Delight in Company - Haiku - December 2, 2014

Hip, Hip, Hurrah! Peder Severin Krøyer 1888

snow falls lightly
in the driveway friends arrive
kisses all 'round

bright autumn day
dining with home-made pizza
excited children

picnicking with friends
autumn beside lake Tenno
gathering chestnuts

(c) G.s.k. '14



Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai - Delight in Company

Ghost Writer - Kanshicho - November 19, 2014

Gnarled Willow


without leaves
the Japanese willow
- gnarled

deshabillé
basking in the autumn sun
gnarled geisha

(c) G.s.k. '14


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This is what Chèvrefeuille says about Kanshicho Kanshi:

Kan -> means: perception, expression

Shi -> means extravagance, pride, poetry

Cho -> means frivolity, number, butterfly

Kanshi -> means Chinese poetry

As I place those meanings together than Kanshicho means:

A poem in the Chinese way that expresses the extravagance and pride of the poet with the frivolity of the flight of a butterfly.

On Autumn - Ghost Writer - November 13, 2014

Ghost Writer Prompt 2 - Writing with Wright - On Autumn 

an upside down world
 arrows point to nowhere
in wet city streets

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[Chiuso per Feria
Riapro in Aprile
l'inverno ad Arco]

Closed for the season
Reopening in April
Winter in Arco

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Graffiti on the walls reminds the world that elections are over ...

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park bench and trash bin
cars streak by in the wet streets

drab cold autumn day

©  G.s.k. '14

 Linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

"Howling Dogs" - October 12, 2014

For Carpe Diem Haiku Special another wonderful haiku composed by Shiba Sonome:

 ha no oto ni inu hoekakura arashi kana

dogs howling

at the sound of leaves -
storm on the way!

© Shiba Sonome

 "A gorgeous haiku, if I may say. There are at least two senses present in this one, hearing and seeing, it's a short moment in time, there is a kigo in it and the original counts 17 Onji ... so it's a haiku following the classical rules. Gorgeous ... "

© Chèvrefeuille

sleepless howling dogs
in olive groves and vineyards
- clouded harvest moon

October full moon
covered by thick stormy clouds
midnight - the bird screeched

lonely sunset
the dog howled for his master
in the empty courtyard

© G.s.k. '14

Cutting Wood - September 20, 2014

For this post inspired by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... I'm looking at "cutting wood".

Here in my Alpine region, though of course most of the houses are equipped with modern heating and cooking stoves, many homes also have a fireplace and/or wood burning stoves, which are put into regular use, beginning as soon as the first cold snaps, rather than turning on the central heating.

The sound of early autumn is often a concert of circular saws rather than chain saws ... since the wood that is delivered from the forestry service is usually from fallen frees or potting etc, that has been done in the woods nearby. (This is done here in Trentino to prevent forest fires among other reasons.)

Once the larger logs are cut down to size ... the sound of small axes can later be heard, cutting those larger chunks down even further into shape for the wood burning stoves or fireplaces. The smell of late autumn is burnt wood and lasts until last spring.

chain saws buzzing
in the early autumn woods
cleaning undergrowth

sharp morning whine
sawing down the firewood
early autumn chores

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splintering logs
preparing Mom's stove wood

in early morning -
late autumn afternoon
corn polenta thickens

snowy evening
chopping wood for the fireplace
chestnuts for supper

© G.s.k. '14

Vineyards - September 19, 2014

I've said it before on this blog ... but I'll say it again, this year has been disasterous for grapes in my country.  The rain was far too abundant and so the grapes were watery and much of the crop rotted or was attacked by fungus.  So today for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's prompt "vinyards" i have a sad haiga ... and a sedoka.

brooding sky
the grapes rot on the vines
yet more rain falls

© G.s.k. '14

Sedoka*

this rainy summer
the year two thousand fourteen
grapes are soggy and tasteless

sad vendemia
under the driving rain-fall
autumn crop of bitter wine

© G.s.k. '14

*A sedoka is a waka formed by two katauta of 5-7-7 onji,  they should be able to stand alone but yet compliment and complete each other.  There's no English requirement for a 5-7-7 syllable count as sedoka is not very popular and so has not been regimented, but I thought I'd do it this way.

