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Friday, December 19, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #32, "HUM"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This week I haven't had enough time to post on time here at Haiku Shuukan. My apologies for that, but sometimes time is not at my side.
This week we will close our journey along the six (6) sounds of the greatest mantra I know "Om Mani Padme Hum". This week "hum" is the prompt and it stands for purifying aggression and hatred (hell realm) as you can read here after:

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).


And with this wonderful video we come at the end of our quest through this wonderful mantra ... this was also the last episode of this year here at Haiku Shuukan. I have to think it over if I will prolong this weekly haiku meme. Through lack of time and of course our daily haiku meme Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I can't promise you to be back here at Haiku Shuukan. Maybe I will migrate it to Wordpress and let it become one with our weekly haiku meme "Tackle It Tuesday" at Wordpress. We will see ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until the end of this year on December 31st at noon (CET).


Thursday, December 11, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #31, "me"



Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Sorry ... I am a bit late, maybe that's the consequence of being in the nightshift, but ... well no time for excuses ... let's go and create an all new episode of Haiku Shuukan.

This week we are going further with exploring the powerful 'Om Mani Padme Hum', mantra. This week it's the fifth 'sound' , "me"  ... I will give the mantra here again:

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).


As we look at the mantra's fifth sound "Me" than we can see that it purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts) and this is what is said about this mantra by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche:  


"The mantra Om Mani Pädme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience. Päd, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom. "So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom. The path of these six perfections is the path walked by all the Buddhas of the three times. What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?"

—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones.
This fifth sound is connected with the fourth and together with that sound it refers to Wisdom. Om Mani Padme Hum is a very strong mantra and in it self the world of Buddhism ... it offers us the basic rules of Buddhism, one of the pilars of haiku.

This sound is about purifying greed and possessiveness, but what is wrong with greed or possession? I am greedy in a positive way:

looking for more
hunting for gold and diamonds -
haiku community


© Chèvrefeuille

 
As I read all the wonderful submitted haiku than I become greedy for more of those wonderful haiku written by you all, my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers. Something wrong with that? I think not.




Another one also with a touch of greed and possession in it with (in my opinion) a clear positive meaning:

first cherry blossom
every day I look up with greed -
another cherry blossom

© Chèvrefeuille

I love to have my Sakura in the backyard and I love to see it's blossoms and yes I am greedy for more of it's beauty, nothing wrong with I think.

In a way this fifth sound "Me" brings me the feeling of happiness of being greedy and possessive, and that happiness is more in the way of I am happy with the things I have, the beauty of haiku, the beauty of Cherry Blossoms ... that's what this fifth sound means to me.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and I hope it will inspire you to write wonderful haiku (or tanka) ... I am looking forward to all of your wonderful posts with a kind of greed ... (smiles). This episode is open until next Wednesday December 17th at noon (CET) Have fun.


 

Friday, November 28, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #30, "Pad"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am so happy that I have some spare time to create this new post for our Haiku Shuukan ... really it's a joy to have finally a little bit of time to be on time with publishing here.

This week we are going on with our quest through the six "sounds" of the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum". And this week we have the fourth "sound" of this mantra "Pad". Before I dive in this episode I will share the meaning of "Om Mani Padme Hum" here again.

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).

And I love to share a video:


This week's sound is "Pad" and it stands for diligence and purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm). It's color is blue and the symbol the deity is equanimity and wishes to be born in the presence of the Protector.

H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, "On the meaning of: OM MANI PADME HUM":

"It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast... The first, Om [...] symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"
"The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love.[...]"
"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom[...]"
"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility[...]"
"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha[...]"
Thoughts to be had whilst chanting transcribed in simplification keeping essence:
Being and non-beings proliferate loving compassion and indivisible intelligent equanimity; Om Mani Padme Hum.
That is the natural ubiquitous pervasive force of consciousness. These frequencies are in the Sanskrit tongue, act as a harmonic sound resonance against blocking energy, or sleeping energy. Plants reflect this action as well because of the phonetic strength of vibration that is stimulated by natural pronunciation.

