September Heights, day 30 free

Inspired by the theme at

 

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

Credits: Cherry Blossom in the Moonlight

And to write a haiku on the given prompt free ... well I have to try.

finally free
after a long hot Summer
at last Autumn

at last Autumn
free art of Mother Earth
rainbow leaves

Credits: Rainbow Leaves

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.

Blessed Be.

Chèvrefeuille

September Heights, day 29 battlefield

Inspired by the theme at

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.

Source: Samurai

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.

September Heights, day 28 waltz

Inspired by the theme at

 

Day 28 of the September Heights is on ... it feels already a bit sad to know that this challenge is almost over, but ... well it's not yet over ... so let's go for today's prompt waltz.

courting swans
they move so gracefully
waltzing together

waltzing together 
swaying over the dancefloor
with my wife

with my wife
swaying, so gracefully
like courting swans

Credits: courting swans

Isn't it wonderful? Waltzing, courting swans ... such a wonderful sight. Well ... 'till next day.

Also published and shared on: Haiku my Heart

September Heights, day 27 footprint

Inspired by the theme at

 

The end of this September Heights is almost there. Just a few days to write a haiku. For today the prompt is footprint. With that prompt it must be easy to write a haiku (maybe a few).

next to my footprint
the empty shell of a hermit crab =
Ah! what a sadness

virginity lost -
the tiny footprints of sparrows
in the fresh snow

Credits: footprints

That was my post for today. See you all next day.

Poets united, wonder wednesday, weird, tea ghost

A new challenge?  Poets united's Wonder Wednesday, weird ... tea ghost ... Wonderful idea. And of course ... I have to try.

translucent tea cup
hides a deep secret
ghost of tea

geisha's secret life
gathering tea leaves
for her lover

September Heights, day 26 paperboat

Inspired by the theme at

Today paper boat is the prompt. A lovely one and it brings sweet memories. As I have told earlier in one of my posts for Haiku Heights I learned about haiku through a colleague of mine when I was learning for being a teacher. She was an origami artist and she brought me the Japanese haiku. Since that day I am a haiku addict and I write haiku right from my heart. So paper boat has to be a good one to write a haiku on.

Let's go do some haiku writing (smiles).

fountain of joy
children playing with paper boats
one sunny day

one sunny day
I folded paper boats with my grandsons
ah! what a joy

ah! what a joy
to see the paper boats sailing
to the horizon

to the horizon
paper boats sailing away
children's laughter

children's laughter
when their paper boats sail
fountain of joy

Well ... counting down ... four days to go and than ... September Heights is over. What a sad idea.

Well ... maybe my new weblog CARPE DIEM, seize the day a new daily haiku meme
The first prompt for Carpe Diem is waterfall and is already on. Come enjoy the fun, share your haiku with Carpe Diem.

September Heights, day 25 sleep

Inspired by the theme at

Good day to you all, my dear visitors,

Day 25 of September Heights is on, the theme is sleep. I can imagine a few haiku on this theme, so let's go for it and do some haiku composing.

midday nap
a hot summer day break
against the cool wall

a butterfly
sleeping on a sunflower
shall he have a dream?

be my friend
blue butterfly on Honeysuckle
I am alone

Source: Blue Butterfly on Sunflower

Well ... almost over this September Heights. 'Till now it was great! Thank you Leo for this treat.

Tackle It Tuesday, clouds

A new week has started, so time for a new Tackle It Tuesday. This week's theme is clouds. Clouds are so mysterious. You can see all different shapes in clouds, but there are also many different forms of clouds. I like to lay down in the grass and watch clouds. Truly it's wonderful to do.

Source: clouds

mysterious clouds
changing images through the wind
ah! what a sight

Well ... have fun with this week's theme. Share your haiku, classical or non-classical, and have fun. Be inspired by looking at the clouds, the picture here or the haiku.

This theme will stay on 'till next Monday October 1st 11.59 PM.

PS. Monday October 1st my new daily haiku meme CARPE DIEM will start. For this new daily haiku meme I have opened a new weblog: CARPE DIEM seize the day, a new daily haiku meme The first prompt is waterfall

September Heights, day 24 paradox

Inspired by the theme at

This will be a difficult one ... how to write a haiku (or a few) on paradox it's such a abstract word. I have to struggle a little with this one I think, but I will publish a new haiku for today's September Heights.

What is a paradox? It's a contradiction e.g.:

A taste for paradox is central to the philosophies of Laozi, Heraclitus, Meister Eckhart, Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche, among many others. Søren Kierkegaard, for example, writes, in the Philosophical Fragments:

[...] that one must not think ill of the paradox, for the paradox is the passion of thought, and the thinker without the paradox is like the lover without passion: a mediocre fellow. But the ultimate potentiation of every passion is always to will its own downfall, and so it is also the ultimate passion of the understanding to will the collision, although in one way or another the collision must become its downfall. This, then, is the ultimate paradox of thought: to want to discover something that thought itself cannot think [...] (Source: Wikipedia)

Source: Escher's Paradox

what's a paradox?
stairs going up and down
on the same time

what's a paradox?
thoughts without thinking
on the same time

what's a paradox?
haiku is for sure a paradox
different images

different images
seen through readers eyes
haiku paradox

Not so strong I think, but ... I loved writing these series of haiku on paradox.

September Heights, day 23 Hummingbird

Inspired by the theme at

Also published and shared on: Haiku My Heart

What a lovely prompt we have today ... Hummingbird ... It's the smallest bird on Mother Earth's surface. They are such wonderful creatures in so much different colors. I have searched the Internet for a few wonderful pictures of the Hummingbird.

the hummingbird
his wings waving away the wind
looks for nectar

what a pretty sight
a hummingbird searching for nectar
Lily's cup

a passionflower
opens her heart with golden nectar
for the hummingbird

Well ... what a wonderful creature it is. The Hummingbird ... totally one with his nature and his Creator.

See you tomorrow.

PS.: I couldn't retrieve the sources of the pictures. If you are one of the copyright owners of these pictures please let me know ... meanwhile I thank you for using the pictures.