NaPoWriMo 2020 Day 6 + April PAD Challenge Day 6 + April PAD Countdown Catch-Up Day 4: Trap

Lying loose and limp without a thought

That anything might do me harm

Between powerful jaws I was helplessly caught

My heart exploded with alarm

Basking in the sunlight's sultry charm

Suddenly with peril I was fraught

By unexpected assault was I disarmed 

Lying loose and limp without a thought

Every caution I'd been taught

Went hazy in the spring day's charm

To my detriment, I'd full forgot

That anything might do me harm

I had no defenses to rearm

A docile, helpless forest tot

My spirit quivered with alarm

Between powerful jaws I was helplessly caught

A simple lesson can be taught

From my fatal fall to harm

My last moments were with terror fraught

My heart exploded with alarm

The sweet spring day has lost its charm

Bones picked clean and left to rot

No elegy or call to arms

For prey animals by predators caught

Lying loose and limp

~cie~

notes

NaPoWriMo: Write a poem from the point of view of one person/animal/thing from Hieronymous Bosch’s famous (and famously bizarre) triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.

April PAD Challenge Day 6: Write a "trap" poem.

April PAD Countdown Catch-Up Day 4: Write an elegy

Poetry Style: Rondeau Redouble

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: White Chrysanthemum

White chrysanthemum

I look holding it straight

no dust at all

nothing can remain unchanged

all will become dust in time

~Basho & cie~

notes

The Hokku was written by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694). The Ageku was created by me.

Carpe Diem Shikoku Island Pilgrimage: Vulture Peak

Vulture Peak

view with reverence

standing strong against the sky

mighty Vulture Peak

~cie~

Carpe Diem Shikoku Island Pilgrimage: Sakura Temple

Sakura Temple, Shikoku Island

Sakura temple

I sang of cherry blossoms

when I was a girl

~cie~

notes

When I was in the fourth grade, we learned about Japan. We sang a little song about Sakura. These days I wonder if the school would have been accused of some sort of disrespect or cultural appropriation. I have trouble understanding how learning about other cultures is a bad thing. Shouldn't we try and understand each other? I guess I'm just too old to be "woke."

Carpe Diem Love Month + Haiku My Heart: Butterflies, my First Love (Senryu)

Image by Schwoaze from Pixabay

lovely butterfly

small girl cries with all her heart

you lie motionless

~cie~

notes

I didn't want to write about romantic love. (Blech.) So I decided to write about one of the two things I loved very much as a child. My first experience with death involved finding a butterfly still on the sidewalk on a cold, rainy day while walking with my father at three years old. I was devastated. 

Fifty-two years have gone by since then. My father is now gone too.

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: Wisteria Beans

Image by M W from Pixabay

wisteria beans

let's make that a theme for haikai

a flower fruit 

© Basho (Tr. Jane Reichhold)

the pods hang down like earrings

admire, but don't ever eat

~cie~

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: Winter Chrysanthemum

Image by Marjon Besteman-Horn from Pixabay

Winter chrysanthemum,

Wearing nothing

but its own light

I wear a sweatshirt for warmth

and think about my garden

~Mizuhara Shūōshi & cie~

notes

The Hokku is © Mizuhara Shūōshi (1892-1981). The Ageku was written by yours truly.

Haikai Challenge #116 + Haiku My Heart: Cold Moon

the cold moon looks down

on a quiet little town

as the year runs out

~Cie~

Notes:

The Haiga and the Haikai Challenge logo were both created using stock images and the free Pixlr online photo editor. If you share the Haiga, please credit me. Please feel free to use the Haikai Challenge logo, no credit necessary.

Heeding Haiku: First Snowfall

Image Source

outside my new home

the first snow begins to fall

melancholy hope

~Cie~

Carpe Diem #1791: Bare Branches

Image Source

bare branches

a painting against the blue sky

leaves under my feet

crunch foretelling coming snow

chill breeze blowing through the air

bare branches like claws

reach into the great unknown

hard winter ahead

too little snow or too much

the wind chills me to my bones

the blue sky turns gray

the snow begins to fall down

blown by the cold wind

I retreat inside the house

the cold tries to reach me there

the leaves are long gone

to the earth or raked away

nothing can linger

things that lose their youthful shine

are hidden away from view

unforgiving sky

tells of foul weather to come

thankful for warning

I plan my week according

to the weather prophecy

chill breeze cuts through me

its cruelty refreshing

brutal honesty

the winter shows no mercy

to anything in its path

~Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku of the first verse was written by Yozakura the Unknown Haiku Poet. The rest can be attributed to me.

Carpe Diem #1790: Sunset Flowers

Image Source

seen for a moment

in the last of the sunlight

sparkling wet flowers

~Cie~

Notes:

Here is the poem by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694) provided for inspiration.

in the twilight rain

these brilliant-hued hibiscus -

a lovely sunset.

