Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Carpe Diem #437, Desire



Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a wonderful season spring is ... as I look around me I can see nature come to life again and that makes me really happy. All winter we desired the coming of spring and now ... spring is here in full bloom and in all its kinds of green ... awesome.

Today our modern kigo is desire and I think that I speak for us all that desire brings happiness and romance ... desire ... the portal to love ... and new life.

Cover of Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku"

In Jane Reichhold's "A Dictionary of Haiku", on which the prompts of this month are based, desire is in the part about "spring moods", but the haiku/senryu she uses in that part are not all about nature or spring. Desire ... a mood not strange, to nobody I think. We all desire something. The example which I have chosen to use is a wonderful one, but with a sad undertone, but in the deeper layer lays 'desire' ...

kids laughing
in the neighbor's house
the childless couple


A very strong verse in which 'desire' hides in the last line "the childless couple". Before I got to know my wife I had of course desire too for kids, but I was a loner and hadn't met the right one. So I desired children, but a relation wasn't there, so one I thought "I will never have kids", but than I met my wife and she had already two kids (they were 12 and 9 on that moment) and my desire for kids became true. After we were married we got two wonderful kids together and so I had four kids then.
As I look at the situation now ... well I am blessed, I have four wonderful kids and seven grandchildren. No more desire for kids, because I have them now. Almost 25 years ago I wouldn't have dreamed that I would become a dad and a granddad. 

cold winter night
dreaming about the coming of spring -
cherry trees blooming

(c) Chèvrefeuille



longing for spring
snowdrops reaching for the sun
above the snow

(c) Chèvrefeuille

snowdrops above the snow

I hope you did like this episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... and that it inspires you to compose haiku about desire. This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 5th 11.59 AM (CET). Have fun, be inspired and share. I will (try to) post our next episode later on today, that will be our first CD Special with the featured haiku-poet of this month Soen Nakagawa.


7 comments:

  1. cats in love
    I, too, bat
    your ear

    What a great month of prompts you have lined up Kristjaan! Congratulations on the recent addition to your family! Best wishes to you all.

    Haven’t been around on the Carpe Diem pages for a while now, but when I saw this I thought of you all. The Haiku Foundation (www.thehaikufoundation.org) are running a participatory renku (linked haiku poem) for the next few months. There are some famous names contributing - Alan Summers (published writer and haiku teacher), Polona Oblak (she’s just amazing), and Lorin Ford (editor of A Hundred Gourds haiku magazine). There’s some good guidance coming out and everyone has a chance to get their verse selected. They are 5 verses into the renku already, but I think the whole thing is going for 20 or 36 verses so there’s still loads of time to join in. Have a go, it's all about learning and having fun!

    Just sharing the love. Happy Spring!!
    Joe

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  2. The month of April made me think of the Haiku a day challenge I had taken part in for some years. I have been neglecting haiku for some time and popped over to see what was happening here. So I have been inspired by a new desire:)
    Congratulations on your new grandson. You certainly put a lot of work into this site.

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  3. What an absolutely amazing haiku your second one is, visualy, and by implication, with the text. Quite mind-blowing.

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  4. The second Haiku is hopeful and visually inspiring.
    Congratulations again on the newest addition to your family.

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  5. I like the word play with snow and snowdrops , in contrasting actions

    Much love...

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  6. Sorry for not writing any one yesterday... Your haiku are splendid this month.

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