where the hearth was

wattle and daub sparkles in the sunlight crumbling home is where the heart is even where the hearth WAS [but where the mind will always be]

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

apple tree

apple tree succumbs under heavy harvest - blossoms lighter

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

wet - wet - wet

[* before - as "in the face of"]
Ice melts back into rain. The impermanence as well as imperfections of life in all its forms, concerned Taneda Santoka but guided him into acceptance.

getting soaked straw sandals, a hat that leaks a thin coat pretending to be Santoka, while I'm remembering living in a war-torn country almost completely deprived of food and heating. eating weeds in the falling rain my coat leaks dripping wet eating soggy potato peelings rainsoaked beans look at that cloud: the one that is making me so wet it'll blow over soon The weather was a constant source of anxiety, taxing his health and physique. "I beg while the blazing sun is filling my begging bowl my begging bowl filled to the brim with hailstones in the freezing wind"

My translation of some of his snippets, interspersed with some of my own haiku.



Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

the face in the mirror

will the mirror accept their apology? actors often lie - one way to convey to us the characters they play © Girl Friday

Hellebore flowers usually hang down. That means you have to crawl on hands and knees to see their faces. In early spring, I place some shards of old mirrors scattered around the garden so that I don't have to stoop in order to enjoy their flowers.


Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

karumi

plum petal drifts floating in through open window lands in the teacup lands in the teacup precious extra for my guest glimpse of good fortune

quick sketch in ink charcoal reveals soul of girl colour adds substance

outside the grocer's plants beckon more than food - worth a shot

Today's sketch was inspired by an exquisite haibun about a demure Japanese girl, written by Hamish. She was reincarnated outside the Waitrose grocery store and more interested in the flowers around the carpark than the goods indoors.
BTW, I turned the asphalt into green grass and made the plants more colourful than they were. But as an artist, that is my prerogative :-)
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

prunus mume

umeboshi sour plum in red or white wedding day plum petal drifts floating in through open window lands in the teacup lands in the teacup precious extra for my guest glimpse of good fortune

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

4hamish

This post has been moved HERE

shy kiss

the nape of his neck draws me in -- moth to a flame © masajo suzuki

rainy day two gentle heads touching © Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

greens

colours swallowed green the sum of blue and yellow disowns its parents

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

the bee's knees

bee on bended knees in thanks for nature's bounty drinks his fill © Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

in colour

yellow the bridge between green and blue where eco meets depression © Girl Friday

Written for Jen at CarpeDiem

unfinished symphony in cream

the world brilliantly bathed in a shaft of morning sun makes my heart ache to go out and leave my poem to its own devices © Girl Friday

That brilliant sunshine in the original speaks to the poet and not to the poem. No anthropomorphism* in haiku, if I remember correctly. Therefore it is the poet that is desperate to get away from his desk and those lines that won't come, and it is the poem that is abandoned and one might say lonely, although 'left to its own devices' is possibly a more sensible description. *Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behaviour to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem>

floats ahead

taking my poem for a walk in the sunshine it floats ahead birds do the writing for me while my head is on empty © Girl Friday

the world brilliantly bathed in a shaft of morning sun makes my heart ache to go out and leave my poem to its own devices © Girl Friday

Written for Jen at CarpeDiem

winter morning

Winter walk

winter surprises cold sun lights up patch of moss rays tickle my shoes sunshine bounces on a spider's trampoline - fly still stuck disappointment distant patches of snowdrops white bird dirt close up

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

breakfast

.

red sun at cold dawn Earl Grey warms my insides blueberry pancakes faucet splashes cold water on fingertips ready for iPad

 .

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

little things mean a lot

pale light falls on single stalk enough lightness over shallow water pebbles shimmer

.
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

train

train packed with cyclists nothing but bike talk I hide in my book

doubled with pain belt too tight, stomach rumbles - runaway train

.
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

dreamlike

.

strands of wakefulness tear my coloured dream to shreds a wren darts away snow is melting lily shapes emerge from blues hawk circles overhead © Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

wrong way

and right way























and after the fun, below the serious business of translating a haiku and then adding my own version.

inspiration came from : kantooka magatte shimatta magarikado © Fuyuko Tomita which could be translated as: tenth tree trunk turn right damn it street corner

should've gone by car turn left at the traffic light - damn it! © Girl Friday which could be translated as: kurama de shingō o hidari shimatta © Girl Friday

Ah, the vagaries of translation..... I particularly liked the phrase 'shimatta', which could be substituted for the good old Anglo-Saxon word 'shit'. We live and learn. Now for my grown-up take: sadly no trees once I turn the corner what a shame

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

tulips

There's tulips and then there's tulips....

fat jolly burghers: wild tulips morph into crudest of colours flexible stems dance to mystery tunes - gaiety abandoned solidity counts once money takes over beauty discarded evil unfolding within glossier petals deep into May

The story of tulips is a checkered one. Through plundering indiscriminately from their original countries, many of the wild varieties are extinct now and others face near extinction. The breeding programmes grew out of greed once the tulip bulbs reached the stock-markets. Vast sums of money changed hands and deservedly many investors went bankrupt. And that was some centuries ago. Since then greed has struck again while gardeners' tastes changed and the original wild forms became fashionable during the second half of the 20th century. Again areas were cleared out and more types became lost to the world. Nurserymen took advantage of feeble laws and lack of enforcement. Now at last people are coming to their senses, but for many plants it is too little too late.

