Tan Renga Wednesday on Friday: Last Leaf

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a last leaf

swirls on the wind towards the east -

first snow falls gently

the falling snow is pleasant

the icy roads are not so

~Chèvrefeuille & cie~

notes

The Hokku stanza was written by Chevrefeuille. The Ageku was created by me. I do like the snow, but I hate driving on icy roads. I've had a couple incidents when doing so which left me with a bit of PTSD. I tend to tense up when I have to drive on icy roads, which makes doing so a bad idea.

I will try to catch up with the poems over the next few days. I was working on a short story for blog.reedsy.com. If you are looking for a short story contest with no entry fee, they have a weekly contest here. Go to the apps section of the page and choose "story prompt."

Also, if you're looking for help with editing or publishing your book, you can look at what Reedsy has to offer here. Using that link will get you $25 credit on any of Reedsy's services.

I believe I may have had another TIA. There always tends to be a cognitive shift when one of these happens. It's hard to explain. It isn't as if I'm having short term memory issues (well, no worse than I ever did). It's simply that the WAY I think changes. At this point, I find myself needing to be a little more measured in my output. I get tired very easily. It's frustrating because although I've never been a Type A personality by any means, I've always been very productive.

I know that I'm vulnerable to vascular problems because of my diabetes. Well, I'm perfectly happy to keep my blood sugars in check, which I can do if I have, you know, ADEQUATE INSULIN! Which my health care provider and Medicaid seem to be conspiring not to provide me. Going without insulin for weeks at a time is, I don't know, a bad thing when you're diabetic. 

The elite devils in charge of things don't care about that, though. They want the poor and the handicapped dead. Of course, then they won't have anyone to do the menial jobs that they revile, but I wouldn't give them too much credit for being smart.

Yeah, I said "handicapped" instead of the more politically correct "disabled." I honestly don't see what the difference is. I can apply both to my own condition, and I don't find either one offensive. Sometimes people become so busy picking nits that they forget to work on the issues that really matter.

Carpe Diem New Beginnings: First Snow

Image by JL G from Pixabay

the first snow crept in

one windy October night

teeth biting through bone

~cie~

Carpe Diem #1791: Bare Branches

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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 #1784: Rain at the Crossroads

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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 #5: White Crane

how I wish to call

a white crane from Fukei,

but for this cold rain.

the crane wisely remains home

safely out of the downpour

Kikaku & Cie

Notes:

The Hokku stanza of this Renga was composed by Takarai Kikaku (1661 - 1707) who was an accomplished disciple of Matsuo Basho. The Ageku stanza was composed by me on behalf of the crane who said: "I ain't goin' out in that downpour, Beeyotch!" Or something like that. 

Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, October 23rd 2019, autumn beach

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chilly autumn wind

causes water on the lake

to shiver to shore

~Cie~

Carpe Diem #1760: Tan Renga: Butterfly

Butterfly on Honeysuckle

on the Honeysuckle

the fragile wings of a butterfly

a fluttering sound

it's become too cold for you

your children emerge in spring

~Chèvrefeuille & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku stanza was created by Chèvrefeuille. The Ageku stanza was created by me.

Carpe Diem Summer Challenge + The Tuesday Platform: Midsummer Rain

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

A prairie rainstorm

In the middle of summer

Slow and lumbering

Meanders across the land

Shrouded in dark cloud cover

~Cie~

This poem is part of the Grover series, honoring the first place I've ever felt like I could call home since childhood. I don't feel like a temporary tenant when I'm there, I feel like this is where I live.

Please visit me, Ghost Town Grover, and Cactus Clem at the Good Stuff From Grover website!

Visit the Artist

Visit the Artist

This poem has earned the Cactus Clem Seal of Approval!

Cactus Clem sez: "I shore do like when it rains! As a Cactus Man or may be a Man Cactus, I am always thirsty!"

Prairie Rain: A Quatrain

Prairie Rain copyright Min Ma

I like the weather

On the prairie better

Rainstorms drop in 

And make things wetter

~Cie~

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #92: The Sun's Rays

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The sun's rays shrouded

Behind gathering storm clouds

Welcome summer rain

~Cie~

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 16: Heat Waves

Heat Waves

heat waves

bringing to the desert

an ocean view

heat waves

like the sun fell down to earth

scorching the dry soil

bringing to the desert

heat too difficult to bear

if caught unaware

an ocean view

is very far from this place

with the burning ground

~Jane & Cie~

Notes:

The "sleigh" of this Troiku was created by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016). The Three Horses of Hell were summoned by me.

Haikai Challenge #91: Midsummer Rain

Copyright Xenia Tran

On the return drive

From a life-changing journey

Drops became torrent

~Cie~

Prompt Used:

Haikai Poetry Matters

Notes:

Today the final decision was made and my son and his dad agreed to close on the historic Grover Hotel. To follow along with our story in renovating and living in this building in a Northeast Colorado ghost town, visit my Good Stuff From Grover blog. (Also features samplings of my poetry and other good stuff.)

Troiku Challenge 2019: Day 12: White Valley Clouds

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after the rain

breathing deeply

white valley clouds

after the rain

not so much rain as spatters

it's still much too hot

breathing deeply

inhale the worry and fear

future uncertain

white valley clouds

seem to smirk at each other

telling lies of rain

Jane & Cie

Notes:

The "sleigh" of this Troiku was created by Jane Reichhold (1937 - 2016). The Three Horses of the Apocalypse are my doing--or possibly undoing.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #89: Extreme Haibun: Is It Too Much to Ask For Rain?

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“Is it too much to ask for it to rain?” I ask as I spend another summer steeped in sweat.

Yet I remember the year when the flood came, another year when I often asked: “is it too much to ask for it to rain?”

I remember the wave slamming into the side of my car, the terror as I wondered if I would be swept away into a field which had become a choppy lake.

I did not ask for it to rain for a long time after that.

when something well-loved

becomes a thing of terror

everything changes

~Cie~

Image from the Longmont Times-Call

Notes:

For those who are prone to questioning my veracity, the story related above is 100% true and I had PTSD following the incident. One of the ways in which this affected me is making me unable to write for a long time. People lost their lives during this flood, and I didn't know why I wasn't one of them. I've never done anything which I believe makes me worthy of continued survival, and yet, like toenail fungus, I persist in hanging around long past my sell-by date.

Tan Renga Challenge 2019: Day 18: Lightning Flash

Lightning flash above Athens, Greece

lightning flash–

what I thought were faces

are plumes of pampas grass

what is real, I ask myself

you or I or anything?

~Basho & Cie~

Notes:

The Hokku stanza of this Tan Renga was written by Matsuo Basho (1644 - 1694). The Akegu stanza was created by me.

Tan Renga Challenge 2019: Day 16: White Crane

White Crane (Japanese Woodblock Print)

How I wish to call

A white crane from Fukei,

But for this cold rain.

I am happy when it rains

That is when I feel at home

Kikaku & Cie

Notes:

The Hokku stanza was written by Kikaku, an apprentice and close friend of Basho. He created this work as a gift when Basho was ailing.

The Akegu stanza was created by me.