Tan Renga with Basho - January 31, 2015

Scarecrow

Tan Renga with Basho

borrowing sleep

from the scarecrow's sleeves

midnight frost

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

my response

glittering fields of new corn
a scarecrow guards the crops

 frosted fields
fields of oniric pleasure
now a summer day

© G.s.k. ‘15

Inspired by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Dreams - January 30, 2015

Riva del Garda (TN) at Dawn

Dreams

walking in that city
well known plazas and streets
never visited

an old house
each room a treasure trove
with old lace

poetry and prose
written in a library
before awakening

§§§§§§§§§

A Dream (Choka)

near the train station
lines and lines of buses wait
starlings weave patterns
in the autumn skies of Rome
I jump on a bus
soon it rolls into a square
Savona long ago
getting off I see an alley
and smell warm pizza
here's a fair in Padua
under summer skies
I walk along bright streets
tall buildings - a park
bright green lawns and a fountain
greet me to my surprise
 I'm now in Athens, Georgia

refreshed and happy
seeing the clock on my wall
I get up and dress
drinking coffee at dawn
I reflect upon my life

© G.s.k. ‘15

This morning I'm writing about dreams ... inspired by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's prompt - First Dream - I'd already wrote the post for Bastet and Sekhmet's Library, but that was before the prompt post was ready, from the list of monthly prompt suggestions.  In his prompt though, Chèvrefeuille talks not only about the first dream ... but also dreams in general and lucid dreams in particular!  

I'm a dreamer ... and I feel that I'm very lucky to have this gift.  I can remember not only my dreams after I wake up ... but they become part of my memory, just like any other experience I have.  I remember dreams from as far back as my early infancy ... a trip in the sky on flying horses and one particularly lucid dream, going into the bathroom to get a drink of water ... when I did go into the bathroom, I discovered there was no glass to have drunk that water, so realized it had been a dream.

Here are some delightful haiku that were part of the dream prompt:

Fuji no yuki Rosei ga yume o tsukasetari

snow on Mount Fuji -

Rosei creates the world

in his dream

© Basho (age 34)

nanno sono jô hatsu yume mo naku karasu

you've wrecked
my year's first dream!
cawing crow

© Issa

And two dreams haiku from Chèvrefeuille, the first was inspired by a lucid dream:

Ah! that fragrance
delicate cherry blossoms
in the spring rain

© Chèvrefeuille

fly like an eagle
as free as a bird in the sky
living my dream

© Chèvrefeuille

First Soup - haiku and tanka - January 29, 2015

Zooni (picture taken from a Carpe Diem Haiku Kai)

waga io ya ganjitsu mo kuru zooni uri

to my hut too

New Year's arrives...

the zooni vendor

© Issa (1817)

Another interesting custom from Japan for the fifth season ... zooni or a soup made from specially drawn water from a particular well on the first day of the year. Seems that the water for this soup is drawn usually my the so called "zooni man" or a man chosen to draw the water either because he was born in the same animal symbol of the upcoming year or lacking that the "man of the house" fetches the water (which is called wakamizu - first water or "young water" and of course is reputed to bring youth to the old and good fortune) ... women were encouraged to stay away from the well, except in certain areas of the Island of Shikoku where "the woman of the house" draws the water.  This is the last hot food eaten before the fourth of January so that the women of the house and the hearth deities a little holiday to rest up for the coming year.

I can't think of any sort of Italian custom that quite coincides with this interesting custom nor American custom either, so I'll just play it by ear!

Christmas Day feast
the table groans with food
St. Stephen's feast
eating cold roast and pies
Mom rests on boxing day

New Year's Day
eating lentil soup for wealth
before midnight

first cup of coffee
made by the man of the house
New Year's morning

© G.s.k. ‘15

Onomatopoeic Haiku - January 14, 2015

bees buzzing in spring
the daffodils preen coyly
yellow robed geisha

calling Jack Frost
on a cold autumn night

rustling leaves

roaring moped
careening down the street
at dawn

constant rumble
factory hums through the night
sound economy

© G.s.k. ‘15

Inspired by Carpe Diem haiku Kai

Time Glass Challenge - January 13, 2015

Credits: Dancing Leaves

red and gold in the wind
swirling dancing round and round

whirling dervishes

G.s.k. ‘15

Whirling Dervishes from Turkey. They belong to a Sufi Islamic sect called the Mevlevi founded by the famous philosopher Mevlana. Picture was taken from the top viewing gallery. By Cenkko

Little Creatures - Mud Snails - January 11, 2015

Tanishi (or mud-snail)

across country roads
tiny mud snails migrate
spring rains

April showers
broken shells along the road
mud snails

the farmer ponders

mayonnaise or garlic sauce
escargot 

© G.s.k. ‘15 

And it was not only I who thought of those poor snails becoming dinner: 

hiroinokosu tanishi ni tsuki no yûbe kana

mud-snails:

a few remain uncaught

under the evening moon

© Yosa Buson

And here is one by Matsuo Basho which he wrote at the age of 39:

sode yogosuran tanishi no ama no hima o nami 

with dirty sleeves

farmers-turned-fishermen pick up mud snails 

ever so busy

© Matsuo Basho (at the age of 39)

