Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Carpe Diem #1040 Angels


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at the first episode of our new Carpe Diem Haiku Kai month "Jane Reichhold's Legacy". This month all the prompts are extracted from Jane's Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku". I have tried to choose modern kigo from all of the five seasons (including New Year). This month we will honor her, the Queen of Haiku and Tanka, without her Carpe Diem Haiku Kai would already have be gone, but through her inspiration, her knowledge, her haiku and her being co-host of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... CDHK is still here ... alive and kicking.

Jane Reichhold died not so long ago, she will be missed. But not forgotten. This month is a tribute to her.

In every episode I will share haiku by Jane (and sometimes tanka) to inspire you and I hope she will inspire you ...

Angel
Today our prompt, the first modern kigo, is Angels and here are two haiku by Jane to inspire you:

in silence
all those no longer here
gather around

silent prayer
lifted up by bells
angels on high

© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

Nice haiku to start this month with I think. She looks at us from Heaven and even through death she will and can inspire us.

a whisper
a warm caressing breeze
guardian angel

© Chèvrefeuille

I am looking forward to this tribute month ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 5th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our nex episode, Pines, later on. For now ... be inspired and share your haiku with us all.


Carpe Diem #1039 Introductory episode for September 2016, Jane Reichhold's Legacy


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

even dead
the cockscomb flowers upright
in perfect order


© Jane Reichhold

It's one of the many beauties written by Jane Reichhold. Jane died, it was by her own choice, in the honorable age of 79. She will be missed by millions of haiku and tanka poets. I sure will miss her, but she will be in my heart forever and I hope to honor her here at CDHK, not only this month, but as long as CDHK will exist.

Jane, a close friend, one of the greatest haiku poets of Modern Times and a co-host at CDHK. This month is for her, a tribute to honor her and remember her. Are you with me?



Yesterday I was reading Jane's Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku" and in the New Year part, under "moods", the kigo: death thoughts got my attention. I wonder ... did Jane foresee her death?

a bird's flight
and then I am gone
and forgotten


death
the sea in me
goes home


meals cooked
and the lives I gave
the right to take mine


when I die
it will be
my ocean


© Jane Reichhold

Jane was suffering from Fibromyalgia she not longer could take the pain and she lost her eye sight for a big part. That depressed her, she couldn't live any longer and decided to end her life by jumping of a cliff into the ocean.

I honestly think Jane foresaw her own death as she was creating her Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku". She will not be forgotten, we will cherish her knowledge, her haiku and tanka. She will be forever part of CDHK.


R.I.P Jane ... we will meet again. This special Carpe Diem Haiku Kai month is for you, you will be missed forever ...

Monday, August 29, 2016

Carpe Diem #1038 snow


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

August is almost over and we have still a few days to go. Maybe you saw that I didn't publish yesterday ... I hadn't time, because I had a very busy day, but for today I hope to inspire you again with a wonderful quote. The quote for today is from "Alice In Wonderland" by Lewis Caroll. And I think it is a nice quote to get your inspiration from.

Lewis Caroll (1832-1898)
I think you all know him, because his "Alice In Wnderland" is a classic I even think that the most of you have read this beautiful story, or have seen the movie.

Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” [...] Lewis Caroll

A nice quote I think.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until September 3rd at noon (CET). By the way I will take a few days off to prepare our new month, to honor Jane Reichhold. So this episode is the last for this month. I hope you will all understand that.