Credits: H.H. Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
How to respond on this all with a haiku? ... Not an easy task ... as I look at the above explanation I think I will go for the wise animal/bird Owl to write a haiku with, because the two "sounds" "Pad-Me" symbolize wisdom. So here is my try to write a haiku in response on this week's prompt "Pad".

lost in the field
only stars as my compass -
cry of a snowy owl

mysterious fields
hidden in mists and greyness -
the cry of an owl

the cry of an owl
resonates through the night
mysterious fields

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this post and I hope that it will inspire you to write an all new haiku and share it with us all here at our Haiku Shuukan, our weekly haiku-meme and part of the Carpe Diem Haiku Family.

This episode will be open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday December 5th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Friday, November 21, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #29, "Ni"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

After not being here for a week, just because I hadn't time to write a post, I am here again to create you an all new episode of our weekly haiku-meme Haiku Shuukan.
As you all know we are busy with the well known mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" and this week we have arrived at the third sound of this mantra "NI" which purifies passion and desire (human realm). Here is the complete mantra and the meaning of the divers sounds.

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).

Om Mani Padme Hum
And here is my response on this "sound" of "Ni":

on temple grounds
dogs mating in front of the Buddha -
chanting monks

© Chèvrefeuille

Not a strong response I think, but I like the scene (a bit of humor).

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday November 28th at noon (CET). Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all.


Friday, November 7, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #28, "Ma"


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Last week we started with a new series of weekly haiku-prompts and it was fun to make that episode, it's a bit sad to see that there are not that much contributors to this weekly haiku meme, maybe that's because of my choice of prompts or they cannot find the way to Haiku Shuukan.
It all doesn't matter, but I would like to see more contributors. The upcoming prompt is "MA" and it is the second syllable or sound of the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" which means:

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).

So this week's prompt is about purifying jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods). It means that with this "syllable" or "sound" you become free of jealousy and the need for entertainment. I think "Om Mani Padme Hum" is a very strong mantra and I love to share here a video of monks chanting this mantra:


I hope it will help you to become inspired to write an all new haiku in response of "Ma".

broken mirror
grabbing the pieces together -
finally free

© Chèvrefeuille

Not a very strong haiku, but it was one of the first which came in mind as I listened to the mantra sung by those Buddhist monks ... in some way I realized that mirrors are the source for jealousy ... don't ask me why I thought that ... I can't tell you ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday November 14th at noon (CET). Our next prompt will be, "Ni" the third syllable or sound of this purifying mantra.


Friday, October 31, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #27, Om


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Here is our new episode of Haiku Shuukan. I love to take you with me into the realm of the Himalayas and the Tibetan Buddhism/Lamaism. And first I love to look with you all to the wellknown mantra Om Mani Padme Hum which has the following meaning:

Om purifies bliss and pride (realm of the gods); Ma purifies jealousy and need for entertainment (realm of the jealous gods); Ni purifies passion and desire (human realm); Pad purifies ignorance and prejudice (animal realm); Me purifies greed and possessiveness (realm of the hungry ghosts); Hum purifies aggression and hatred (hell realm).



This wonderful mantra has six (6) syllables, which stand for six (6) Paramitas. "Om" stands for generosity and purifies pride/ego. The color which belongs to "Om" is white and it stands for the deity of Wisdom.

My attempt to write a haiku inspired on "Om" ...:

entering Heavens
finally purified and without ego
I became wise

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... it's a wonderful mantra and I hope to read all wonderful haiku inspired on "Om". This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday November 7th at noon (CET). I will try to post our new episode, "Ma", later that day. For now ... have fun!

Friday, October 17, 2014

haiku Shuukan #26 Zapateado


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's almost over our first 26 weeks of Haiku Shuukan. Today I will share the last prompt of these 26 weeks, Zapateado.

After this week's prompt I will try to create a new prompt-list for Haiku Shuukan until the last Friday of this year ... Why? I am having second thoughts about this weekly haiku meme ... I don't know yet if I am going on with this weekly meme ...

I have created a new logo by the way for the upcoming weeks here it is:


Zapateado is a kind of dance ... it's a dance from Spain and Mexico and it's similar with Flamenco and tap-dance. Here I have a nice video with Zapateado ... dancers ... it's a short video, but it gives you an idea what Zapateado is.


