Carpe Diem #363, Aleph, the journey begins

The novel Aleph is new to me.  It looks quite interesting.  My haiku is a reaction to the synopsis Kristjaan posted. 

mystical journey
search to rediscover life
reveals the past

Carpe Diem #363

L.A. Times Cross Word Puzzle Blogging

Wednesday, December 18, 2013  Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: I wouldn't bet on it.  Or - in the constructor's words - OUTSIDE CHANCE.  Today we have the unlikely occurrence of the word CHANCE, split in two and occurring at the outside edges of the theme entries, like bookends.  

20 A. "Oh, baby, that's what I like!" oldie : CHANTILLY LACE.  The Big Bopper, of course.  February 3rd, 1959 was the day the music died, when the Big Guy, along with Richie Valens and Buddy Holly went down in a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa.  In this video clip he is very much alive.




27 A. Barrier with built-in footholds : CHAIN LINK FENCE.   Still can be hazardous to climb over.  Watch your step.

45 A. Site of the first Winter Olympics : CHAMONIX FRANCE.  1924.  A bit before my time.

And the unifier, 52 A. What a long shot has, and, literally, what 20-, 27- and 45-Across each has : OUTSIDE CHANCE.  An estimate of the likelihood of an occurrence that is neither probable nor impossible, like the Lions winning their division after losing Monday night due to a 61 yard field goal in the waning seconds of the game. 

It's a bit ambiguous because of the placement of the letters "A" in 45 A, but you can read the theme entries as a progression of letters in CHAIN moving from the left to right bookend.  This gives the theme another level of elegance.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here.  I think there's better than an OUTSIDE CHANCE we'll enjoy today's outing.

Six Word Saturday

I'm having a big music weekend

Symphony concert performance was last night

Playing for a fund raiser today

Seeing Granddaughters in The Nutcracker tomorrow

Jazz band Christmas concert on Monday

Carpe Diem Special #66, Hando's "footprints in the sand"

Inspirational haiku by Hando

footprints in the sand
to here and there and nowhere
and the gull flying                              (c) Hando

My inspiration

life's random pathways
beachside brownian motion
stirred by wingtip breeze                        (c) JzB

Carpe Diem Special #66

Carpe Diem #344, ''dreamtide''

I can't say I love Adrian von Ziegler's music. But it is pleasant and worth a listen.  Today's selection, Dreamtide is rhythmically interesting.  The Keltic sounding melody is definitely in 5.  When it goes to just percussion, a have a very difficult time deciphering the basic pulse.  Seems like it goes into 6, but the initial beat is elusive.  All of this contributes to the dreamy feeling of the piece.  I'm also struck by the elven appearance of the character in the vid picture.

~ 1 ~

float with the elf-maid

on the ethereal tide

of dreamscape rhythms

~ 2 ~
[inspired by bjorn]