© Girl Friday


Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

poppies

still today poppies show blood red faces in peaceful fields still today I look out over the field and feel pain two brave hearts their legacy still beats but for how long?

© Girl Friday
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

irreverent

Another side to the veneer of life :-)

always in the way blocking supermarket aisles bleedin ancient crocks needle pierces skin drop of blood trickles down valentine rose walking side by side she crinkles her nose - he breaks wind

© Girl Friday








Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

veneer of life

ancient nails hold worn-out planks together bleeding rust

One of the many statues in our neighbours' garden, well...more of a park.

wind, rain and sand mould years into wisdom and beauty

Wabi Sabi: A kind of beauty that exists in weathered or worn objects that contain deep patterns, patina, character, or qualities of authentic individuality. Once you appreciate such beauty you recognize that nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished.

© Girl Friday


Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

egg yolk moon

Midnight walk back home from a party. Cold night with not much light from the moon. In the beam of our torch [= flashlight] we see ice crystals sparkle on the grass: midwinter's crown jewels for all. My foot feels something squishy. ice flecks glint egg yolk moon hogs the light I tread on a toad

© Girl Friday
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

chrysanthemums

white chrysanthemums gilding the lily with snow - [during] winter rains [during] winter rains gilding the lily with snow - white chrysanthemums

white chrysanthemums gilding the lily with snow winter rains Critique please. Is the word during 'de trop' in this case or does it fulfil a function compatible with classical haiku? And what about the use of the -ing form in this haiku: either as Gerund, Present Participle or as part of the Present Continuous [ are gilding] where 'are' is implied? Does it fulfil the role of the present tense required by the classical haiku? I'd be interested to hear your opinion.

© Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

stars

even in the gutter the water is as deep as the stars are high. a star falls in the water its image shattered by the splash entangled in shadows

© Girl Friday
Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

basho's frog

basho's frog on pond lies dreaming of flowers floating on lily pad

© Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

water lily

clarity of water crowns and drowns the lily nymphaea

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

darkness

.

which side is up when you are down in the dumps like a placid river darkness creeps in a veil covering a face in mourning

© Girl Friday

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

kikôbun for hamish

Let me make you a present of what I see on this walk. I hope I can share my abundance with you. I'll give you a mountain. One mountain? A dozen! On both sides of this view. One layer behind another. And then a lake. A beautiful, glorious lake. The very best quality of lakes: the purest water mirrored with the finest refections. An entire picture gallery of mirror images. One even more sparkling than the next. Now, Nature switches on her spotlights: Sunset pinks and reds directed to the rocky mountain sides. There are still remnants of snow, even in midsummer. So now you have the most excellent facets of beauty all in one landscape. secondhand words what inner life will this produce landscape at a distance ==== Sitting quietly in a lowly hut amongst the empty mountains. Mighty southern winds hurl themselves around as if to swallow in large chunks whatever comes in their path. What stillness, what quietude that leaves space for its wild noises and movements. What immensity leading to the immense sea on the doorstep and how it works upon my senses! This will remain inside my psyche for years to come and place its unnamed influence upon each experience and deed that will come my way, face to face with nature and myself. Imperceptible yet decisive strokes build up the palette painting of my day. prehistoric harmony enriches my solitude unique and unrepeatable

Written for a prompt from Hamish and linked at Haibun Thinking

aspen

poplars shiver: leaves like rippling breeze - pony pricks its ears hedge on stilts popular tree along roadsides quaking in their trunks

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

Sketch of life

the mist of time seals away the chance of love bedridden illness feathered acrobatics bare wisteria branches goldcrest entertains bright trumpet flowers in a musty sickroom rays of hope dashed

My haiku are based on the sentiment in those written by Masaoka Shiki, a modern haiku writer who died at the age of 35 in 1902. He struggled with his health and was bedridden and housebound for most of his life. Hence his sadness at never having been given much of a chance to find love. Looking back on his short life, his later haiku express great sadness, bordering on despair.

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

dreaming

kite circles overhead fingers at wingtips spread wide - nightmare or dream? hawk sails overhead wingtips open like fingers - fieldmouse washes face

Which one works best, and why, I wonder.
Or are they both rubbish.
I know the classic haiku don't have comparisons.
But....




Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

a little dab

a little dab fingers stroke your hair: a little dab'll do ya Brylcreem == “Well, I declare…. that greasy kid stuff" Bristol-Myers

Haiku are "a little dab" of life, of colour, of sentiment and feeling. They may end up more of a senryu than a haiku, as with these that come with a twist of icky sticky ooey gooey surprise.






Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

hot 'n cold

short-lived glory
petal snow falls at my touch
highlight of Spring



=====

hot 'n cold fever flu fingers touch winter snow plenty of fluids

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem

daisies

Creatures are defined as living beings that can move. Daisies may be accused of running out of control underground on their rootstocks, but I don't think that is part of their job-description. Never mind, I love daisies, both the small ones that frequent our lawns or the larger ones from the herbaceous borders, so I'll be happy to conjure up a haiku or two in their honour.

weeding the lawn I spare the daisies- please, don't chain them daisy chains crown the hair of the pretty little girls --- little daisies stretch their necks to catch the sun myriads of tiny mirrors on the pond: flakes of sunlight --- on my knees I crouch over worm casts disturbed by moles string of beads sparkling white essence of daisies --- sunlight aslant gifts shadows two sets for the price of one in the garden patterns of white daisy chains anything else?

Written for a prompt at CarpeDiem