Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #56 Crossroads

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday October 28th at 7:00 PM (CET) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a week I have had, but I am so glad that the weekend is coming, because it gives me the possibility to find my peace again. Thank you all for your warmhearted words.

This weekend I love to challenge you to create a "fusion" haiku from two given haiku. So this weekend meditation it's a Crossroads episode. Maybe you know that at the FB-page "The Haiku Pond Academy" has a contest to create a "fusion" haiku and it's still open for submissions.

Okay ... back to our weekend meditation ... a Crossroads challenge. For this challenge I have chosen four haiku, so in a way this is a Crossroads "hineri" (with a twist). You can choose your two haiku to use or you may choose all the four haiku to use. I have chosen four haiku, one haiku by Basho, one by Issa, one by Buson and one by Shiki. Tough challenge I think to fuse haiku from two different haiku poets.

Here are the four haiku I have chosen:

a strange flower
for birds and butterflies
the autumn sky 

© Basho

the pheasant cries
as if it just noticed
the mountain

© Issa

Pheasant

the winter river;
down it come floating
flowers offered to Buddha 

© Buson

just outside the gate 
the road slopes downward 
winter trees 

© Shiki

A wonderful series of beauties I would say. This will be a real challenge, because of the fact that I have given you four haiku by four different haiku poets. But ... for sure I think you can do this.

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday October 28th at 7:00 PM (CET). Have fun ... and have an awesome weekend.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #54 Crossroads Crystal Brook (troiku)

!! Open for your submissions next Sunday October 14th at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's weekend again, so it's time for a new weekend meditation and this weekend I have chosen to give you an all new episode of our special feature "Carpe Diem Crossroads". Let me explain the goal of crossroads here again.

You all know (I think) what a crossroad is it's a point where two (or more) roads are crossing each other. A crossroad is also a place (as several religions and philosophies are saying) were the gods are resting and were pilgrims can rest, meditate and contemplate which road they will or have to take.
I think you all have been there at least once in your lifetime. As I look at myself I have been on a crossroad several times. There were moments in my life were I was on a crossroad to make choices. Some of them I regret now, but mostly I have no regrets about my choices. One of those choices was to create CDHK as a kind of place on the Internet were haiku poets could find their inspiration to create haiku.

New Logo CD Crossroads (photo © Chèvrefeuille)

Haiku is still my first love, but during the years of our existence I learned to love and appreciate all kinds of Japanese poetry. And there we find the goal of this new feature "crossroads". In this new feature I love to challenge you to create a new haiku (ONLY haiku) inspired on two or more poems. That can be two haiku or one haiku and one tanka. Or one haiku and e.g. a sedoka. You have to create your new haiku (Only haiku) from the given poems. Sometimes I will give you a "normal" poem and a haiku (or tanka) to use for your inspiration to create haiku (ONLY haiku).

Imagine you are on a crossroad were two haiku come together. The haiku "have a conversation" and "decide" to become one. Together they create a symbiosis of a new haiku.
It will not be an easy task, but I think it will be fun.

Yozakura (1640-1716)

Here are the two haiku, by Yozakura, the Unknown Haiku Poet, you have to use. Create a "fuse" of both, you can use the words from the both haiku, but if you are inspired to create a new haiku with new words ... feel free:

crystal brook
reflects the willow trees
birds sing their song

sweet perfume

memories of a loved one

Jasmine blossom

© Yozakura

Well ... I hope you understand the goal of this new feature. Try it ... be on that crossroad ... be silent and listen to what the gods and pilgrims have left there.

For this weekend meditation I love to make this challenge a little bit more difficult. You have to create a Troiku (more above in the menu) with the "fusion" haiku you have created from the both haiku by Yozakura. A nice task for this weekend I think ... so have a wonderful weekend full of inspiration, but don't forget there is also need for time to relax (smiles).

This weekend meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday October 14th at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until October 21st at noon (CEST). Have a nice weekend!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #13 chilly coolness

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our CDHK feature "Crossroads", the feature in which I challenge you to create a so called "fusion"-haiku from two haiku and to create a Troiku with your "fusion"-haiku. More on Troiku you can find above in the menu.