oh those mocking clouds
fabulous frothing fruit frappe
make the sky feel blue

~~~

Carpe Diem #344, ''dreamtide''

Carpe Diem #340, ''beautiful dreams''

For December we are sharing haiku inspired by the music of Adrian von Ziegler.  Today's selection is the quasi-Keltic selection, Beautiful Dreams.

high upon a mountain
sitting amid the pine trees
together we are one

~:~

I deliberately did not look at Kristjaan's before writing mine, but I see a common thread between them.

Carpe Diem #340

Carpe Diem #65, Hando''s ''Listening with another''

Inspirational haiku:

listening with another
to the music of the mountain stream;
there is no other

(c) Hando

My inspiration

like a mountain stream

so flows the qi between us

and now we are one

(c) JzB

 

Carpe Diem #65, Hando''s ''Listening with another''

Carpe Diem #337, Kanpai!

Our protocol through December will be to write haiku or senryu inspired by the music of Swiss musician Adrian von Ziegler.   Today's entry is Kanpai, inspired by Japanese festivals.

syncopated rhythms

drums dancing in counterpoint

my feet want to join

Carpe Diem #337, Kanpai!

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XXX, Flatfroghaiku's "harbour moon'

I've been absent a lot these last few weeks, and will be in and out for the next two more at least.

I haven't forgotten you, though.


Today's tan renga challenge to add a second [7-7] stanza to this haiku.

1

harbour moon
the loneliness of fishermen
under lighthouse cliff                            (c) Joe of Flat Frog Haiku

sad fisherman remembers 
the beauty who got away                       (c) JzB


2
 
harbour moon
the loneliness of fishermen
under lighthouse cliff                            (c) Joe of Flat Frog Haiku

honk of goose and low of moose
echo over the water                              (c) JzB

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XXX, Flatfroghaiku's "harbour moon'

LA Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme:  Mr. Mostel, or Dash it all, or Nothing, really.

So many pictures, so hard to chose

17 A. Line on an envelope : CITY STATE AND ZIP.  Part of an address, but not Mr. Lincoln's at Gettysburg.

 23 A. Pago Pago's land : AMERICAN SAMOA.  City on an island; also the Capital.

 40 A. Paul Hogan role : CROCODILE DUNDEE.  Australian adventure movie.

 52 A. Classic cartoon shout : YABBA-DABBA-DOO.  Fred Flintstone.

And the unifier --  62 A. Zero in Morse code, any part of which will finish the title of the Oscar-winning song found at the ends of 17-, 23-, 40- and 52-Across : DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH.  If you think of Morse Code in terms of dots and dashes, DAH is the dash.

Hi gang, JzB here, totally in awe of this seemingly nothing theme, and its execution.  Until the unifier, I was clueless.

Here is today's theme song, from the 1946 Disney movie, Song of the South.

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XXI, Cathy Tenzo's "the Buddha Himself"

the Buddha himself
did not start enlightened
he walked the path                                (c) Cathy Tenzo
  

in still darkness i follow
stumbling in his bright footsteps           (c) JzB

Speaking of paths; check this out.

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XXI

Tornado

We were visiting relatives in Florida last week, and drove home over the week end.  Sunday was a bad weather day, and we stayed ahead of the worst of it for most of our trip. In the afternoon, we stopped in Toledo to see my mom.  That's when the bad weather hit, and we decided to wait it out, rather then drive through it.

Then this happened, as we found out yesterday.

Picture Source

The picture, from yesterday's [Tuesday, 11/19/13] Toledo Blade, shows the path of a tornado that swept across the area on Sunday. I've added a red bull's eye, showing the approximate location of my mother's MOBILE HOME, where mom, my sister, my lovely wife and I were when the tornado came through.

The tornado literally leap-frogged two adjacent mobile home parks at approx. 5:45 p.m. and passed right over our heads. We didn't even know it had happened.

We had already driven about 450 miles that day, only to come to rest in the path of a destructive twister.

On a more positive note, Sis made us a nice chicken paprikas.

Carpe Diem''s Tan Renga Challenge Month #XIX, Carol's ''tickling ivories''

tickling ivories
scintillating music sound
filling the inner soul                                (c) Carol

and now my creative muse
is feeling very composed                        (c) JzB


This post is from my local library.

My internet is down due to the storm.

Unlike many thousands, though, we do have power.

No posting or visits until service is restored.

Lo siento.

Carpe Diem''s Tan Renga Challenge Month #XIX

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month #XVII, Jazzbumpa''s " my little green lawn''

I'm delighted to see one of my haiku in the tan renga challenge.

This one actually pleases me quite a bit.

my little green lawn
dreams about the pampas grass
i dream of the stars                                       (c) Jazzbumpa

in their pale shimmering light
the universe stands open                              (c) Jazzbumpa

I'll be around to check all your completions in a day or so. 