Saturday, August 27, 2016

Carpe Diem #1037 pleasure


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Earlier this month I had a beautiful quote by Lord Byron (1788-1824) and today I love to share another beautiful quote by him. As you maybe have noticed all the last few episode used quotes on nature by very different people, so today's quote is also about nature. I think this quote is in short how we, haiku poets, experience nature. Not man is important, but nature around us is, because we are all part of nature and we have to be careful with nature. I think that's what made me a haiku poet, because I am a steward, a keeper of nature ...

nature
And here is the quote by Lord Byron to inspire you:


[...] "There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more." [...] Lord Byron

Well ... did I say to much? A beautiful quote that fits us, haiku poets, like a glove. Here is my response:

wandering through the woods
no paved paths to walk on
bare footed I feel 

© Chèvrefeuille

Awesome ... I love to go bare footed, I love to feel the earth beneath my feet it makes me feel alive and one with nature. Completely naked I would run through these pathless woods, completely naked I would run along the shore ... listening to the thundering surf, the cry of seagulls ... one with nature ... feel it ... we are part of nature.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until September 1st at noon (CET). Have fun!

Visit also: A Tribute To Jane Reichhold, our new Tumblr.


Friday, August 26, 2016

Carpe Diem #1036 mountain


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month we are exploring the power of words through quotes by known and unknown people. Today I have a nice quote ... a very nice one I would say, because in this quote hides deep inside a strong spiritual message. See for yourself.

Today's quote is by Theodore Roethke (1908-1963), an American poet:

Theodore Roethke
I hadn't heard from this American poet, but he wrote wonderful poems and he was renown in the US. Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. " [...] Theodore Roethke

And this is my response inspired on this beautiful, spiritual layered quote:

climbing a mountain
only the sun and the spring breeze
new vistas

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 31st at noon (CET). Have fun!


Thursday, August 25, 2016

Carpe Diem #1035 the colors of the spirit


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

August is running towards its end and we have read beautiful quotes for our inspiration and today I have another nice one.

Here is your quote to inspire you:

[...] "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." [...] Ralph Waldo Emerson

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 30th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Carpe Diem #1034 let the rain kiss you


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today's quote I have titled "let the rain kiss you" ... here in The Netherlands (the land of rain and water) we have high temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, and the weather forecast thinks we are going to have a heat wave. So this quote gave me some coolness.

Today's quote is by the African-American poet Langston Hughes (1902-1967) a wonderful and gifted poet and author.

Langston Hughes by Carl van Vechten (1936)
This is the quote for your inspiration:


[...] "Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." [...] Langston Hughes

And this is my inspired haiku:

after the summer heat
raindrops are kissing my naked body
Ah! that coolness

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 29th at noon (CET).

!!! I have published our new prompt-list for September, you can find it above in the menu !!!


Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Carpe Diem #1033 the cold night


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new day, a new dawn ... a new inspirational quote to inspire you all. This time I dived into the Spanish history and found a beautiful quote by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, a Spanish dramtist, writer and poet who lived in the Golden Age of Spain. I have to say I didn't know this wonderful poet, but I think he is worth exploring further, maybe for a Carpe Diem Distillation episode.

Pedro Calderon de la Barca was born in 1600 and died in 1681. His quote for your inspiration is very close to us, haiku poets, its a strong one on nature and the mysteries of nature.

Monument for Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681) Madrid
And here is the quote to inspire you today:


[...] "These flowers, which were splendid and sprightly, waking in the dawn of the morning, in the evening will be a pitiful frivolity, sleeping in the cold night's arms." [...] Pedro Calderon de la Barca.

And this is my inspired haiku:

at dawn
colorful flowers open their beauty
the cold night

© Chèvrefeuille

By the way ... if my work allows it, I am on the nightshift, I will publish our new prompt-list for September today. As you already know (I think) September will be a tribute to Jane Reichhold (1937-2016).

PS.: Last Sunday I started a new Tumblr to tribute Jane Reichhold, feel free to visit.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 28th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Monday, August 22, 2016

Carpe Diem #1032 pieces of heaven


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new inspirational quote is ahead of us. A nice one I think and very close to us haiku poets.