Writing with Kishu - "a Crow Passes" - September 14, 2014

 

On this post inspired by Carpe Diem haiku Kai, we'll be looking at the fall or autumn and to inspire us there a haiku by Karakoromo Kishu (1743-1802).  But before we look the haiku, Chèvrefeulle also gives us a quote that sets the tone to the prompt:

[...] "The fall of the year is not merely the fall of the leaves but the fall of the vital powers in all natural things including man. We feel it ourselves and are thus and thus only able to see it in things outside." [...] (R.H.Blyth)

An interesting quote which I've been contemplating myself ... in our youth oriented age where everything is always "newer and better" , we tend to shy away from the fact that of course, things aren't always newer.  The natural processes of life, the natural depreciation of all things is something that our consumerist society would tend to sweep under a rug having us believe that we are immortal, if we buy this or that product,  which of course isn't true at all.  Here's today's haiku:

aki no kure  karasu mo nakade  tori keri

an autumn evening;
without a cry,
a crow passes

© Kishu

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moonless night
in the dark autumn sky
silence

dead leaves dance
morning birds are silent
at dawn

an old couple
sitting on the park bench
leaves fall like rain

in October
the gulls fly over the lake
abandoned shores

© G.s.k. '14

Little Creatures - September 11, 2014

 

For today's little creatures, we're looking at autumn and who better than Issa could inspired us!

 tori naite bimbô-gusa(*) mo saki ni keri

birds singing--
wild daisies too
are blooming

  

asa-zamu mo haya gatten no tombo kana

he, too, quickly learns
how cold the morning is...
dragonfly

tombô no hako shite iru ya kiku no hana

the dragonfly
takes a crap...
chrysanthemum
 

© Kobayashi Issa

But also Shiki:

rai harete ichiju no yûhi semi no koe

after the thunder-shower

one tree in evening sunlight

a cicada's cry

© Shiki

Our host has given us many other examples of other haiku poets, classical and modern, in his post today ... so go and be inspired at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai!

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 autumn's thunder storms
the sparrows find little shelter
to keep their wings dry

fields of wild flowers
inviting bees for supper
before the winter snows

early frosted morn
only the blackbird's song
warms the day

under the darkened sky
the crows caw restlessly
food in abundance

a storm approaches
the fly seeking shelterinvades the parlor

trooping ants
gathering crops in their nests
for winter snows

in Arco this morning
chittering squirrel dropped nuts
on the city traffic

© G.s.k. '14

Dusk - September 8, 2014

For Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ...

 darkness
the wideness of things
fills the distance

tangled branches
coming darkness
woven in

a wave breaks white
a gull folds its wing
as the sea darkens

© Jane Reichhold

until dusk
they hide in secret places -
Nightingales sing

© Chèvrefeuille

sunkissed Mount Baldo

the darkness in the valley

- and the crickets sigh

early autumn dusk
bats joyfully fly and screech
gathering mosquitoes

following sunset
cicada empty branches
in the gloaming

lonely night song
in Arco's gloaming valley
nightingale's concert

 ©  G.s.k. '14

Grief - September 5, 2014

For Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... a study in grief:

 

first days of autumn
the fig cries out its grief
near the cemetery

anger creating grief
downtrodden hearts weep
in a bread line

passing onwards
gentle tears flowing
of those left behind

wilted flowers
clouded and darkened skies
winter approaching

grief reigns soverign
in  musty smells of fall
abandoned fields

Decay - September 2, 2014

worn out flowers
the pathway to the river
strewn with dead petals

damp earth and decay
scent of mildew in the air
passing summer

raking up dead leaves
children run excitedly
bonfires of decay

For: Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Abandoned - Autumn Winds ... September 2, 2014

the blowing wind
orange leaves migrate in the storm
abandoning trees

orange and red leaves
filling the sky like snow flakes
abandoned summer

blowin' in the wind
birds abandon summer homes
back to Africa

Yesterday the sun was bright and beautiful ... but we had a very strong wind that stripped many of our trees.  The roof of my house at moments seemed as thought  it would take off  and visit the land of  Oz.  We had to take down our glass wind-chimes or they would have accompanied the leaves in the form of tiny colored splinters.  The winds of autumn have returned.

For Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Haiga Festival - September 1, 2014

It's September again and time to create a month of haiga for A 19 Planet Art Blog! The one below I created for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's Festival #3 - Autumn prompt which was published on the 29th of August and which I missed:

wind whispered secrets
walking down a country road
- early autumn morn

(c) G.s.k. '14

Tan Renga - Autumn's Last Show - August 31, 2014

For Carpe Diem Tan Renga:

in the pond

reflected trees and drifting leaves
- autumn’s last show

© Suzanne

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bright riotous autumn colors
announcing dark shades of grey

© G.s.k. '14

Writing with Jim Kacian - "Harvest Dusk" - August 29, 2014

vendemmia
gathering the grapes
sipping new wine

autumn sunset
the trees hang heavy with fruit
under the castle

rose hips and apples
waiting to be harvested
autumn leaves burning

 summer's ending
reaping what's been sown
sparrows in the yard

Today's haiku offered by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is:

harvest dusk--

sitting in the wheelbarrow
with the potatoes

©  Jim Kacian

Tan Renga with Basho - July 18, 2014

Today through Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I try to imagine being at a Tan Renga meet.  The honored guest is Basho himself!

ubazakura   saku ya rogo no   omoiide

the old-lady cherry

in bloom: a remembrance
of her old age

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. David Landis Barnhill)

Following the classic rules of Renga, Chèvrefeuille picks up the challenge and keeping in mind the vision of Basho writes:

the old-lady cherry

in bloom: a remembrance
of her old age                                  (Basho)

a day to celebrate
the first cherry blossoms                (Chèvrefeuille)

See how he delicately includes cherry blossoms to relate to the cherry in bloom!  Great job!

Now, I will try to see if I can write a good response following this formula:

the old-lady cherry

in bloom: a remembrance
of her old age                                  (Basho)

memories of cherry blooms
seen from her autumn window   (G.s.k. '14)

Writing With Shiki (3) - "reeds tremble" - July 18, 2014

Today's post is dedicated for the third time to Shiki.  Chèvrefeuille put this little known haiku up for our inspiration:

meigetsu no deru ya yurameku hanasusuki

at the full moon's
rising, the silver-plumed
reeds tremble

© Masaoka Shiki

Thinking of the full moon, and here in the Carpe Diem post, we find that the moon is an autumn kigo, I'm going to attempt to write a haiku in Shiki's style:

shimmering moon light
along the lake front
the willows weep

© G.s.k. '14

silver moon rise
over the eastern mountains
enlightened valley

©G.s.k. '14

I loved how Chèvrefeuille took us on a tour of the moon throughout the seasons.  It was a perfectly delightful post and I would recommend you click the link on his name in the beginning of my post and visit the Carpe Diem site directly ... it's a wonderful read.

Shuukan - Meander - July 15, 2014

Today for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai  Shuukan... we'll meander!  An interesting word meander ... to sort of walk around without any special goal in site.  Not an easy prompt!  Here's a haiku by Shashi to give us a little "orientation" of at least one of  the meanings of the word:

meandering in dark
forest of senses, souls walk
with karmic baggage

© Shashi S

In the sense of the spiritual the journey of life, Shashi walks through the dark forest of  the senses carrying his karmic baggage, as do we all ... a beautiful inspirational haiku!

 

under tears of leaves
 meandering pathways
the coo-coo calls

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meandering path
through the autumn leaves winding
towards winter dreams

Haiku - Basho (2) - June 6, 2014

 Today's haiku master is Matsuo Basho once again.  This time we're going to look at one of his lesser known haiku:

 te ni tora ba kie n namida zo atsuki aki no shimo

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

©  Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)

Chèvrefeuille reminds us that:

 As was common in those times this haiku had a preface:

''At the beginning of September I came back home. I 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 (Basho had a brother, an elder sister and three younger sisters) was white and they had wrinkles between their eyebrows. We could only say, 'we are fortunate to be still alive'. Nothing more. My elder brother opened an amulet case and said reverently to me, 'Look, at mother's white hair. You have came back after such a long time. So this is like the Tamate Box of Urashima Taro. Your eyebrows have become white'. We wept for a while and then I composed this verse.

 @)--->--->---

walking through the field
cold rustling winds announce
early autumn frost

© G.s.k. '14

 Written for:
CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI: Carpe Diem #508 Basho (2), ''autumn frost''