For this episode I have returned to the beautiful haiku by (my sensei) Matsuo Basho. I have chosen two nice haiku created by him to work with. I have taken these two haiku from Jane Reichhold's "Basho, the complete haiku".

feet on the wall (image found on Pinterest)

Here are your two haiku to work with:

chilly coolness
my feet on the wall
for a midday nap

the color of wind
planted artlessly
in a garden of reeds

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

A nice challenge I think.

This "crossroads" episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until July 18th at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #12 young birds are raised

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As you all can see I have changed the logo of this Crossroads feature. The original image I used was by a photographer Martin Liebermann and he has asked me to remove the image from Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Of course I am sad that I had to change the logo of our Crossroads feature, but I understand the question by mr. Liebermann. I will search for another image to use as a logo for Crossroads, but for now I have changed it to the above shown logo.

For this episode of Carpe Diem Crossroads I have another nice set of haiku for you to work with, but let me explain the task again for Crossroads. The task is to create a so called "fusion"-haiku from the given haiku. With that task you create a symbiosis bewteen the two haiku. Every set of haiku used here in Crossroads are always by the same haiku poet, because I don't think it's possible to create a "fusion"-haiku from two haiku by two different haiku poets.

This episode I have chosen two haiku written by Ryokan (1758-1831). Let me tell you a little bit about him:

Ryokan was born in 1758, the first son in a noble family in Izumozaki in the Echigo District. He entered the priesthood at the age of 18 and was given the Buddhist name "Ryokan" when he was 22 years old. He kept searching for the ultimate truths through his life. Leaning the Chinese classics and poetry at Entsu Temple of the Soto Sect in Tamashima in the Bichu District, he practiced hard asceticism under Priest Kokusen for 20 years. After this, he traveled all over the country on foot and returned to his home village just before the age of 40. He lived at the Gogoan hut in Kokujyo Temple on Mt. Kugami, and then moved down to a thatched hut in Otoko Shrine at the foot of the Mountain. It is said that he enjoyed writing traditional Japanese poetry, Chinese poetry and calligraphy all through his simple, carefree and unselfish life.

Ryokan (painting by Yasuda Yukihiko)

He was also called "Temari-Shonin (The Priest who Plays with a Temari ball)" and was much loved by children, since he often played with a Temari ball (Japanese cotton-wound ball), Ohajiki (small glass counters for playing games) together with children in the mountain village. Much of his poetry and letters which still remain, all of which are full of his sympathy and affection for children, describe his joyful times with children and also reveal his high personal qualities as a man who devoted his life to meditation. Ryokan was a Zen priest, but he never established his own temple, and lived by alms. Instead of preaching, he enjoyed companionship and conversation with many ordinary people. In 1831, he ended his 74-year life as an honest priest respected and loved by all he knew.

Here are the two haiku to work with and create your "fusion"-haiku:

river in winter 
soaring over peaks
an eagle spots its prey

hedge branches 
young birds are raised 
morning snow 

© Ryokan

Eagle

Two nice haiku, but it will not be an easy task to create a "fusion"-haiku with it I think. Of course I have given it a try myself and this is what I came up with:

first snow falls
old birds nest covered with a blanket
the eagle without vision

© Chèvrefeuille

Awesome to wotrk with these two haiku, but for sure it wasn't easy. Now it is up to you my dear Haijin ...

This Crossroads episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 30th at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #11 "a winter's love"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

A few minutes ago I realised that I hadn't published a new "crossroads" episode so I will create one for you right now. I was busy to write a new episode of "Heeding Haiku With ..." for Mindlovemisery's Menagerie about haiku as a "love poem". So Ithought 'I am going to challenge you all with a new "crossroads" episode about LOVE. I ran through the archives of CDHK and ran into a nice set of "love-haiku" written by myself.

I will give you the two "love-haiku" immediately after this: I think (and you all know that) haiku can also be used as a "love poem" like tanka.

torn apart clothes
thrown against a beach pole
a winter's love

bare footed
wandering about the nude beach
in heart of winter

© Chèvrefeuille

love poem (image found on Pinterest)

Well ... I think you all know what the goal is of "crossroads"? You have to create a so called "fusion-haiku", create a new haiku based on the two given haiku.

This "crossroads" episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 12th at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #10 Jane Reichhold's "rainbows of high tide"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

As I look back into the not so long ago past of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai than I see how much joy you all have in creating haiku, tanka and other Japanese poetry forms, but I was really surprised to see all your responses on Carpe Diem's Crossroads, our special feature in which you have to create a so called "fusion"-haiku from two given haiku.