[...] "On earth there is no heaven, but there are pieces of it." [...] Jules Renard (1864-1910)

A short episode today because of lack of time.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 27th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Sunday, August 21, 2016

Carpe Diem #1031 live in the present


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome in the present ... fitting the title of todays episode. This month we are looking at "the power of words" through quote of known and unknown people. Today I have a quote by Buddha (563 BC-483 BC).
As you all know (maybe) haiku has a spiritual meaning too. That meaning is based in Buddhism and therefore Buddha cannot be missed in this month of quotes.

Buddha under the Bodhi Tree
Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." [...] Buddha

I think you are all familiar with the story about Buddha. One of His last acts was to find Enlightenment while sitting under a Bodhi Tree. He finally became Enlightened and founded the base for Buddhism.

PS. I am hopelessly behind with commenting so I hope to catch up soon.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 26th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Carpe Diem #1030 path



Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at this belated  episode of our daily haiku meme. It was to busy at work to find a moment to create this blog for you.

This month it's all about the power of words and we are exploring taht power through the quotes of known and unknown people. Today I have a nice quote by our Haiku family member Hamish Managua Gunn, I think you all know him. He has a wonderful Tumblr blog "haiku forest" from which I extracted the quote for today.

Path photo © Hamish Managua Gunn - Haiku Forest
Here is the quote by Hamish Managua Gunn for your inspiration:

[...] "Ah…and then there’s the path, always the path, there, to concentrate on.. " [...] Hamish Managua Gunn

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 25th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Friday, August 19, 2016

Carpe Diem #1029 Felt With The Heart


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A new episode of our daily haiku meme, a short one this time, because of lack of time. As you all know we are busy with the exploring of "the power of words" through quotes by known and unknown people.

Today I have a quote by Hellen Keller (1880-1968), an American author

[...] "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." [...] Hellen Keller

Hellen Keller
This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 24th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Thursday, August 18, 2016

Carpe Diem #1028 sadness


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

In this time in which sadness was part of our haiku community, because of the death of Jane Reichhold, the Queen of haiku and tanka, I have a quote by Khalil Gibran in which sadness is mentioned. Not to make you sad again, but just to point you to the loss of Jane.

[...] "Sadness is but a wall between two gardens." [...] Khalil Gibran

Khalil Gibran says it in a beautiful way how sad it is to see a wall between two gardens? Not sharing the beauty together. And that's really sad. Here at CDHK we try to share beauty with each other and I know you all will try that also for this prompt.


This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 23rd at noon (CET). Be creative and inspired.


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Carpe Diem #1027 movement


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our daily haiku meme Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month its all about "the power of words". I try to inspire you through quotes by known and unknown people. For today I have (how immodest) a quote by myself. Maybe you can remember our discussion on "movement in haiku". I introduced "undou" (movement) to you as a "new" haiku writing technique and from one of those posts I have extracted the following quote:

[...] "Haiku is the poetry of nature and nature is always in motion. Seasons come and go, the moon changes every 28 days and so on, the only thing which is steady and without clear motion is our sun, that big star of our Milky Way around which the planets are rotating." [...] Chèvrefeuille, your host

Here is an example of what I call an "undou" haiku:

old pond
frog jumps in
sound of water


© Basho (1644-1694) (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)


Apple Blossom
And one by myself:

apple blossom falls
scattered by the late spring breeze
apple blossom falls

© Chèvrefeuille
I hope I have inspired you with this quote and I am looking forward to your responses.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 22nd at noon (CET). Have fun!


Carpe Diem #1026 Smile


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Sorry for being late with publishing, but I was busy with other things. We are busy with a month full of quotes by known and unknown people. The theme is "the power of words" and today I have a quote by a very powerful woman, Mother Teresa (1910-1997):

Mother Teresa

And here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." [...] Mother Teresa

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 22nd at noon (CET).

Monday, August 15, 2016

Carpe Diem #1025 beauty


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are halfway this month of beautiful quotes for our inspiration. In all the quotes we can find a little bit of "the power of words". And that "power" we use everyday in our personal lives, but also in our haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry forms. In our haiku we share our thoughts, our memories, our ideas and our love for nature.