What a joyful dance this is ... it's a bit similar with "The Lord of the Dance", Irish folk-dance .... but I like this Zapateado more

under the full moon
zapateado-dancers celebrating -
summer solstice

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... what do you think of this haiku?
This episode will be open for your submissions October 17th at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday October 24th at noon (CET).

Friday, October 10, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #25, Youngsters


Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

This week there is a lot to do around Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, our daily haiku-meme. I am busy to "renovate" that weblog together with the contributors there. It's exciting to make plans for CDHK and doing it together with the contributors is just a joy.

This week's prompt for Haiku Shuukan is Youngsters .... and I think I only will give the prompt and a haiku written by myself for your inspiration.

cherry blossoms bloom,
under an avalanche of pinkish flowers
their first kiss

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Cherry Blossoms at Newark
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday October 17th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Friday, October 3, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #24, Xenolith


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Our prompt for today, Xenolith, will not be an easy one. I had to search on the Internet to find something about this prompt. And I found the following about Xenolith at Wikipedia.

A xenolith (Ancient Greek:  “foreign rock”) is a rock fragment which becomes enveloped in a larger rock during the latter's development and hardening. In geology, the term xenolith is almost exclusively used to describe inclusions in igneous rock during magma emplacement and eruption. Xenoliths may be engulfed along the margins of a magma chamber, torn loose from the walls of an erupting lava conduit or explosive diatreme or picked up along the base of a flowing lava on Earth's surface. A xenocryst is an individual foreign crystal included within an igneous body. Examples of xenocrysts are quartz crystals in a silica-deficient lava and diamonds within kimberlite diatremes.
Although the term xenolith is most commonly associated with igneous inclusions, a broad definition could include rock fragments which have become encased in sedimentary rock. Xenoliths are sometimes found in recovered meteorites.

Credits: Xenolith
To be considered a true xenolith, the included rock must be identifiably different from the rock in which it is enveloped; an included rock of similar type is called an autolith or a cognate inclusion.
Xenoliths and xenocrysts provide important information about the composition of the otherwise inaccessible mantle. Basalts, kimberlites, lamproites and lamprophyres, which have their source in the upper mantle, often contain fragments and crystals assumed to be a part of the originating mantle mineralogy. Xenoliths of dunite, peridotite and spinel lherzolite in basaltic lava flows are one example. Kimberlites contain, in addition to diamond xenocrysts, fragments of lherzolites of varying composition. The aluminium-bearing minerals of these fragments provide clues to the depth of origin. Calcic plagioclase is stable to 25 km depth. Between 25 km and about 60 km, spinel is the stable aluminium phase. At depths greater than about 60 km, dense garnet becomes the aluminium-bearing mineral. Some kimberlites contain xenoliths of eclogite, which is considered to be the high-pressure metamorphic product of oceanic basaltic crust, as it descends into the mantle along subduction zones (Blatt, 1996).

I hope you can write/compose a haiku with this prompt ... I couldn't ....

This episode is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday 
October 10th at noon (CET). Have fun ... be inspired and share ... Our next week's prompt will be "Youngsters".



Friday, September 26, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #23 Wasabi


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and it's time for a new weekly prompt here at Haiku Shuukan. This week our prompt is Wasabi.


Wasabi (Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonica), is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. It is also called Japanese horseradish, although horseradish is a different plant (which is often used as a substitute for wasabi). Its stem is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than that of the capsaicin in a chili pepper, producing vapors that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are W. japonica 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', but there are many others.

Credits: Wasabi (Dutch website)
I am not really familiar with this plant and I think that there will be no haiku about it. ... As I was on twitter however, I ran into a 'twaiku' (haiku on twitter) which was about Wasabi and I love to share it here.

Small, spicy, and green,
I want to eat all of them,
But they burn my tongue.


© Emily Suderman

And now it's up to you. This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday October 3rd at noon (CET). Have fun!