This episode of Crossroads I love to challenge you to create a "fusion"-haiku from two haiku by our beloved Jane Reichhold (1937-2016). She was one of our co-hosts and she is still missed dearly. So let's say this Crossroads episode is a small tribute to Jane Reichhold.

Spiritual Rainbow (Sacred Geometry) (image found on Pinterest)

I have chosen two beautiful haiku from her online dictionary of haiku:

coming to sea cliffs
the off-shore breeze raises
a flower fragrance

out of a wave
rainbows of high tide
arching wind

© Jane Reichhold

Two beauties I think to work with ... it is up to you now ...

This Crossroads episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 27th at noon (CEST) ... have fun!

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #33 Troiku ... Two White Butterflies

!!! Open for submissions next Sunday May 20th at 7:00 PM (CEST) !!!

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

It's almost weekend and that means time for another Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation. This weekend I love to challenge you in a special way. As you all know I am the inventor of the Troiku (more on Troiku above in the menu) and I know that you all like to create Troiku. This weekend meditation you have to create a Troiku, but in another way than usually. A while ago I started Carpe Diem Crossroads, the "fusion"-haiku challenge, also a great new feature and I know you all like that feature too.

fusion

So for this weekend I will give you two haiku, as in Crossroads. You have to create a "fusion"-haiku from those two haiku and than create a Troiku with your "fusion"-haiku. A nice challenge I think fortunally you have the whole weekend to create it.

Here are the two haiku to make your "fusion"-haiku from, both haiku are by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694):

temple bells die out
the fragrant blossoms remain
a perfect evening

will we meet again
here at your flowering grave -
two white butterflies

© Basho

This weekend I challenge you to create a "fusion"-haiku with these two haiku and than create a Troiku from your "fusion"-haiku. A nice challenge for this weekend meditation I think and I am looking forward to all of your beautiful submissions.

This weekend-meditation is open for your submissions next Sunday May 20th at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until May 27th at noon (CEST). Have fun ... and I hope you all will have a wonderful weekend ... enjoy it to the max!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #9 Ozaki Hosai's "on the field"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy to bring you a new episode of our "fusion" feature Crossroads. This week I have chosen two nice haiku created by one of the classic haiku poets. For this episode I have chosen two haiku created by Ozaki Hosai. He was one of the haiku poets that embraced the free-haiku movement, like for example Santako Taneda. Ozaki Hosai wrote his haiku only as one-line verses, as is one of the classic ways of writing haiku. The both haiku I have chosen I have "re-done" into the more Western way of three lines.

Ozaki Hōsai (1885 - 1926) was the haigo (haikai pen name) of Ozaki Hideo, a Japanese poet of the late Meiji and Taishō periods of Japan. An alcoholic, Ozaki witnessed the birth of the modern free verse haiku movement. His verses are permeated with loneliness, most likely a result of the isolation, poverty and poor health of his final years.

Ozaki Hosai

Ozaki Hosai has written nice haiku in my opinion, but I think you, my dear haijin, visitors and travelers, can create a wonderful "fusion" haiku with the following haiku by him:

on the field 

where evening has died out, 

my footsteps

the heart 

that seeks something 

I release to the sea

© Ozaki Hosai (revised by Chèvrefeuille)

footprints at the beach (image found on Shutterstock)

As you all (maybe) know the goal is to create a new haiku (only haiku) from the both given haiku or in other words ... to create a "fusion" haiku. I have given it a try too. 

footprints

left in the sand of time

sound of waves

© Chèvrefeuille

And now it is up to you ...

This episode of Carpe Diem Crossroads is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 20th at noon (CEST). Have fun ... !

Carpe Diem Crossroads #8 The First Snow (Kanajo)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our special CDHK feature "Crossroads" in which I challenge you to create a new (fusion) haiku from two given haiku. This week I have chosen for a not so well known female haiku poet, Hasegawa Kanajo(1887-1969). She was a contemporary of Shiki and her husband was one of the editors of Shiki's magazine Hototogisu.