Today I have a beautiful quote by Rumi for you. Rumi (1207-1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi's spiritual legacy is appreciated all over the globe for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world's languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the "most popular poet" and the "best selling poet" in the United States.


Rumi
Here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." [...] Rumi

A short one I know, but I think it is possible to create a haiku (or tanka) inspired on this quote. Here is my attempt.

geisha unmasks
Magnolia blossoms fall one by one
beauty evaporates


© Chèvrefeuille

Not as strong as I had hoped, but I think it is a nice haiku.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 20th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Sunday, August 14, 2016

Carpe Diem Special Tribute In Memoriam Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you all know recently Jane Reichhold passed away. She will be missed. I have asked Jen (BlogItorLoseIt) to write a tribute for Jane Reichhold. Jen emailed me yesterday her tribute.

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Jane Reichhold (1937-2016), a tribute

If I could
live my life over
to be the child
who planted ash trees
to grow into temples
  • Jane Reichhold, Scarlet Scissors Fire

When Kristjaan asked if I would write about my bond with Jane, I immediately said I’d be honored. But to tell you the truth, I am woefully inadequate for the task.

For almost a year, Jane and I corresponded by email. It began when I asked her for recommended reading. If I wanted to explore the best tanka written by women, where would I start? A Girl with Tangled Hair (Akiko Yosano) was at the top of her list.

I bought it, devoured it, and thanked her profusely. But … I also made an uncomfortable confession. In taking such risks writing tanka (especially erotic pieces) I had revealed too much of my heart. There was fallout … and sometimes I didn’t want to write anymore.

And Jane (whom I revered even then as “The Queen of Haiku and Tanka”) admitted something astonishing. An especially harsh book review wounded her so deeply that she stopped writing. Completely. For a very long time. When she did write again, she wrote on a child’s erasable slate. She wrote, she erased, she shared with no one.

Jane understood! She had been there!

art is exact
like a woman in love
pencil and error
a blue-lined grid of wants
where death is unnamed
  • Jane, Scarlet Scissors Fire

From that moment on, our correspondence wasn’t mentor to student but woman to woman.

When my personal life began to disintegrate, she sent one of her handcrafted therapy dolls (named “Peanut”) in the hope that it would pull me out of a deepening depression. When an injury kept me housebound and wracked in pain, I was frustrated and furious. She asked me to be gentle with myself … but also said, “You are living my nightmare.” She hinted at health issues and failing eyesight but would not discuss them. For a year she was patient beyond measure … encouraging me to write again … she said people needed to hear my voice.

When a second creative source maneuvered me into silence, she sent her phone number and asked me to call. But ... how … could I call? I was so nervous! 


One day as I was ready to walk out the door a voice said, “Call. NOW.”
So I did.

We talked for about two hours. We laughed … a lot. We shared life stories and found more in common than I ever could have imagined. But she said, “the vortex” was opening under her feet. And she would not elaborate. Instead, she worried about my personal safety (a story for another day). She would not rest until I promised to leave town for a few days … so … I did.

there is a stone
tongue crushed in a room
of tombstone teeth
grapes mature helplessly
gathered after a funeral
  • Jane, Scarlet Scissors Fire

At the end of our call she offered an intense ten minutes of advice … delivered in a soft but urgent voice that could have quieted a stadium.

Find what makes you happy. Don’t let anyone silence you. Speak your truth. Write. Write!

So … sitting in the dark on a beach in Delaware, I pieced together fragments of haiku.

Once home, I went online to email Jane. But of course I was sidetracked by Facebook … and there was a post by Jane! Or … rather … a post from Jane’s friend.

Jane was gone.