Friday, September 19, 2014

haiku Shuukan #22, Violin


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am a bit late with posting this post, but there were other things which were a little bit more important. It's a joy to bring you our new prompt for Haiku Shuukan, Violin, so here it is ... Our new prompt is

VIOLIN

and this is my haiku:

the sound of violins
resonates through the summer night -
Tchaikovsky comes to life

© Chèvrefeuille


The violin player on this video is a Dutch woman named Janine Jansen, she plays the violin like a goddess.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday September 26th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our next episode, Wasabi, around that time too. For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku about violin with us all.


Friday, September 12, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #21, Universe


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I have a busy today. I am creating a few episodes of our daily haiku meme Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and another new post here at Haiku Shuukan our weekly haiku meme. I had what time left, so I could do more than one posts today.

This week our prompt here at Haiku Shuukan is Universe that great space around us and the universe needs no further explanation so here is my haiku for this week's episode:

Orion's Belt
Orion's Belt
brighter than ever
in a moonless night

in a moonless night
wandering over the heath -
the Milky Way

the Milky Way
a path of thousand stars -
like a river

© Chèvrefeuille

It's really beautiful to see Orion's Belt, earlier this day, it was already dawning I saw Orion's Belt arise above the horizon ... gorgeous and breathtaking ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday September 19th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our next episode, Violin, around that time. For now! Have fun!

Friday, August 29, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #20, Tears


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by, it was a wonderful week, but also a very busy week, but ... well being busy is part of my life. I never will spill a tear about it and that brings me to our new prompt of this week, tears. As you maybe know we are reading "Sand and Foam" by Khalil Gibran at our daily haiku meme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and this week I love to share also a 'verse' by Khalil Gibran on 'tears'.

[...] "There must be something strangely sacred in salt. It is in our tears and in the sea". [...]

A nice and very spiritual 'verse' I think and it is here also for your inspiration and mine. I have written the following haiku on 'tears', a year ago:

with tears in my eyes
I see how the wind is ruining
fragile beauty

fragile beauty
a gust of wind tears apart
Cherry Blossoms

© Chèvrefeuille (2013)

Credits: tears
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday September 5th at noon (CET). For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all here at our Haiku Shuukan.
Our next episode will be universe.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #19, Sleepless


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new week has started for Haiku Shuukan and it's time for a new prompt. Our prompt for this week is sleepless and it needs no further explanation I think. So this week I will (try to) keep it short.
Haiku Shuukan is a steady haiku-member of the Carpe Diem Haiku Family and it gives me the same joy as all my other weblogs, there is just a little tiny thing ... I would love to see it grow. So invite other haiku-poets to visit Haiku Shuukan and maybe participate in it. Of course I know that there are several other weblogs about haiku ... but it would be fun to see more participants at Haiku Shuukan.

OK ... back to our prompt for this week SLEEPLESS ... write a haiku inspired on this prompt and share it with us all. I have found a picture to go along with this episode and maybe it will help you to become inspired.
Credits: Sleepless Nights
Well ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku inspired on sleepless with us all here at Haiku Shuukan.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday August 29th at noon (CET).



Friday, August 15, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #18, Rose


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's a joy to prepare a new episode of our weekly haiku-meme Haiku Shuukan. I see sometimes new names, but also family-members of our Carpe Diem Haiku Family which is not only this weblog, but several other weblogs too.
For example our Carpe Diem Haiku Family has two weblogs at Wordpress and they are also worth visiting. Here are the URL's of these Wordpress weblogs:

Carpe Diem Haiku Family on this weblog I have also a few haiku-memes, but those are not on a regular bases ... here your can share your haiku inspired on a prompt given in our "Shadow"-meme and on our "reprise"-meme (were I publish on a irregular base prompts from older post of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai on Blogspot.

Carpe Diem's "Tackle It Tuesday" on this weblog, a weekly haiku-meme on (as the name already says) Tuesdays. At this weblog I am giving a weekly prompt more based on the "spiritual" ways of haiku.