Thanks for playing along.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge Month #XVII

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XV, Lolly's ''crossing the footbridge''

Also unbidden -- the outre turn my imagination took:

crossing the footbridge
a sound that comes unbidden ...
my wild beating heart                                         (Lolly)

from the murky depths below
strange faces rise through the waves       (JzB)

or ---

like the wild beat of goose wings
at the lowing of a moose                            (JzB)

Bringing my old friends back into it.

Take your pick.



[Sorry about the formatting oddities.  I'm not at my own computer.]

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #XV

Carpe Diem''s Tan Renga Challenge Month #XIII, Lothar''s (Rheumatologe) "this dark autumn night''

this dark autumn night
the bright stars of milky way
cries of geese above                                (c) Lothar (Rheumatologe)


a cold wind blows them southward
as leaves swirl wildly below                      (c) JzB

Carpe Diem''s Tan Renga Challenge Month #XIII

Carpe Diem''s Tan Renga Month #V, Sara McNulty''s "Life completes circle''

Today's starting haiku is from Sara McNulty at Purple in Portland.

life completes circle
at the end of the journey
death draws the last line                    (c) Sara McNulty

for each new generation
another arc on the curve                    (c) JzB

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Month #V

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #II Mark M. Redfearn's "by the garden path"

 Toad in a flower flat - my yard, June, 2011

Mark's haiku reminded me of this this incident.

 
Today's challenge it to construct a 2nd stanza of two lines in 7 - 7 form to complete Mark's haiku.

by the garden path
an upside down flowerpot
cottage for a toad                                        (c) Mark M. Redfearn

bounding on the garden path
one hundred tiny toadlings                          (c) JzB

I originally intended to write "bouncing."  "Bounding" is not only a typo, but an improvement!

You just can't throw away that kind of good luck.

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge Month #II

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #20, Joanne's "Autumn Leaves"

Two weeks ago we took a color tour in northern Michigan.  It was a bit early for peak color, and certainly before the leaf fall, but we had perfect weather.  Here is a view along Lake Charlevoix.

Michigan Color, Oct 11, 2013

Today's challenge is to complete a tan renga using Joanne's Autumn Leaves haiku, set a bit later in Autumn.

autumn leaves
myriad shades red and gold
begin to fall as snow                                   (Joanne)

bare tree tops start to shiver

hoping for a white blanket                          (JzB)

Is the pathetic fallacy appropriate to haiku and tan renga?  Maybe one of you knows.

If anyone is interested in knowing what sort of things I do when I'm not doing this, you can find some of it here, here, and here.

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #20

LA Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

Wednesday, October 23, 2013  C. C. Burnikel

Theme: VERMILION INTERSECTIONS,  or WHERE REPUBLICANS AND COMMUNISTS MEET AND GREET. [I refuse to call this THE RED WEDDING!]  The starred clues refer to themed answers indicating various shades of red that cross in the grid, [I dare to report with no trace of embarrassment.] 

21 A. *Small fruit first cultivated in Oregon : BING  CHERRY.  Wikipedia tells us, "The cultivar was created as a crossbred graft from the Black Republican cherry in 1875 by Oregon horticulturist Seth Lewelling and his Manchurian Chinese foreman Ah Bing, for whom the cultivar is named." 

58 A. *Vin Scully will be its 2014 Grand Marshal : ROSE PARADE. This New Year's Day festival of equestrians, marching bands and flower-covered floats antedates the Rose Bowl football game by 12 years.  The latter was added in 1902 to help fund the former, which is now the province of the Honda motor car company. 


12 D. *Chain named for a Stones hit : RUBY TUESDAY, song and restaurant.

 

24 D. *"Clue" suspect : MISS SCARLET

Photo Source

Leslie Ann Warren, shown here close to the other suspects - and tantalizingly close to a wardrobe malfunction - stepped in to play Miss Scarlet in the movie version of CLUE when director Johnathon Lynn's first choice, Carrie Fisher, went onto rehab four days before filming started.  Whether she had the DT's is unreported.

And the centrally located unifier:  41 A. Humanitarian symbol, and a hint to what happens where the answers to starred clues intersect : RED CROSS.

You can make a difference

Hi Gang, JazzBumpa here.  Our fearless leader has blended a colorful cocktail for us today, with an unusual 15 x 16 grid design, and intersecting horizontal and vertical entries long with a creative theme.   Other possibilities include beets, apples, catchup, Bob the Tomato, Rover, Erik the Viking, Lucille Ball and the Rouge River.  Let's see what else she has in store for us.

Carpe Diem #328, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

my garden this year
the marigolds did so well
but not tomatoes

