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

Carpe Diem goes back to it's roots #1

Hines Drive last October

leaves fall in the north
goose migrates to mexico
moose sheds his antlers

\|/
/|\

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

2nd verse inspired by Maggie Grace

in the japanese tea house
orange leaves swirl on my cup

\|/
/|\

Carpe Diem goes back to it's roots #1

Carpe Diem #296, Susuki (Pampasgrass)

 Pampas Grass (Susuki)

my little green lawn
dreams about the pampas grass
i dream of the stars

~~\|/~~

exotic dancers
swaying on the pampas
 in grass skirts

 ~~\|/~~ 

Carpe Diem #296

Haiku Heights #281 ~~ Garland

Image found HERE

Granddaughters Amanda and Samantha are the 2nd and 4th dancers in this line

island dancer
graced with tropical blossoms
tell me your story

Haiku Heights #281 ~ Garland

Carpe Diem #291, O-Bon Festival (Bon Festival)

Image Source

~ 1 ~

the path i walk

a trail blazed by many

over centuries

~ 2 ~

my lost ancestors
lived hard lives of poverty
may their spirits rest

~ 3 ~

not just japanese ~
my wife places flowers
on her family's graves

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #291

Haiku Heights No 279 - Teacher

school of hard knocks

the most effective teacher

but the price is high

Haiku Heights #279 ~ September Heights Day 06 ~ Teacher

Carpe Diem #290, Tooroo (lantern)

Image Source

~ 1 ~

genealogy
no lantern illuminates
ancestors' dark past

~ 2 ~

bright lantern in hand
i continue my vain search
for an honest man

~ 3 ~

frogs and crickets
have no need for lanterns
they sing in the dark

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #290

Haiku Heights #278 ~ Ballet

A chance to do a little bragging

sugar plum vision
a fairie on tiptoes our
granddaughter on stage

~~::~~

tedious to stretch
but keep those muscles limber
detonate in dance

~~::~~ 

Bonus:
Here is a poem Amanda's middle sister Rebekka wrote 4 years ago
when she was 9

 A GIRL

I know a girl
Who loves to loves to dance.
When she dances,
It's almost like she is floating on air.

I know a girl who loves to swim.
When she swims,
It seems like she's flying under water.

I know a girl who likes to dream big dreams.
When she dreams,
She goes to her own land that will always be hers . . .

This girl is . . .
Smart,
Funny,
Hilarious,
Sweet and,
Fabulous!

No girl in the whole world can ever be even close,
Ever be even similar to her.
 
~ Rebekka

 

Haiku Heights #278

Hawk

This fellow - or someone very similar to him just crashed into the window of my family room, about 4 feet from where I'm sitting.

By the time I got outside, he had flown into the neighbor's tree, then soared over to another tree, evidently OK.

I didn't get a good close-up look.  The one I pictured at the link above is almost certainly an immature Cooper's Hawk.  

I thought it was a haiku moment.
 

always seeking battle
belligerent little hawk
crashes my window

~*~

Carpe Diem #289, Hatsu Arashi (First Storm)

Today's haiku-shaped word cluster is a distillation of the vignette I wrote for Sunday's Wordle.

her hairdo is shot
wet clothes plastered on all wrong
she's still beautiful

Carpe Diem #289

By all means check out the photos at Pirate's Tea House and his magnificent haiku.  H/T to Carol in comments.

3WW CCCXLV

Our words:
Disgust
Pout
Wad

Image Found Here

watch her feign disgust
pretending to pout as she
snaps her wad of gum

3WW CCCXLV

Haiku Heights #277 - Shepard

Image Found Here

with sheer diligence
he protects his gentle flock
till time for slaughter

Haiku Heights #277 ~ September Heights Day 04 ~ Shepherd

Carpe Diem #288, amanogawa (Milky Way)

Image Source

streak of distant stars
skybound world tree reminds us
just how small we are

Carpe Diem #288 

 

100 Word Challenge - Silence

SILENCE

Frost traces a frigid fern on the window pane.  Outside, the snow wafts down, glinting bright in the moonlight, dancing on the occasional air current.

Across the room she lays with her back to me, a barrier as resolute as Hadrian's wall.

Still awake, I can tell from her breathing, as she ignores me.

Outside the snow continue its graceful mocking ballet.

So quiet.

So cold.

[66 words]

100 Word Challenge

Haiku Heights - Silver

 

This is the King 2B Silversonic my father bought for me in 1963.  The bell section is Sterling Silver, with a 24 karat gold wash inside.  For a small horn, it's quite heavy.

MMT reminded me of the first haiku I wrote in this post.  Today's entry is inspired by him and me.

crickets cicadas
play end of summer duet
i add silver notes

Haiku Heights #276

Carpe Diem's Freestyle #3

Today, a haiku/senryu distilled from a poem I wrote several years ago, and posted on my other blog in 2009.   Rereading it today brought tears to my eyes.

