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'.

Tackle It Tuesday, dreamcatcher

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Time flies ... another week has gone and I have read wonderful haiku written for last week's Tackle It Tuesday. Thank you all for participating in Tackle It Tuesday and I hope you will participate again this week.This week's theme/prompt is 'dreamcatcher' and I hope that it will be an inspiration to you all to write a haiku (or a few). What's a dreamcatcher?

In Native American culture, a dreamcatcher (or dream catcher; Lakota: iháŋbla gmunka, Ojibwe: asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for "spider" or Ojibwe: bawaajige nagwaagan meaning "dream snare") is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. The dreamcatcher is then decorated with personal and sacred items such as feathers and beads.

While dreamcatchers originated in the Owobogo Nation, during the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of different nations. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, other Native Americans have come to see dream catchers as over-commercialized. Non-Indians have also used the dreamcatcher for their own purposes.

According to the Encyclopedia of Insects, spiders had a great impact on the Native American culture that related to dream catchers. Each tribe had a different significance relating the two. As for the Cherokee people, the spider brought fire. Na ashje'ii' Asdzaa was the "Spider Woman" in Navajo culture and taught the women in the culture how to weave, and she was the "core of creation" in Pueblo legend. In the Sioux Indian tribes the term dream catcher means "spun by a spider" and they are used to catch good dreams.

catching dreams
bended willow branches
feathers and beads

feathers and beads
together catching good dreams
no more nightmares

no more nightmares
native indian dreamcatcher
catches dreams

Well ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku on the dreamcatcher. See you all next week for another Tackle It Tuesday.

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 ....

Carpe Diem, Nightingale

Today we have ... Nightingale ... for prompt. So let's go and write a haiku or two on Nightingale.

in the twilightzone
the song of a nightingale
in my backyard

in my backyard
inbetween the trees and bushes
a nightingale's song

As a nurse I love to share here a haiku about Florence Nightingale.

lady with the lamp
seeking for wounded soldiers
the source of nursing

the source of nursing
daughter of a preacherman
lady with the lamp

See you next time ... when? I don't know ... we will see.

Autumn Flowers

Image courtesy: autumn flower

We are halfway Autumn and nature around us becomes more colorful ... colored leaves, the autumn flowers, e.g. chrysanthemums, asters and more. It's a wonder and a joy to see all those different colors and see the decay of Mother Earth's surface.
What a joy ... because without decay of nature no new springtime and new life.

To me Autumn is about detachment, stormy weather and Chrysanthemums. All the wonderful colored Chrysanthemums giving me a feeling of hope and a feeling of real joy. On Carpe Diem one of the prompts was Chrysanthemum and I published there a few haiku by Basho on Chrysanthemums. Here I would like to publish a few Chrysanthemum haiku by other haiku poets e.g.:

A dead chrysanthemum
and yet - isn't there still something
remaining in it?

(c) Kyoshi Takahama (1874-1959)

For his morning tea
A monk sits down in utter silence-
Confronted by chrysanthemums

(c) Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

white chrysanthemums
the smell of winter tickles my nose -
northeaster wind

(c) Chèvrefeuille

Autumn ... yes ... that's my season.

in full bloom
all the chrysantemums in the garden
my own rainbow


Wow! What a wonderful impromptu haiku ... yes I know it, that's immodest for a haiku poet, but really I love this haiku very much.

Tackle It Tuesday, Butterfly

Dear Haijin,

A new Tackle It Tuesday is on. I am a little bit late with publishing, but ... well I think that's the result of having also a daily haiku meme Carpe Diem on my new weblog. This week's theme for Tackle It Tuesday is butterfly. It's not really a seasonword for Autumn, it's more of Summer, but ... well I have visitors form all over the world ... so there will be for sure one who's living in a country were Summer is still on.

Awesome ... I love butterflies, these fragile creatures are so wonderful to look at. They are really a little present of Mother Earth.

on the verandah
a yellowish butterfly
the light of sun down

And another one:

waving on the wind
butterflies resting in the sun
on the Buddleia

And for closure ... a last one:

on the Honeysuckle
the fragile wings of a butterfly
a fluttering sound



That was it for this week. Have fun, be inspired and write wonderfully composed haiku.
This Tackle It Tuesday will stay on 'till nex Monday October 22th 11.59 PM (CET) Please share a comment after linking ... Thank you.

New Moon

Source: New Moon

Today it is New Moon. So a new cycle will start today. Our Moon is a wonderful moon and I enjoy watching at her every day again.
So today I am a bit sad, because she ... our beloved moon ... I can't see. Tears tickling behind my eyes, but I have to be strong ... I am a man ... and a man doesn't cry (smiles). Just kidding I am not such a guy. When I am sad and I feel that I have to cry ... well than tears will be scattered.

where is she?
looking for her but can't find her
new moon

new moon
she, our moon will grow again
a new lives cycle

Every New Moon is a new beginning. She will grow again and will bring joy again when she grows to her full sight.

Namaste.

Theme Thursday, angel

Theme Thursday

This week's Theme Thursday is about Angel(s). I believe we are surrounded by angels. I think everyone has his or her angel that's always beside you. Sometimes I have been called 'an Angel' by the patients I care for as an oncology-nurse.
I have my Angel(s) too, they're my guards to let me walk on the Right Path and I am glad that they do so ... out of their Unconditional Love.

I am a haiku-poet living in The Netherlands and I am a spiritual being surrounded by my guardians. I love to share a new haiku with you all.

a being of light
guides every step I take
my dear brother

my dear brother
he has become my guardian angel
after his dead

after his dead
I knew he would be always with me
a being of light

I have written this cascading haiku in loving memory of my brother who died September 3rd 1995. I miss him every day. He's my ANGEL.

Source: Angel

2018 July Re-published on Carpe Diem's Summer Retreat 2018

Haiku Heights, shroud

For Haiku Heights' prompt 'shroud' I have composed this new haiku.

beneath the shroud
a pharaoh travels to the stars
everlasting life

Egyptian mummy-shroud

I love this haiku on shroud. I think this one is one of my masterpieces (how immodest for a haiku poet).

See you next week.

Katana, the Samurai Sword

Samurai with tachi

Published and shared on: Carpe Diem, seize the day. A daily haiku meme.

Today samurai is the prompt for Carpe Diem. Samurai were ancient Japanese warriors. The Samurai code was a secret code and the Samurai was trained real hard. They went to battle and were known for their Samurai Swords and the use of it during battle.

Katana

The rise in popularity of katana by samurai is believed to have been due to the changing nature of close-combat warfare. The quicker draw of the sword was well suited to combat where victory depended heavily on fast response times. The katana further facilitated this by being worn thrust through a belt-like sash (obi) with the sharpened edge facing up. Ideally, samurai could draw the sword and strike the enemy in a single motion. Previously, the curved tachi had been worn with the edge of the blade facing down and suspended from a belt.

The katana was often paired with a similar smaller companion sword, such as a wakizashi or it could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped sword. The pairing of a katana with a smaller sword is called the daishō. The daisho could only be worn by samurai and it represented the social power and personal honor of the samurai. (Source: wikipedia) 

ancient warriors
shedding blood on the battlefield
katana colors red

katana colors red
blood washed away in the heavy rain
virgin sword

virgin sword
crafted with water and fire
strength of nature

strength of nature
served the Samurai in battle
ancient warriors

Well ... see you tomorrow ... for another Carpe Diem special prompt #2