Baccarat Rose

But ... that is that ... back to our prompt for this week rose. the Queen of the Flowers, as I may call her that? I love roses and they are so special ... I can remember the first time that I bought a bouquet of roses for my wife. I had asked her to marry me and after that I had a nice romantic dinner organized for the two of us. The keeper of the restaurant was great. She had prepared a nice table in a cosy corner of the restaurant and had decorated the table with the very big bouquet of Baccarat roses (red of course) which I had bought for my wife. Candles burnt and Champaign already in wonderful flutes of crystal ... it was really awesome ... and yes she said yes. Well .... this happened 25 years ago (1989) and we married in April 1991 after the birth of our first son.

roses for my love
on the floor before the fireplace -
the sound of Champaign


© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you did like this little story and that it will inspire you to write new haiku. This episode will be open for your submissions at noon (CET) and it will remain open until next Friday August 22nd at noon (CET). For now ... have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with us all here at Carpe Diem's Haiku Shuukan.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #17, Quetzalcoatl


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by ... and so it is time for a new episode of our weekly haiku meme Haiku Shuukan. This week our prompt isn't easy, because it starts with a Q and it refers to the once golden culture of the Inca. This week our prompt is Quetzalcoatl  the Sun God of the Inca.
So maybe your haiku can be about Sun, the Inca or the Andes for example. I hope you will be inspired by this prompt.


Quetzalcoatl
Here is my attempt to write a haiku on Quetzalcoatl:

as the day rises
Quetzalcoatl climbs the sky -
sparkling dew-drops

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW open until next Friday August 15th at noon.


Friday, August 1, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #16, Persimmon


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Time flies ... it's like sand that flows through my fingers ... a new week has come for Haiku Shuukan. This week I have a nice prompt for you to use for your inspiration. This week's prompt is Persimmon.
Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. Diospyros is in the family Ebenaceae. The most widely cultivated species is the Asian persimmon, Diospyros kaki. In colour the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety. They similarly vary in size from 1.5 to 9 cm (0.5 to 4 in) in diameter, and in shape the varieties may be spherical, acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped.

Credits: Persimmon tree Yamagata, Japan

I am not familiar with this kind of fruit ... so I have sought for a few examples of haiku with Persimmon in it. It turned out that Shiki for example was completly into Persimmons and that he wrote a lot of haiku about them. Here are two examples (both translated by Susumu Takiguchi):
 
sanzen no haiku wo kemishi kaki futatsu   
 
having examined
three thousand haiku poems –
two persimmons
                 

© Shiki (1897)       
kaki bakari narabeshi Suma no komise kara          
displaying
only persimmons --
small store in Suma
         
 
© Shiki (1895)
I am really not familiar with this fruit, so I think I will pass this week and will not write a haiku here inspired on Persimmon.
 
This episode is open for your submissions at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday. Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku with Haiku Shuukan.
 
 

Friday, July 25, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #15, Opium


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and it's already time for our next episode of Haiku Shuukan. This week our prompt is opium and it needs no other introduction I guess.

I just will give you a wonderful photo of Red Poppies, you know that opium comes from these wonderful flowers. So be inspired ...

Credits: Red Poppies, source for opium
This episode is now open for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday August 1st at noon (CET). Have fun!


Friday, July 18, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #14, Nocturnal


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone. here in The Netherlands it feels like we are in the tropics, because it's tropical warm/hot around 30 derees Celsius and we are enjoying it, notwithstanding the heat that's very moist and it certainly will bring thunderstorms and rain later today. I am looking forwars to the upcoming evening and night when the heat will be gone.

This week's prompt is Nocturnal or nighttime ... this needs no further explanation I think so let's do some hakui-ing.

after this hot day
finally the cool of the night -
dreaming of love

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Nocturnal
Another one:

the day has gone
the night belongs to them -
red light district

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Red Light District
Two different haiku inspired on Nocturnal ... and now it's up to you ... be inspired and share. This episode is open for your submissions today at noon (CET) and will remain open until next Friday. Have fun!


Friday, July 11, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #13 Meander


Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

This week's prompt is Meander and it's not an easy one I think, but ... well take up the challenge and write, compose a haiku inspired on this week's prompt. You don't have to use the actual word, but there must be a reference toward it.

I found a wonderful example of a haiku inspired on ''meander''. It's written by a friend of me, Shashi S of Haiku today. Here it is:

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

© Shashi S

And now it is up to you, my dear friends, Haijin, visitors and travelers to write a haiku inspired on ''meander''.