Jane, I wish you had saved all those erased haiku. I wish you could see that I’m writing again. I wish that someone could have eased your pain, saved your eyesight, ensured your mobility. All I can offer is a humble “thank you”. You changed everything.

milk sky
the unbearable heaviness
of things unspoken
before the sandpiper
calls to the sea
  • Paloma
**
In addition to Jane’s tanka (above) here are a few haiku from her Dictionary of Haiku, under Summer Moods. Please use them for your inspiration, and don’t be afraid to speak your truth.


lying naked
open to summer stars
this old couple

he's angry again
alone on the porch
with a red star

departing summer
and when it's gone
the river's low

touching myself
your name
on my lips



eating melon
bites given on the point
of his knife

nights
the grove of little trees
swollen with lovers

packing
between unworn shirts
sea sounds

company's coming
over-friendly flies
buzzing at the door

in rain in sun
how do you run from your hours
window box zinnia?


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Thank you Jen for this beautiful tribute for Jane Reichhold, what a wonderful bond you had with her. She surely will be missed by the global haiku world.

You can respond on this tribute through the comment field or link your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form to the linking widget. You can submit your responses until next Sunday August 21st at noon (CET).


Carpe Diem #1024 success


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new day at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. This month its all about "the power of words" and all our prompts are related to a quote by a known or unknown person. Today I have chosen to share a quote by Swami Sivananda Saraswati (1887-1963).

Sivananda Saraswati (or Swami Sivanada) was a Hindu spiritual teacher and a proponent of Yoga and Vedanta. Sivananda was born Kuppuswami in Pattamadai, in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. He studied medicine and served in British Malaya as a physician for several years before taking up monasticism. He lived most of his life near Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh. He was the founder of the Divine Life Society (DLS) in 1936.

Swami Sivananda Saraswati
And here is the quote for your inspiration:

[...] "Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success." [...] Swami Sivananda

This quote fits us as haiku poets. As we look at the smallest things around us, the smallest creatures in nature than that can and will bring you a successful haiku. 

An example by Issa, one of the four greatest haiku poets ever:

giddy grasshopper
take care...do not leap and crush
these pearls of dewdrop

© Issa 

Or this one by my master Matsuo Basho:

how pitiful!
underneath the helmet
a cricket chirping.

© Basho

Look at the tiny things around you and become the creator of a successful haiku (or tanka).

Cricket
Here is my response on this quote, shared from my archives:

deep silence
this lazy summer evening -
song of a cricket

© Chèvrefeuille 

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 19th at noon (CET). Have fun!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Carpe Diem #1023 A Sparrow


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Maybe you can remember that back in our history we had Kala Ramesh as featured haiku poetess for our CD-Specials and today I have a nice quote by her to inspire you. This will be a short episode, but I think it can inspire you.

Here is the quote by Kala Ramesh:

[...] "Last evening I was looking out from my balcony and saw a sparrow perch on a branch. All of a sudden, with a quick jerk, she ruffles her feathers and spreads out her wings – her bodyline on an upward curve, about to take off." [...] Kala Ramesh

Kala Ramesh
This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until August 18th at noon (CET). Have fun!


Carpe Diem Theme Week (6) 7 Jane's last haiku


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

This is the (belated) last episode of our tribute Theme Week for Jane Reichhold. Jane was a very close friend and participated in Carpe Diem on the background. Without her knowledge I couldn't have created Carpe Diem. Without her gratefulness I couldn't have made several of our theme months on, for example, Matsuo Basho. I even think that Carpe Diem had died without her being co-host of it.

On July 28th 2016 Jane decided that she no longer wanted to live ... With her passing away the haiku world has lost one of the greatest haiku poets of modern times. Jane ... Queen of Haiku (and tnaka) will be missed. She will be forever in my heart and through Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I hope to honor her as long as Carpe Diem will exist.