~~::~~

The date stamp on the file for this poem is August, 2000, so I suppose that's when I wrote it. It is the narrative of a real incident, just as it happened. My wife and I were driving around one day, rather aimlessly, and went into a park. There was a lake, and we took our shoes off, and waded along the shore line. It wasn't crowded, but there were quite a few people there, in the water, and along the beach.

I am not a religious person, but this was a deeply moving event. Here is how it happened.


SAVING TIME

Such a simple thing, to lift a child.
Hands grasp her sides, a second pair of ribs
Beneath plump arms, and swing her high:
Inconsequential weight on angel's wings.

Farther down the beach a gathering:
Mexican Pentecostal Church of God
All clad in white and black, their Sunday best,
With angel voices raised in Spanish hymns.

That little girl, no taller than my knee
Has not yet mastered walking on dry land.
In childish guile she flees her family's eyes
Makes her way to water's edge, and in.

Senor Juan Baptiste strides chest-deep
Into the lake. The others, arms raised high,
Invoke God's power as he grasps behind the neck,
Supports each penitent beneath the waves.

When no one else was looking at this girl
I saw her falter, fall, then float face down.
Two splashing steps, hands on her ribs,
I raise her out and draw her to my chest.

We could have driven past this lake today,
Or lazed another minute on the shore,
Or turned our wading walk the other way,
Instead, I found myself above this child.

Juan Baptiste mouths a Spanish prayer,
Lifts his new-found brother from the lake,
As I lift and hold this child close to me,
Saved, as by the very hand of God.

~~::~~

what strange twist of fate
brought me to the lake that day
to save a small child

~~::~~

Carpe Diem's Freestyle #3

Carpe Diem Special #55, O. Mabson Southard's "chanting, the pond's frogs ..."

Inspirational haiku

Chanting, the pond's frogs ...
among the lilies' dark pads -
the twinkle of stars

brown spotted toad  - denizen of my yard

~ 1 ~

Here is a 5-7-5 I wrote for this little guy three years ago

this Amphibian
moved from grass to patio
saved from lawn-mower's bite

~ 2 ~

after the rain storm
thunder fades and croaking starts
the music of frogs

~ 3 ~

dead amphibian
padded under starry skies
tell me why he croaked

~~::~~

Carpe Diem Special #55 

 

Carpe Diem's Imagination #6, Pablo Picasso's "The Seated Man".

The Seated Man - Picasso

Off on wild tangents I go

~ 1 ~

on the iron throne
the psychopathic child king
speaks cruel justice*

~ 2 ~

from his wheel chair
the ancient artist captures
a moment of fate 

~ 3 ~

forlorn last wish
robert gleason junior
selects his own doom**

~ 4 ~

guitar on his knee
the master thrills us with notes
from his homeland

~~::~~ 

*   King Joffrey (Lannister) Baratheon, in case you were wondering.

**  As of this date, Gleason, a compulsive murderer even while in prison, was the most recent criminal to be executed by the electric chair, which he chose over lethal injection.

~~::~~

Carpe Diem's Imagination #6

 

Carpe Diem #287, Shinryoo (new coolness)

~ 1 ~

how we long for nights
without air conditioning
those breezy windows

~ 2 ~

passing on the street
he sees his new ex-girl friend
ice on her shoulders
 
~ 3 ~

never quite with it
following last year's fashion
chasing the new cool

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #287

Sunday Whirl - Wordle 124

My twisted brain wanted very much to make something obscene from this week's words.  But I reined in the beast and came up with this, instead.

~~::~~

We were close to her place when the storm hit.  But the rain fell so fast and hard that her flyaway hair was quickly plastered wet onto the sides of her head. In the gathering dark, her feathery locks were transformed into an oiled-looking mat.

We heard shouts from the other surprised pedestrians when sparks flew from a nearby transformer, and the gathering darkness suddenly deepened into inky gloom.

Finally, on her porch, she groped in her purse for the key, then exclaimed, "I've lost the key hole - oh, here it is."

When we were inside, she lit a few candles.  I watched the scarlet flames flicker and sway while she examined herself in a mirror.  Then she turned to me, wet, bedraggled and full of doubt.

"I am a sight," she said.

"No, my dear," I said, sweeping her into my arms, "You are a vision."

~~::~~

wordle 124

Carpe Diem #286, Risshuu (coming of autumn)

My Hero

~ 1 ~

the mournful music
of cicadas playing taps
at summer's demise

~ 2 ~

among autumn leaves
old man takes time to ponder
his loss of color

~ 3 ~

in mating season
proud moose displays his antlers
goose escapes southward

~ 4 ~

in mating season
male spider is on the prowl
hopes to not get snared

~ 5 ~

yes mating season
for both moose and spider
falls in autumn

~~::~~

Carpe Diem #286