Credits: meander
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday at noon (CET).


Friday, July 4, 2014

Carpe Diem haiku Shuukan #12 ''Laughter''

'
Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and it's time for a new episode of Haiku Shuukan our weekly haiku-meme. Since I started my first Carpe Diem haiku-blog Carpe Diem has become a place to share haiku with the world. As you maybe know ... in 2012 I started with a daily haiku-meme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai and soon I created a few more weblogs for haiku. Haiku is my passion and I think it's really an art to compose haiku.

Next to Haiku Shuukan and Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I have created a weblog titled ''Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Special'' were I challenge my visitors to write/compose haiku inspired by e.g. music or a picture. Or maybe you are inspired to write haiku based on a quote by a wellknown human e.g. Gandhi or Albert Einstein. That kind of challenges you can find at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai Special.

Credits: Laughter

This week's prompt for Haiku Shuukan is ''laughter'' and I think it will inspire you to write great haiku, senryu, tanka or kyoka. So have fun ...

playing with leaves
children's laughter resonates through the streets -
autumn is there

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode of Haiku Shuukan is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday at noon. Have fun, be inspired and share your laughter with us ...


Friday, June 27, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #11, Kitten


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and is time for our new Haiku Shuukan episode. This week our prompt is kitten. I don't think that needs more explanation.
For this episode I have gathered a few photos of kittens for your inspiration, you don't have to use them, but maybe it helps you to write new haiku.

Credits: kittens
kittens playing
learning to survive
in big world

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Red kitten
beautiful eyes
shining like millions of stars
new born kitten

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope I have inspired you all ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday at noon. Have fun! Our new episode, laughter, I will try to post next Friday.


Friday, June 20, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #10 Jacob's Ladder



Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and it was a busy week. I was in the nightshift and we had to care for our grandsons. I am a bit tired so this new episode will not become a very long episode.

This week our prompt is Jacob's Ladder and it's not about the biblical story, but about that lovely little blue flower which you can see here-after. So I hope it will inspire you all to write haiku or senryu and share them with us all here at our Haiku Shuukan.

Jacob's Ladder

Well ... have fun! This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until next Friday June 27th at noon (CET) and  I will post our new episode, kitten, around that time also.


Friday, June 13, 2014

Haiku Shuukan #9, Idyllic


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by ... I had a busy week, but it's really my pleasure to introduce to you our new prompt for this week here at our Haiku Shuukan.

This week's prompt is Idyllic and here is the meaning of this word and some synonyms for it. Maybe it makes it easier to write haiku with it.

Idyllic means: extremely beautiful and peaceful
Synonyms or related words for this sense of idyllic

Beautiful: beautiful, glorious, stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous, splendid, exquisite, elegant, angelic, ravishing

and can also mean: 
extremely happy, without any problems
Synonyms or related words for this sense of idyllic

Pleasant, enjoyable and relaxing: epic, pleasant, enjoyable, relaxing, nice, pleasing, pleasurable, lovely, cheerful, restful

Credits: Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England - an idyllic village

One of our contributors to our other weblog, Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, is Maniparna of Scattered Thoughts. As I was preparing this episode I ran into an "idyllic" haiku composed by her. Here it is:

romping with dry leaves
the idyllic afternoon
poured slumber in me


Another example, this time a classical haiku by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) in which I think idyllic is in the deeper layers and this haiku by him is really a beauty in it's simplicity.

kids look,
let's get outside quick,
hail!

© Matsuo Basho

Well ... I think this prompt isn't very difficult, so I am looking forward to your haiku inspired on this prompt. Here is my attempt:

a new day rises -
the weeping willow on the piazza
a birds' gathering

© Chèvrefeuille


Credits: Weeping Willow
Now it is up to you my dear haijin, visitors and travelers ... let this post inspire you to write your "idyllic"-haiku and share it with us all here at Haiku Shuukan.

This episode is OPEN for your submissions at noon (CET) and will stay open until next Friday June 20th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next weekly prompt, Jacob's Ladder, later on that week.