~~~~

come along my friend
let us go to the garden
where we'll just hang out

~~~~

sometimes when i speak

about the low hanging fruit

i just babble on

~~~~

 

Carpe Diem #328

Carpe Diem's Make the Haiku complete #2

The challenge this time is to complete a haiku left unfinished by Basho in 1690.   The intense difficulty stems from the fact the the first two lines have no obvious connection - in fact it's hard to even relate them to each other in a coherent way.

The first line is so evocative of loss, or at least unfulfillment.  Is the wife on a trip, has she left the implied speaker, or died?  Has he never had a wife and wishes he did?  So many possibilities, and none of them happy.   I have a feeling there is something symbolic about the bamboo grass of line two that is outside of my knowledge base.  And grass diving - what does that even mean?

So - a tough challenge; but I'm taking it seriously.

Basho's unfinished haiku:

tsuma kou te nezasa kazuku ya ..............

missing a wife
the bamboo grass dives under
.............................



My attempt at completion:

missing a wife
the bamboo grass dives under
her departing steps

Carpe Diem's Make the Haiku complete #2

Carpe Diem Special #63, Garry Gay's "New Snow"

 Inspirational haiku:

new snow--

the path you made last night

has gone with you

(c) Garry Gay

~~::~~

I read in this a sense of loss,
a bit of melancholy and longing:

hence, my inspiration.

adulterer's path

cold fresh snow and dark shadows

conceal his footprints

Carpe Diem Special #63

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #19, Garry Gay's "Halloween Night"

Halloween night --
the fisherman
dressed as a scarecrow                           (Garry Gay)

under the halloween moon
the fish scatter like scared crows           (JzB)

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #19

Carpe Diem #325, Release (provided by Maggie Grace)

~ 1 ~

let republicans go
on the next election day
for the harm they've done

~ 2 ~

can i forgive them
they know what they are doing
and it is evil

~ 3 ~

goose flies away south
moose stands by the lake watching
as her gray image fades

~~()~~

Carpe Diem #325

Carpe Diem #324, Symbiotic (provided by Sam Edge)

pull each other up

[better than codependence]
benefits for both

Carpe Diem #324, Symbiotic

 

Carpe Diem #323, Threnody (provided by Mark M. Redfearn)

not a song of joy

threnody for those we love

now lost forever

Carpe Diem #323

Carpe Diem #319, Shell (provided by Lolly)

once a home
for a mollusk - now it holds
the sounds of the sea

Carpe Diem #319, Shell (provided by Lolly)

Carpe Diem #317, Ivory (provided by Bjorn Rudberg)

 Seven of our Eleven Grandchildren

 IVORY

in our family

we are melanin challenged -

ivory skin tone

Carpe Diem #317

Carpe Diem Special #61, Garry Gay's "Sweat Lodge"

Inspirational Haiku:

sweat lodge -
my only vision
is of the cool water

What you get from me:

in the sauna -

steeling up my nerves

to roll in the snow

Not something I've ever done, not am I likely to.  But that's where the thought took me.

Carpe Diem Special #61, Garry Gay's "Sweat Lodge"

Carpe Diem "Make the haiku complete" #1

The goal is to add the 3rd line to the first two extracted form an existing haiku.

Today's starter was written by Kristjaan a couple of years ago.

cicadas singing
in the last rays of light -

 ..................................

Completed 

cicadas singing
in the last rays of light -

sad shadow song 

Carpe Diem "Make the haiku complete" #1

 

Carpe Diem Special #59, Southard's "widening rings"

Inspirational Haiku by O. Mabson Southard:

a patter of rain ...
the lily-pad undulates
on widening rings

I'm not sure this is in the spirit of Southard, but it's the image that came to me:

see her undulate

on the dance floor - hips moving

in widening rings

[but please - no twerking]

Carpe Diem Special #59

Carpe Diem #308, Sake (salmon)

From Krisjaan we learn:

"When the Ainu go salmon fishing they always provide a thick willow stick about two feet long with which to strike the salmon's head and kill it. This stick is called isapa-kik-ni, "the head-striking wood" .... The Ainu say that the salmon do not like being killed with a stone or any wood other than good sound willow, but they are very fond of being killed with a willow stick. Indeed, they are said to hold the isapa-kik-ni in great esteem. If anything else is used, the fish will go away in disgust."