Hasegawa Kanajo

Let me give you a brief biography of her:

She was born near Nihonbashi, in the center of Tokyo. She entered the Mitsui Family in 1903 to learn about proper housekeeping and the virtues of a good wife, but could not continue due to a heart disease. In 1909 she married her private English teacher, the haiku poet, who later was known as Hasegawa Rsishi (1888 - 1928), who was a member of Hototogisu.

She begun to write haiku herself and on request of Takahama Kyoshi joined a Woman's Haiku Group.
Shortly after the death of her husband in 1928 her home in Shinjuku burned down and she moved outside to Urawa town, Saitama, where she died of lung infection at the age of 81.

And here are the two haiku to work with. I think her haiku have wonderful and beautiful fragility:

the first snow
on the Mt. Fuji and the round
cloud flows from there

the sound of rain
the clouds on right-side are
with the summer moon

© Hasegawa Kanajo(1887-1969)

the first snow on Mount Fuji (woodblock print)

clouds move away
first snow on Mount Fuji
reflects moon light

© Chèvrefeuille

Hm ... not a strong "fusion", but I like this haiku inspired on the both haiku by Kanajo. Now it is up to you.

This "Crossroads" episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 9th at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #7 this autumn sky (Sōgi)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Well ... it wasn't really what I wanted to do today, but I have a third post for you today. It is time again for a new episode of our "crossroads" feature, the feature in which I challenge you to create a so called "fusion-haiku" based on two given haiku. Today I have two haiku for you by a not so renown classical haiku poet Sōgi.

Sōgi (1421–1502), was a Japanese poet. He came from a humble family from the province of Kii or Ōmi, and died in Hakone on September 1, 1502. Sōgi was a Zen monk from the Shokokuji temple in Kyoto and he studied poetry, both waka and renga. In his 30's he became a professional renga poet.

During his travels to almost every corner of Japan, he was welcomed by the most powerful political, military and literary figures of his day. He attracted more disciples than any other poet of his generation. After traveling throughout Japan, he returned to Kyoto where he commanded great respect.

Sōgi

He is best-remembered for his renga, wherein two or more poets collaborate to create a poem, by writing alternate stanzas. In Sōgi's day, such renga were typically 100 verses in length. Arising from the court tradition of waka, renga was cultivated by the warrior class as well as by courtiers, and some of the best renga poets, such as Sōgi, were commoners.

Sōgi is considered the greatest master of renga, his two most famous works being "Three Poets at Minase" (Minase sangin hyakuin, 1488) and "Three Poets at Yuyama" (Yuyama sangin hyakuin, 1491).[3] This outstanding poet left more than 90 works (anthologies, diaries, poetic criticisms and manuals, among others). Before his death, he wrote "Sōgi Alone", which mostly includes his memoirs.

Here are the two haiku to create your "fusion-haiku" with:

ah, for coolness,
it rivals the water's depth -
this autumn sky

© Sōgi

And this one, in a translation by myself:

abandoned house
the garden taken over -
butterfly home

© Sōgi (Tr. Chèvrefeuille)

Woodblock print Orchid and Butterflies (image found on Pinterest)

And here is my "fusion-haiku":

in the autumn sky
vague silhouette of a butterfly
first raindrops fall

© Chèvrefeuille

Have fun!

This episode of "crossroads" is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 29th at noon (CEST). See you ....!

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #6 A Leafless Tree (Soseki Natsume)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our special feature "crossroads" in which I challenge you to create a "fusion" haiku from two haiku given. I love this feature, and I think you all do love it, because I have read wonderful "fusion"-haiku in the episodes before this one.

This week I love to challenge you to create a "fusion" haiku from two haiku written by Soseki Natsume, a haiku poet we have seen here at CDHK in one of our "theme-weeks" back in 2016. Let me first tell you a little bit more about him.

Natsume Sōseki (1867-1916), born Natsume Kinnosuke, was a Japanese novelist of the Meiji period (1868–1912). He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, kanshi, and fairy tales. In Japan, he is often considered the greatest writer in modern Japanese history. He has had a profound effect on almost all important Japanese writers since.

