Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Carpe Diem #771 natsu no nami (summer waves)


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As i wrote in one of our earlier posts i am busy with preparing the new kukai and already with the preparations of our third anniversary, next October, i have already the opportunity to tell you that Michael Dylan Welch, a wellknown haiku poet, will be our featured haiku poet for October. I am exited that he will be our featured haiku poet and I am proud that he has already has said 'yes'. So our third anniversary will be awesome. 
Than another announcement for our anniversary month, all our prompts that month will be Japanese Festivals and celebrations ... more to come soon.
Our third kukai will be a real challenge I think, because I have chosen a 'haiku writing technique' as the theme for this 3rd kukai. By the way the judging phase is almost over. If you have participated in our second kukai 'summertime' but you haven't yet judged the entries than please email me your votes. You can find more about kukai, the entries and how the voting goes, above in the menu.

Ok ... back to our prompt, a classical summer kigo, natsu no nami (summer waves) for today. Today our prompt is natsu no nami, summer waves, but what is meant by "summer waves"? Are the waves of summer different from other seasons? Maybe ... in summer there are less storms, but is that the reason? Maybe with summer waves are the waves meant that are seen as the summer heat is high as the air is shimmering? I don't really know. I only could find the kigo as mentioned, but no explanation of it. So I have to guess ...

Credits: Summer waves

I found a nice haiku by Issa in which he could have referred to the summer waves:

kisagata ya nami no ue yuku mushi no koe

Kisa Lagoon--
riding on the waves
insects singing


© Kobayashi Issa

By the way Kisa Lagoon no longer exists, because it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1804.

Another haiku on summer waves (?) also by Issa:


hamamatsu ya semi ni yorube no nami no koe

Hamamatsu beach--
helping out the cicadas
singing waves


© Kobayashi Issa

Well it's not a very clear prompt maybe, but it gives me enough inspiration. This is what I came up with:


shimmering sky
behind a thin veil of heat -
seagulls cry


© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you did like this "mysterious" prompt and that it will inspire you to write/compose an all new haiku or tanka.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 11th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, taki (waterfall), later on. For now ... have fun!


3 comments:

  1. I like that haiku very much because it lifts - it renders us too almost weightless floating, high, in a shimmering sky. Onge again I can draw attention to your precise, exact and simple style Chèvrefeuille.Perhaps English being your 2nd language even helps with this. I rhink it is clear the complexities should not be on paper, but rather in the minds. I don't even think there should be beauty in a haiku. Basho shows what he thinks about the relativity of beauty in his rose in the hedge haiku:

    pretty rose
    in the hedge
    my horse eats it!

    Beauty is relative. Appreciation in shown in different ways. Here is another translation of the same haiku.

    Along the roadside
    blossoming wild roses
    in my horse's mouth

    Again, a contemplative landscape trampled by a hungry horse, according to Aarene Storms. Although I am not a fan of exclamation marks, one at the end of this haiku would work well.

    So how does Basho's haiku compare with Kristjaan's seagull? I know ways, do you!? Think of some..

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  2. https://toweararainbow.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/childhood-revisited/

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  3. Michael Dylan Welsh. Wow, Chev! That's pretty awesome. I look forward to reading what he has to share with this group.

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