~ 1 ~

salmon come

to my boat - i will kill you

with respect

~ 2 ~

placid salmon
happy to be put to death
with a willow stick

~ 3 ~
 

eating pink shake
the clear sake in my cup
whacks like willow wood

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #308, Sake (salmon)

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #16, Jazzbumpa's "cold raindrops falling".

I'm honored and delighted that Krisjaan has selected one of my haiku for this Tan Renga challenge.  It's great to be a part of the globe-spanning Carpe Diem community.

I added a second verse when I first posted it, making it a tanka.  Doing so here will make it a tanka again, but I'm not going to let that stop me.

green leaves turn orange
amid the colors we see
cold raindrops falling

from silhouettes in the clouds
the mournful call of a goose

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #16 

 

Carpe Diem #306, Chooyoo (Chrysanthemum Festival)

Mum's the word

I used this picture of the chrysanthemums at my doorstep just a few days ago.  It's from Nov. 1, last year.   I just took a look at the plant a few minutes ago.  There are three or four blossoms open now, and dozens of buds that are not yet ready to pop.

I'm quite taken with the idea of chrysanthemums and a long life.

chrysanthemum dew
sipping the fountain of youth
for life eternal

My wife's mother died earlier this year.  Both of her parents are buried next to her aunt and uncle.  Their son, her cousin, died of cancer a couple of months ago.  He was a great guy, a wonderful father to his kids, and a loving nephew for my mother-in-law.  He is buried just a few feet away.  My wife placed pots of white chrysanthemums at their graves.  So this haiku is tinged with sadness.

white chrysanthemums

placed at her cousin's grave side

too late for long life

~~::~~ 

[with a nod to Wabi]

 moon reflection
white chrysanthemum bouquet
lunar perfume scent

~~::~~

let's drink together

for a long and happy life

chrysanthemum tea

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #306 

 

Carpe Diem #304, Yanagi Chiru (Willow leaves fall)

~ 1 ~

willow leaves fall
after the cold solstice night
sunrise comes sooner

~ 2 ~

forlorn willow

naked in the winter night

shall i weep for you

 ~~~

Carpe Diem #304

Carpe Diem #303, Tonbo (Dragonfly)

Image Found Here

~ 1 ~

sleek airborn bodies
dragonflies mating
on the wing

~ 2  ~

do the crickets sing
love songs for dragonflies
on hot summer nights 

~ 3 ~
[9/22 Update: with a nod to Wabi]

summer memories
carried off into the past
on dragonfly wings

~ 4 ~
[and a nod to MMT]

last sunbeam glints a
rainbow on dragonfly's wing
remains of the day

~~~~

Carpe Diem #303 

 

Carpe Diem's "Little Ones"#4, Tanka

Having just completed the tan renga challenge, my mind stays in the same vein for the tanka.

hear the cricket song

the prostitute sings for me

beautiful chirping

tomorrow i must send her

tanka written on a fan

Another effort in a slightly different vein

in the pale moonlight

i find my way to her house

no one else at home

we share our illicit love

tomorrow we are strangers

Carpe Diem's "Little Ones"#4, Tanka

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #15, Managua Gunn's "Cricket's last song"

The challenge is to write a companion 7-7 verse for the presented 5-7-5 provided by regular CD contributor and world-wise traveler Managua Gunn, aka "Yer Pirate."  

Cricket's last song
even the prostitute hears -
stops waving her fan

if we scrape legs together
will she sing her song for me

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #15 

 

 

Carpe Diem Special #58, Southard's "This morning's rainbow".

Inspirational haiku 

This morning's rainbow
shares its deep violet edge
with the misty moon.