Soseki Natsume

Born as Natsume Kinnosuke in the town of Babashita in the Edo region of Ushigome (present Kikui, Shinjuku), Sōseki began his life as an unwanted child, born to his mother late in her life, forty years old and his father then fifty-three. When he was born, he already had five siblings. Having five children and a toddler had created family insecurity and was in some ways a disgrace to the Natsume family. In 1868, a childless couple, Shiobara Masanosuke and his wife, adopted him until the age of nine, when the couple divorced. He returned to his family and was welcomed by his mother although regarded as a nuisance by his father. His mother died when he was fourteen, and his two eldest brothers died in 1887, intensifying his sense of insecurity.

In 1887, Sōseki met Masaoka Shiki, a friend who would give him encouragement on the path to becoming a writer, which would ultimately be his career. Shiki tutored him in the art of composing haiku. From this point on, he began signing his poems with the name Sōseki, which is a Chinese idiom meaning "stubborn". In 1890, he entered the English Literature department, and quickly mastered the English language. In 1891 he produced a translation into English of the classical work Hōjōki. Sōseki graduated in 1893, and enrolled for some time as a graduate student and part-time teacher at the Tokyo Normal School.

Basho once said: "Go to the pine-tree and learn from it".

I love his work and I remember that in that "theme week" I mentioned I told you about two haiku by him that gave me the idea that he was familiar with the work of Basho. Those two haiku I love to give you here for our "crossroads" episode.

the crow has flown away:
swaying in the evening sun,
a leafless tree.

over the wintry
forest, winds howl in rage
with no leaves to blow.

© Soseki Natsume

Two wonderful haiku that show that Soseki was familiar with Basho's haiku, because you can easily "see" two renown haiku by Basho in this set by Soseki Natsume.

a leafless tree
sways in the autumn wind
no sound is heard

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... what do you think of this "fusion" - haiku? I like this one (how immodest) but has it brought in the idea of fusing the two haiku by Soseki?

This episode of "crossroads" is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 23rd at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #5 scent of plum blossoms

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our "fusion" feature Crossroads. In this feature I challenge you to create a new haiku (only haiku) extracted from two given haiku. It's a kind of "fusion" haiku you are creating in that way. In one of the other episodes of this feature I said that I will use not only haiku, but also tanka and other Japanese poetry forms, but in our for last episode I decided that I only will use haiku in this feature, because in my opinion I think this feature can help you to improve your haiku writing skills.

This week I have chosen the following two haiku, both are written by Matsuo Basho (1644-1694). I think you will know the first haiku, because it has been extracted from his renown haibun "The Small Road Into The Deep North" and the other isn't that known, but in my opinion it's one of his masterpieces.

Plum Blossom (woodblock print) (image found on Pinterest)

Here are the two haiku to work with. Create your "fusion" haiku from these two haiku by Basho:

summer grasses
all that remains
of warriors dreams

scent of plum blossoms
on the misty mountain path
a big rising sun

© Basho (Tr. unknown)

Well ... I think these are wonderful haiku to work with. So ... have fun!

This episode of Crossroads is open for your submissions tonight at 7:00 PM (CEST) and will remain open until April 16th at noon (CEST).

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #4 morning breeze

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Welcome at a new episode of our (very) special feature "crossroads" in which I challenge you fuse two haiku into one haiku. As I have read you all like this feature and you all are becoming better and better in this fusion-haiku crafting.

At first I thought to use different poetry forms from Japan, but I think this feature is specific for haiku, because that's our main goal here at CDHK ... creating haiku. This "crossroads" feature is nice to make, but I think it also helps us all to improve our haiku writing skills.

This week I have chosen two haiku one by a classical haiku poet, Arakida Moritake (1473-1549) and a 'modern' haiku poet, Jane Reichhold (1937-2016). First I will give you the haiku by Moritake. This haiku you all will know I think, it's his most famous haiku:

A fallen blossom
returning to the bough, I thought --
But no, a butterfly.

© Arakida Moritake (Tr. Steven D. Carter)

photo © Chèvrefeuille

And here is the haiku by Jane Reichhold. She is still missed at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. So let this "crossroads" episode be a little tribute too for her.

morning breeze
coming in the window
surf sounds

© Jane Reichhold

A nice set of haiku to work with and create a "fusion"-haiku with it. I have given it a try myself, but it wasn't easy:

the sound of the surf
enters my home through the open window
and a butterfly

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... not a strong "fusion" haiku, but I like it.

This episode of "crossroads" is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 10th at noon (CEST). Have fun!

