poetry

Snails

Carpe Diem ”Little Creatures” #15, Buson’s ”Mud-Snails.

mud-snails:
a few remain uncaught
under the evening moon   © Yosa Buson

slowly, but slowly
the mud-snail finds its way
after the heavy rains   © Chèvrefeuille

a meandering snail
examines the garden plot
the moon is hiding    © Birgitta Rudenius

Blue moth

Carpe Diem Special #126, Sogi’s ”Butterfly home”.

abandoned house
the garden taken over –
butterfly home © Iio Sogi (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

broken windows
after the bombing – spiders spinning
their cobwebs © Chèvrefeuille

blue moth dance salsa
lilac swaying back and forth
a fly killed by swat

Rice Cakes

Carpe Diem #643, Mirror Rice Cakes (Kagamimochi).

suns of rice cakes
open for a good mornings
a must to eat two

you have to choose
among all kinds of rice cakes
expensive cheese

crossroads coming up
traffic is dense and smelly
a bunch of rice cakes

witty family
jokes about knobby rice cakes
the dog barked

a stony pathway
between ponds of light rice cakes
a grim car passes

rice cakes and coffee
life has the lot to offer
drawings come easy

I love rice cakes
lots of cheese and tomatoes
waving grass stir

Juxtaposition

Carpe Diem Haiku Writing Techniques #1, Juxtaposition.

I often hear that juxtaposition is a key to successful haiku. The contrast of two images in haiku is most often instrumental in creating resonance. © Chèvrefeuille

Robert Spiess, editor of ‘Modern Haiku’, has said the following about juxtaposition in haiku:
[…] “Juxtaposition of entities in haiku cannot be simply the throwing together of just anything; the poet must have the intuition that certain things, albeit of ”opposite” characteristics, nonetheless have a resonance with each other that will evoke a revelation when they are juxtaposed in accordance with the time-tested canons and aesthetics of haiku.” […]

an old man stumbled
while all people moved in hurry
baby girl screamed loud

the running fence
great piece of creative art
Elton still standing

technique in order
juxtaposition is fun
chaos in playground

Ps. Do you know about Christo’s ”Running fence”? And Elton Johns ”Still standing”?

Heart is sacred

Carpe Diem #642, Sacred Rope (Shimekazari).
Kigo is that little Japanese word used by haijin (haiku poets) to fix or identify a season in their poem. There are more than 500 seasonal words that can be used.

remove strangle
rule the rope for freedom
heart is sacred

sacred rope
like upside down horse shoe
rest confidently

I am ready

Carpe Diem #640, First Sun (Hatsuhi) and Carpe Diem #641, Spring Kimono (Harugi).

the beam of light strikes
sun is grabbing the morning
welcome sweet life

in time for life
the spring of offsprings wake
coloring flowers

I bought my ticket
sitting in first row of show
now press the button

I am ready ….

Swinging my life

Skrivpuff: Hålla.

Vaknade med ett HAIKU i huvudet denna dag. Sedan blev det en bild också. Håll i dig nu!

bort ur mitt liv nu
ett endaste litet klick
fri för en ny vår

swinging my life
while hanging on to my ideals
filled with hearts

Ancient orange – Astronomical clock

Carpe Diem’s Time Machine #1, Orange.

ancient orange
life clock for passed and present
tourists flock all time

This is the most frequently visited tourist attraction in Sweden. The astronomical clock in Lund Cathedral. From 1380.

Spring gear

Carpe Diem #639, Last Year (Kozo).

how bad could it be
life is a true challenge
grab the spring gear

Close to the sky

Skrivpuff: Gång.

Tar mig för pannan. Undrar över en massa saker. Sedan försvinner de när jag ska fixera med tangenttryckningar vad jag egentligen funderar över. Känns skönt att både ha huvudet fullt och samtidigt kunna få det tomt.
Är det tidens gång?