Holy Isle. In the preview-post of Tackle It Tuesday I have told you something about Holy Isle. Holy Isle is situated on the west coast of Scotland. It is a Buddhistic island since the early 90th. Holy Isle has a wonderful history.
The earliest recorded name for Holy Isle was Inis Shroin, which is old Gaelic for 'Island of the Water Spirit'.

After the time when the Celtic Christian saint St. Molaise lived on the island at the end of the 6th century, it became known as Eilean Molaise, which is Gaelic for 'Molaise's Island'. This name gradually evolved over the course of centuries until early in the 19th century the island became generally known as Holy Isle and the village on the other side of the bay became known as Lamlash. (For more on Holy Isle's history go to: history )



Holy Isle has a wonderful environment with lots of different flowers and plants. Also the fauna of the Isle is wonderful. On their website you can find a lot of information on Holy Isle's nature.

I was touched by the so called 'painted rocks'. 'Painted Rocks' are rocks on which the monks on Holy Isle have painted pictures of deities or gods or spirits,


Dusum Kyenpa, the first Karmapa in the Kagyan tradition.
He lived from 1110-1193

So I found my inspiration for this week's theme Holy Isle on their website.

painted on rocks
the devote Buddhist monk
Holy Isle

Holy Isle
the Kagyan Tradition
painted on rocks

Share your haiku on the theme Holy Isle. Use the given information or let it inspire you. Enjoy the fun and write your classical or non-classical haiku.

This theme stays on 'till August 6th 11.59 PM. If you have a thought for a new theme please share it with me.


Next week's theme will be 'back to basic', in a new Tackle It Tuesday Preview I will tell you more about the  new theme, but for now ... have fun with this week's theme 'Holy Isle' ...

Please leave a comment after linking ... thank you ...


Namaste,