Writing with Shiba Sonome (1) - As Night Deepens - October 5, 2014

From Carpe Diem Haiku Kai:

"This month we have another wonderful featured classical haiku-poetess. She was a disciple of Basho and writes her haiku in almost the same style as Basho did. Her name Shiba Sonome (1664-1726) and this is the first haiku which I love to share here from her:

mushi no ne ya yo fukete shizumu ishi no naka

the insects' chirp
as night deepens
sinks into the stones

© Shiba Sonome

§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§ù

the owl screeches
in the depth of night
echoed in the trees

among stones and trees
insects sing
as night grows old

 © G.s.k. '14

Sedoka

lonely the forest
in the deepening darkness
the calls of the night birds fly

first rays of moonlight
filter through the trees on stones
the cricket sings his night dirge

 © 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.