Written for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Tan Renga - January 11, 2015

the endless night

unable to count the stars

in the frozen pond

(c) Ese

mystic journey into time
infinity in a pond

the here and now
in an endless frozen night

a frog jumps

© G.s.k. ‘15

This week's haiku was offered by Ese at Ese's Voice on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Mochi Cakes and Circles - haiku ad tanka - January 8, 2015

WikiPedia

circling the table

families eat lentil soup

New Year's Eve

circles of mochi
offerings for the gods
in Japan

family circles
from greats to babies
feasting life

full circle
another year's ending 

a new beginning
with kagami-mochi
and thick lentil soup

© G.s.k. ‘15

Credits: Kagamimochi

I love traditions and those linked to the family and prosperity abound through out the world especially during the various New Year celebrations.  Go and visit Carpe Diem Haiku Kai for more about Kagamimochi ... as for lentils ... in Italy, on New Year's day it is nearly obligatory to eat lentils in one form or another so that family and friends will be prosperous throughout the year.  For the occasion I prepared a dish of Persian Rice with lentils ... not everyone can stomach lentil soup ;-)

Haiku Horizons- Circle

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai - Family and Kagamimochi

Rainbow Challenge - Carpe Diem's Time Glass - January 6, 2015

Credits: Rainbow Colored Sky


morning and night
color explodes into life
as seas and skies roar
only the birds flew silently
in seas of tranquility

© G.s.k. 15

You can find the haiku I wrote for this challenge on Bastet and Sekhmet's Library

Straw Rope Wreathes (Shimekazari) January 6, 2015

Credits: The "Wedded Rocks" at Futamigaura

good fortune
now protects this house
shimekazari

at Futamigaura
protecting beach and sailors
rope between rocks

shimekazari
the kami flee from the temple
in Kyoto

© G.s.k. 15

Today I'm writing about the shimekazari ... a Japanese Shintoist ornament made with straw rope widely used throughout that land to ward off the bad spirits at the beginning of new year.  For further information about this custom I invite you to read Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's post on the subject.  In the meantime here are two haiku written by Basho about these wreaths:

mina ogame Futami no shime o toshi no kure

please all, worship this!

the sacred rope of Futamigaura Beach

at end of the year

© Basho (1688)

haru tatsu to warawa mo shiru ya kazari nawa

spring has finally come

even the children will understand this -

ritual rope decorations

© Basho (written at the age 28)

Shinnen (New Year's Eve) - January 1, 2015

reflections
the snow flakes didn't fall
New Year's Eve

awaiting change
fireworks and feasting
Happy New Year!

New Year's morn
the world sleeps soundly
after feasting

we celebrate
a New Year's beginning
and a illusion
change comes with clocks
or pages of calendars

illusive time
today is like yesterday
the cat yawns

(c) G.s.k. '15

Below I'd like to copy some great haiku reflections by the Classical Masters:

kageboshi mo mame sokusai de gyokei kana

my shadow too

in good health...

"Happy New Year!"

toshidama cha doko wo megutte mata modoru

New Year's gift of tea--

where did you go

on your journey back to me?

(c) Issa

haru tatsu ya  shin-nen furuki  kome go-shoo

has spring already come?

I feel wealthy this New Year

with five sho of old rice

ganjitsu ya  omoeba sabishi  aki no kure

New Year's Day

I feel lonely just like

an autumn evening

(c) Basho

nanimokawara nai  mainichionaji kono atarashii toshini naru desho u

nothing changes

every day will be the same

this new year

(c) Yosakura

And from the host of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, Chèvrefeuille:

New Year's Eve

the sound of fireworks resonates 

against the snow

after the fireworks

the rustling of bare branches

nothing has changed

(C) Chèvrefeuille

Happy New Year 2015

Tan Renga - Jen from Blog it or Lose it - December 29, 2014

Walnut Canyon Overlook. National Park Service.

ancient laughter

captured in a canyon wind – 

yucca leaves, rustling  

(© Paloma)

high cave-side dwellings
observe the canyon stream

jugs on their heads
women tote water daily
up steep narrow paths

(© G.s.k. '14)

Talking to Paloma about her trip, which inspired the haiku we're using to day for Carpe Diem Tan Renga (Jen (or Paloma) of Blog It Or Lose It)... the vision of women toting water up steep paths stuck in my mind.  We are very lucky in most of the Western World, but the reality of the majority of women in the world is toting water ... from Africa to Asia, from South America to the Middle East ... women tote water daily on their heads usually in heavy clay jars.