Recently I spook with Werner, her husband, through the mail and he was glad that Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, our loving family of haiku poets, remembered him and that gave him strength. Remember Werner and his family in your prayers. He and Jane were together for over 45 years and they found each other in haiku. Jane Reichhold ... Queen of Haiku

In Loving Memory

Maybe you know that a lot of haiku poets wrote their Jisei and Werner shared Jane's last haiku with me through the mail. This was Jane's last haiku, her Jisei:

with the moon
night too disappears
into the ocean


© Jane Reichhold (1937-2016)

Share your memories and your haiku, tanka or other Japanese poetry form about Jane Reichhold with us all. Please remember Jane in your heart and let her spirit inspire you.

morning dew
evaporates at sunrise
a skylark's song

© Chèvrefeuille

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 18th at noon (CET).

PS. In September we will honor Jane again through daily prompts chosen from her "A Dictionary of Haiku".


Friday, August 12, 2016

Carpe Diem To Be Continued #1 Introduction to a new feature


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's my pleasure to introduce an all new feature at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, "Carpe Diem To Be Continued". It's maybe a "rare" feature, but I think it is also very challenging.
As you maybe know I am not only a haiku poet, but also an author (I have written two novels) and that inspired me to create this new feature.

The goal is, as the name already says, to continue something that was started. In this feature it's all about haibun (prose and poetry) and about continuing the story. How does this work?

I start "To Be Continued" with a haibun and you, my dear Haijin, visitors and travelers, have to continue the haibun, not only the prose, but also the poetry. Your continuation is inspired on the starting haibun. You can write a continuation on the starting haibun or, and that sounds more challenging, you write a continuation on the continuation before you. An example: If Eses has written a continuation on the starting haibun than you have to continue were Ese stopped or you can decide to create an continuation on the starting haibun. It sounds difficult, but I think it's not that difficult.

I hope this new feature will bring you a challenge, but most of all fun. For starters I have a haibun which I wrote back in April 2013, maybe you can remember it.

Isla Benidorm (Spain)


One Hot Summer 


Somewhere in the hot Summer of 1998 it was I  thought, but it easily could be in another hot Summer. I was on a holiday with my family in Benidorm (Spain).

My wife and I were walking along the beach late on an evening. It was still warm and we were very much in love. We walked hand in hand, sometimes stood still to kiss each other. Somewhere along the beach there was a group of palm trees with a nice little bench. We sat down and watch to the sea and Isla de Benidorm. 

It was told that once a giant had broke a piece of the mountains in the back land of Benidorm and had thrown it into the sea. I wonder ...

In the back lands of Benidorm I saw a mountain with a gap that looks very similar with the Isla de Benidorm. In front of my eyes I saw the giant brake of the big piece of the mountain and threw it into the sea. What a sight. That big piece of rock made the sea rise and a Tsunami rolled towards the seashore breaking on the beach. The foam swirled every where.

Puig Compana (Do you see the gap?)

A little smile on my face made my wife laugh. 'What are you thinking of?' she asked. I shook my head. 'Nothing my dear'. I answered. 'Nothing'. Hand in hand we walked back to our apartment and drank a little wine ... afterwards ... well ... it's up to you to fill in this gap. (smiles)


thrown into the sea
a pebble bounces a few times
I feel a giant

© Chèvrefeuille

== here ends the starting haibun. now it is up to you to continue the story ==

This new feature I will close about a month around September 10th 10.00 PM (CET). I am looking forward to your continuations. Have fun!

You can respond from now on.


Carpe Diem #1022 dreams


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

In this month of "the power of words" I have tried to inspire you with beautiful quotes and today I will do that again. For today I have chosen a quote (how immodest) by myself, your host.

This quote I have taken from the Souchou Spring edition. By the way I haven't had time to edit the Summer edition of Souchou, my apologies for that.

Here is the quote for your inspiration:


[...] "I know I am a dreamer … but I belief strongly, that love will conquer all evil … and as Spring is here again than I only can say: Yes love has conquered again!!" [...] Chèvrefeuille



This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until August 17th at noon (CET).

PS.: The last episode of the Theme Week in tribute to Jane Reichhold I will publish tomorrow.