In my attempts, I'm going for vivid images

~ 1 ~

beautiful moon fairy

descends the rainbow staircase

in morning's first light

~ 2 ~

through moose's antlers
i see the wild goose take wing
over the rainbow

~ 3 ~

[with a nod to Kristjaan]

raindrops form a prism
in an array of silk strands
argiope rainbow

~ 4 ~
[UPDATE: with a nod to Mystic]

arizona monsoon
the desert springs to life with
cactus and rainbows

~~~

Carpe Diem Special #58

Carpe Diem #302, Nowaki (windstorm, field dividing wind)

 Image source

~ 1 ~

shutters blown open

through the window i see them

rapt in their passion

~ 2 ~

nowaki

could you sail the beautiful

moon fairy to me

~ 3 ~

too much wind

broken kite tangled strings

the birds are on foot

~ 4 ~

straight line wind

threshing grain before its time

farmers dismay

~ 5 ~

all you haijin

write again of nowaki

re-gale me

 ~~~::~~~

Once I lost a tree in my yard to the wind

You can see it here and here

 ~~~::~~~

Carpe Diem #302

3WW CCCXLVII

The three words:

Easygoing

Fact

Handsome

Three three-word entries in the form of haiku-shaped word clusters

~ 1 ~

the sad fact is that

easygoing handsome man

smells like a sewer

~ 2 ~

easygoing holms

not especially handsome

has a nose for facts

~ 3 ~

a sly handsome man

easygoing with facts

spins seductive tales

~~~ 

3WW CCCXLVII

Carpe Diem #301, Meigetsu (Harvest Moon, the full moon of September)

 Moon - One Night Past Full - 7/23/13

For the harvest moon, a lunar fairy tale in haiku form.

~~~

in the ripe field
under the bright harvest moon
the lunar fairy

~~~

rapt in her beauty
i reach out but she tells me
you are not the one

~~~

for four long weeks
i long for her return
clouds cover the moon

~~~

each full moon
i get a brief glimpse of her
as she departs

~~~

this exquisite pain
my love for the lost fairy
i take to my grave

~~~

Carpe Diem #301

L.A.Times Crossword Puzzle Blogging

 Wednesday, September 18th 2013, C.C.Burnikel

Theme: My mom is one - TWINS.   Each starred clue is answered by one of a brace of famous real or mythical twins.  The crossing theme answer is the other twin of the pair.  Further, one of these twins is indicated by a two-word answer in which the second word is a red herring, while the other is a simple one-word name, clued in a way that should specifically identify the specific set of TWINS in question.

17 A. *Edward Cullen's rival for Bella's hand, in the "Twilight" series : JACOB BLACK.  I haven't watched this series, so it took a lot of perp help.

2.D. *Biblical birthright seller : ESAU.  JACOB's TWIN.  Isaac's non-identical twin sons are both frequent crossword denizens.  You know the story.

23 A. *She played Michelle on "Full House" : MARY KATE.  Tricky, since the roll was shared by both of these TWINS.

11. *"High Crimes" actress : ASHLEY JUDD.  As this point, having only half sussed the theme, I'm thinking - wait!  The Judd sisters aren't twins! But MARY KATE and ASHLEY Olsen are.  They have since grown up, or at least gotten older.

45 A. *Brother of Helen of Troy, some say : POLLUX.  I did not know that.

28 D. *Source of an age-old medicinal oil : CASTOR BEAN.  CASTOR OIL, of course.  I don't recall ever being subjected to this cure.  CASTOR and POLLUX in Greek mythology, present a confusing case.   Per Wikipedia: "Their mother was Leda, but Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of Sparta, and Pollux the divine son of Zeus, who seduced or raped Leda in the guise of a swan (Greek myths concerning divine sex are often vague on the issue of female consent)."  That's more than I can comprehend.  Better still, Helen also had a TWIN, the unfortunately named Clytemnestra.    CASTOR and POLLUX are also the brightest stars in the constellation Gemini, and a pet products brand.

59 A. *Beach Boys title girl : BARBARA ANN.  This takes me back to my ute.  But back in the day [1961] this was a hit recording for the Regents.  The Beach Boys cover came later.