Fireworks (Hanabi) - December 29, 2014

Christmas season
fire rains from the sky
in Arco

winter feasting
 illuminating the castle
fireworks

ushering in the year
through out the penisula
fireworks

© G.s.k. ‘14

Fireworks may not be a modern kigo as we discovered from Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .. but they are an integral part of the seasonal celebrations in December throughout Italy.  The brief video was prepared by a visitor who came to Arco's Christmas Fair on the evening of December 7th ... the 8th is a holiday in Italy and the beginning of the Christmas Season (the Immaculate Conception).  Arco shoots off about 45 minutes of fireworks from its castle.  On the 31st New Year's Eve fireworks are shot off everywhere (publicly and privately) to usher in the New Year

Christmas Tree - December 24, 2014

tinsel and lights
colorfully paints the room

Christmas tree

old folks
remembering their youth
children now grown-up
old Christmas tree a symbol
of life moving onward

© G.s.k. ‘14

Frost - December 24, 2014

windshield
splashed with white patterns
 like growing fern

Jack's joke
painting windows and trees
frost in the morn

© G.s.k. ‘14

Here are some of the lovely haiku written for this modern kigo by Jane Reichhold

granite patterns

fallen to leaves

frosted rust

flowers blooming

on dry sand and pond

frost

light spilling

into a waterfall

frost

© Jane Reichhold

and written by our host:

yearning for spring

the frost makes nature suffer -

snowdrops are blooming

snowdrops are blooming

they are longing for spring

after the dark winter

© Chèvrefeuille

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Shooting Stars and Van Gogh - Haibun - December 23, 2014

I don' t know how old I was when I first heard the story of the Star over Bethlehem ... but I remember the year I believed that the star would appear because it was Christmas Eve.  I was around four years old.  We were at Grandma's for Christmas that year along with my cousins from Chicago.  As we lay on pallets between the Christmas tree and the potbelly stove, someone told the Christmas Story.

I already knew that Santa came flying over the house with his reindeer, I'd heard that on the radio, but this story about a brilliant star was marvelous.

Someone suggested we go out to look for Santa and wait for the star to appear.  Although my mother was very reluctant to let me go with the big kids ... I got bundled up and went outside.

The sky was hazy but the stars shone through the haze haloing them.  It was cold and silent in the snow.  I saw hundreds of stars but neither the Star nor Santa's sled ... but then I thought that was only right.  Miracles even then in my child's mind couldn't be forced.

deep winter's night
seeking a shooting star
Christmas miracle

(c) G.s.k. '14

Linked to Haibun Thinking and Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's Seven Days of Christmas

                                            

Winter Soltice - December 21, 2014

yule-tide
resurrection begins
in bright hopes
on this darkest of nights
the sun returns to the earth

© G.s.k. '14

Credits: Winter Solstice (© photo Millie Gounder-Flynn)

Today is special because today is the 21st of December or  the Winter Solstice or as it was called in the past Yule-Tide!

I think that today should be a universal holiday in all the Northern Hemisphere - Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, but it's also the beginning of the renewal of life as days grow progressively longer culminating in the Spring Equinox. 

Here are Jane Reichhold's beautiful haiku for this wonderful day:

winter solstice

the white night alone

with rolling surf

winter solstice

the sun in the south

with old folks

winter solstice

warmth of friends

return the sun

© Jane Reichhold

And our host Chèvrefeuille:

the longest night

bright stars sparkle through the clouds -

Christmas carolers

© Chėvrefeuille

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai's Tan Renga - Northern Lights - December 20, 2014

Credits: Aurora Borealis

curtain of light

shimmers in the winter cold

flight of fancy

© Dolores

Our Renga host in this episode of Tan Renga inspired by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is:  Dolores with her response to Northern Lights.  Here is how our host completed the renga:

curtain of light

shimmers in the winter cold

flight of fancy

(© Dolores)

in the middle of the night

Mother Nature's light show

(© Chèvrefeuille)

My Attempt:

curtain of light
shimmers in the winter cold
flight of fancy

snowbirds in the evening frost
dream of warm city lights

©  G.s.k. '14

Woodpecker - December 19, 2014

Credits: Woodpecker

ticking
echoes in the silent forest
woodpecker

a message
comes in telegraphic thoughts
woodpecker

© G.s.k. ‘14

Jane gives us the following example for this modern kigo for winter:

tall dead pine

the tiny holes of the woodpecker's

pantry

© Jane Reichhold

Our hosts haiku:

hammering noise

resonates through the forest

deepens the silence

© Chèvrefeuille

I really enjoyed this prompt on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, where our host explains how the woodpecker is the totem of a haiku writer ...  please drop by and read the post .. it's a joy!

Christmas Stocking - Sparkling Stars - December 19, 2014

the stocking
sweet dreamy poppet

hangs on the mantle
awaiting Christmas day
to fulfill his bright karma

a stocking
alone on the mantle
awaiting gifts

© G.s.k. ‘14

Christmas stockings

hanging above the fireplace

awaiting presents

© Chèvrefeuille

Written for Cape Diem Haiku Kai  - Sparkling Stars