Carpe Diem #1789: Winter Trees

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

axe unfolding wood

the lumberjack's hand brings down

winter trees on snow

axe unfolding wood

scent of oils rising from bark

mighty giants fallen

the lumberjack's hand brings down

sturdy wood to build new homes

and for furniture

winter trees on snow

they can serve the people well

if culled thoughtfully

~Cie~

Sustainable forestry practices allow us to live in harmony with nature.

Notes:

This Troiku was created from a fusion Haiku inspired by a pair of Haiku by Yosa Buson (1716 - 1784).

cutting into with the ax,

I was surprised at the scent.

the winter trees.

unfolding at the

hand of the glass polisher:

a camellia!

© Yosa Buson

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday on Friday: The Old Pond

I like this frog. This frog has a "don't fuck with me" look about it. I resonate with this frog.

old pond

a frog jumps in

sound of water

splashes on my face wake me

bringing me back down to earth

~Basho & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku stanza of this poem was penned by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694). The Ageku stanza is all about me.

November PAD Chapbook Challenge 2019: Day 29: Have iPhone, Will Travel

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Have iPhone

Will travel

I've never seen the Northern Lights

I'd like to get them in my sights

To watch their ghostly green glow

As they put on their show

See them dance across the sky

And if I could fly

I'd like to dance into their beams

And leap from stream to stream

Have iPhone, honey

But no money

So I won't be going far

In my beat-up car

But when my beat-up body ceases to run

I'll go and have my fun

I'll ride on the green glow

Who knows how far I'll go?

Dancing in the Northern Lights

I'll become one with the night

~Cie~

Notes:

The November PAD Chapbook Challenge prompt for today was Have (blank.) 

This poem came out of nowhere. I just wrote it down.

Carpe Diem #1778: Moonlight Rail

Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay

flying in moonlight

trains travel the winter night

father sings his tale

~Cie~

Notes:

Today we were asked to revise a Haiku by Masaoka Shiki (14 October 1867 - 19 September 1902). I believe my verse is more an interpretation inspired by Shiki's original poem than a revision. In a time gone by nearly 50 years ago now, my father (31 May 1936 - 28 November 2010) would play his guitar and sing old railway and folk songs. The ninth anniversary of my father's passing is tomorrow and I wrote this poem to honor him.

the wild geese take flight

low along the railroad tracks

in the moonlit night

© Masaoka Shiki

Carpe Diem #1787: Autumn Equinox

Image Source

autumn equinox

blowing dry leaves in the wind

cold wind snaps up warmth

~Cie~

For Jane Reichhold

(1937 - 2016)

Carpe Diem #1786: The Days March On

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

reaching for the sun

lotus flowers blooms from the mud

old pond changes

light comes into the shadows

new life emerging each day

deep silence

even deeper as the nightingale starts to sing

beautiful life

sometimes I feel most alive

at night embraced by darkness

snow falls gently

covers up the autumn fields

faraway sounds

it's too cold to go outside

I remain in with my words

reflections

scattered by autumn leaves

the old pond

I reflect on the year past

one year leads to another

a last leaf

swirls on the wind towards the east -

first snow falls gently

I look outside and wonder

if there are happy people

farewell verse

as I depart from the train station

forget me not

no-one will remember me

I am something best forgot

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku of these Renga were written by Chèvrefeuille. The Ageku can be blamed on me.

Carpe Diem #1784: Rain at the Crossroads

Image Source

soaking wet signpost

I try to read while trudging

through wet pampas grass

soaking wet signpost

water running in my eyes

watercolor rain

I try to read while trudging

always try to do too much

must learn to focus

through wet pampas grass

the signpost just up ahead

slips further away

Santoka Taneda & Cie

Notes:

The assignment today was to take two Haiku by Santoka Taneda (3 December 1882 – 11 October 1940) and turn them into a single Haiku, then turn that Haiku into a Troiku. 

Here are the two original Haiku:

soaking wet

I can’t read the letters

on the signpost

walking through

the bush clover, the pampas grass,

walking on through them

© Santoka Taneda

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday: At Dawn

Image Source

at night my sleeping

is hit or miss, either deep

or light and disturbed

at dawn birds start to sing

praising their Creator ... as always

Chèvrefeuille & Cie

Notes:

The Ageku of this Renga was created by Chèvrefeuille. The Hokku can be blamed on me.

Carpe Diem #1783: Eggplant

Image Source

when the time has come

for planting a new garden

can I grow eggplant?

~Cie~

Visit the Artist

Ghost Town Grover Sez:

"Why the heck do they call it an egg-plant? It's a plant, but it ain't an egg, and it don't grow eggs or lay eggs neither!"

Visit the Artist

Cactus Clem Sez:

"Ornery, maybe y'all oughta put out a nest so's yer eggplant will have a nice place to lay its eggs. Or do ya think maybe we oughta build it a coop like fer chickens?"

Visit Ghost Town Grover, Cactus Clem, and the Ornery Old Lady at the Grover Hotel

Read more of Ornery's poetry