44 D. *"Today" correspondent __ Bush Hager : JENNA.  BARBARA and JENNA are the daughters of former President George W. Bush, and clearly non-identical TWINS.  They also got older.  Here they are with their mom, former first lady Laura Bush.

And the unifier:  64 A. Target Field team, and each pair of intersecting names in the answers to starred clues : TWINS.  C.C.'s home baseball team is not having a good year.  They play three games against the Tigers next Mon.- Wed.

It took me quite a while to find C.C.'s wavelength.  But wow - eight paired, crossing theme entries, with the horizontal elements in perfect symmetry, plus a unifier stacked below the last horizontal theme fill. Also, two TWIN sets are male and two are female. I don't even want to think about what it took to put this together.

Hi gang, a very impressed JazzBumpa here.  Let's see what else C.C. has in store for us the rest of the way.

Carpe Diem #300, Matsuyoi (Waiting Evening)

I didn't get a picture of the waiting moon, so here is a shot of the full moon we saw in July at Black Lake.  The clouds make it a striking image.

~ 1 ~

i bare my soul

to the not-quite-full moon

longing for you

~ 2 ~

when kooga appears

gratefully i must tell her

moonlight becomes you

~ 3 ~

antlers silhouette

against the autumn moon

goose soars to the south

~ 4 ~

cloud filtered moonlight

glints on orb weaver's silk strands

she waits for fresh flies

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #300

Carpe Diem #299, Kakashi (scarecrow)

We also had scarecrow as a prompt for CD Special #12 on Dec. 18, 2012, which I believe was my very first Carpe Diem entry.

At that time our granddaughter Rebekka has just landed a role as one of the apple trees in The Wizard of Oz, if you remember that scene.  [If not, you can see it and some of my doggerel at the link above.]

My scarecrow ideas for today:

~ 1 ~

to scare a scarecrow
the wicked witch need only
produce a small fire

~ 2 ~

i am not a crow
so why does that stick figure
scare me so

~ 3 ~

when i'm in a field
after that hitchcock movie
the crows scare me

~ 4 ~

abandoned scarecrow

a cow nibbles on its straw

magpies caw in scorn

~ 5 ~

dressed in an old shirt

moose stands upright hooves outstretched

goose is not frightened

~ 6 ~

flies ignore scarecrow

orb weaver spins her web

safer to be scared

~ 7 ~

innocent straw man

neither traitor thief nor god

still crucified

__+__

Carpe Diem #299

Carpe Diem's Distillation #2, A poem by Genji, from the wellknown Japanese novel "The Tale of Genji"

After the funeral of Yuugao, Genji is looking at the smoke from the pyre, and recites this poem:
 

mishi hito no
keburi o kumo to
nagamureba
yuube no sora mo
mutsumashiki ka na

The evening sky itself
becomes something to cherish
when I gaze at it,
seeing in one of the clouds
the smoke from her funeral pyre

  

My distillations

\""/

reduced to ashes

the body of one i loved

her soul takes the sky

\""/

at the nexus of

the passions of love and hate

a funeral pyre

\""/

I'm also reminded of this extraordinarily intense scene - the final moments of the first season of Game of Thrones.

from drogo's pyre
she emerges not alone
mother of dragons

\""/

 

Carpe Diem's Distillation #2

Carpe Diem Special #57, Southard's "the cry of a loon"

Inspirational haiku by O. Mabson Southard (1911-2000)

across the still lake
through up curls of morning mist -
the cry of a loon

 ~~~

 ~~~

My attempts

from across the lake

a white form breaks through the mist

now a swan appears

 ~~~

 ~~~

tea party conclave

fog swirls in their hate-filled minds

nattering of loons

 ~~~

 ~~~

in the morning mist

the mournful low of a moose

honking goose answers

 ~~~

 ~~~

morning dewdrops form

on the orb weaver's taut web

she waits in silence

 

 ~~~

 ~~~

Carpe Diem Special #57

Carpe Diem #297, Kiku (chrysanthemums)

Hoisted from the archives

bright chrysanthemums

reflecting the sun's orange

last flowers of fall

Carpe Diem #297