Carpe Diem's Crossroads #3 Rabbit Ear Iris

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy it is to read your "fused" haiku in response on this feature here at our wonderful Kai. So it seems like you all do like this feature and so here is a new episode of this special CDHK special. This time I love to challenge you to create a haiku (only haiku) through "fusion" of the following two haiku:

rabbit-ear iris
how much it looks like
its image in water

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

And the following haiku, also by, my master, Matsuo Basho:

a silk tree
even through the leaves weary
of starlight

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

And now it is up to you. Try to "fuse" these two haiku into a new haiku (only haiku). Have fun!

This episode of Crossroads is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until April 2nd at noon (CEST).

Carpe Diem Crossroads #2 the summer moon

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I was flabbergasted as I read all of your responses on this new feature "Crossroads" in which I challenge you to create (only) haiku inspired on two or more given haiku (sometimes a "normal" poem, a sedoka or a tanka). A kind of "fusion" haiku so to say. So I think I will try to make this feature a weekly one. So this week I have another nice challenge for you.

This week I have chosen two beauties by two very different haiku poets from the past. The first haiku is by Kobayashi Issa:

a thousand gallons
shower from the eaves...
cherry blossoms

© Issa

Statue of Chiyo-Ni

And here is another one, but this time written by Chiyo-Ni:

it touches the line
of my fishing pole -
this summer moon 

© Chiyo-Ni

Two wonderful haiku to work with I think. I will give it a thought, but that doen't mean that you all have to wait. More about "crossroads" you can find HERE.

This episode of "Crossroads" is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until Monday March 26th at 7:00 PM (CET). Have fun!

Carpe Diem Crossroads #1 Introduction to a new feature and a first try

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

After thinking and re-thinking I have decided to create a new treat for you all. A new feature in which I hope to lift you all to a higher level, to create your masterpiece. I think this new feature will help you to improve your haiku skills. With this new feature I also return to the roots of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai ... haiku. I have called it "crossroads" and I will try to explain what the goal is for this new feature.

Crossroads ... make your choice

You all know (I think) what a crossroad is it's a point where two (or more) roads are crossing each other. A crossroad is also a place (as several religions and philosophies are saying) were the gods are resting and were pilgrims can rest, meditate and contemplate which road they will or have to take.
I think you all have been there at least once in your lifetime. As I look at myself I have been on a crossroad several times. There were moments in my life were I was on a crossroad to make choices. Some of them I regret now, but mostly I have no regrets about my choices. One of those choices was to create CDHK as a kind of place on the Internet were haiku poets could find their inspiration to create haiku.
Haiku is still my first love, but during the years of our existence I learned to love and appreciate all kinds of Japanese poetry. And there we find the goal of this new feature "crossroads". In this new feature I love to challenge you to create a new haiku (ONLY haiku) inspired on two or more poems. That can be two haiku or one haiku and one tanka. Or one haiku and e.g. a sedoka. You have to create your new haiku (Only haiku) from the given poems. Sometimes I will give you a "normal" poem and a haiku (or tanka) to use for your inspiration to create haiku (ONLY haiku).
Imagine you are on a crossroad were two haiku come together. The haiku "have a conversation" and "decide" to become one. Together the create a symbiosis of a new haiku.
It will not be an easy task, but I think it will be fun.

fusion

Here are the two haiku you have to use. Create a "fuse" of both, you can use the words from the both haiku, but if you are inspired to create a new haiku with new words ... feel free.

alone on the beach
only the cries of seaguls -
breathing silence

© Chèvrefeuille

And the other one I have chosen is by my master, Matsuo Basho:

young leaves
I would like to wipe away
tears in your eyes

© Basho

I have tried to "fuse" these two haiku with each other and came to this one:

left alone
tears rolling down his cheeks
painful silence

© Chèvrefeuille

Or maybe this one:

seagulls cry
young lovers melt together
without shame

© Chèvrefeuille

Well ... I hope you understand the goal of this new feature. Try it ... be on that crossroad ... be silent and listen to what the gods and pilgrims have left there.

Decide which road you will take and share your choice, your newly created haiku (ONLY haiku), with us all here at our Haiku Kai. This new feature is now open for your submissions and will remain open until March 19th at noon (CET). I am looking forward to your responses and I hope you do like this new feature "crossroads".