Tag: Carpe Diem

Renga with Basho #7

It’s time for another Renga with Basho. For this challenge the haiku offered by Chevrefeuille, our Carpe Diem host, are translations by Robert Hass. The bold three-line stanzas are by Basho, renowned  Japanese poet (1644-1694), and the italicized two-line stanzas are mine.

:

by the old temple

peach blossoms;

a man treading rice

.

golden manna from the storehouse

each grain a nourishing pearl

.

all the day long

yet not long enough for the skylark

singing, singing

.

old farmers toil and hum

whispering paddies rustle

.

the shallows

a crane’s thighs splashed

in cool waves

.

an evening in the rice fields

quiet moments bathed in peace

.

the dragonfly

can’t quite land

on that blade of grass

.

we shall spread a blanket

under the shady willow 

.

I’m a wanderer

so let that be my name

the first winter rain

.

when peach leaves are falling

my staff will be by my side

:

Thank you to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai for this challenge.  As mentioned above, the bolded stanzas are by Matsuo Basho, as translated by Robert Hass, and the two-line italicized stanzas were written by me.

‘..and the way of it is long’

:

What is this life I am spinning?

I emerge from meditations on what I thought I wanted..ambitions, thwarted passions, wrung-out dreams.

My eyes slowly open…

maze of confusions—

a circuitous journey

leading home

:

©️2018 Ontheland

Carpe Diem’s Weekend Meditation #48 features the following poem written and translated into English by Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet (1861-1941). This English version of the poem was first published in 1912 as part of his collection ‘Gitanjali: Song Offerings’.

Renga with Basho

In this special edition of Carpe Diem’s Renga with Basho series Chèvrefeuille asks us to commence with a greeting verse (‘hokku’) actually used by Basho to commence a Renga Party. The other verses by Basho were written as stand alone haiku. As usual I have bolded Basho’s haiku (translated by Jane Reichhold) and italicized my two-line responses.

:

autumn coolness

each peeling with our hands

melons and eggplant

:

last embers of summer

lodge under our fingernails

:

swinging bridge

lives are intertwined

in ivy vines

:

the trellis has been transformed

brimming with succulent fruits

:

with young leaves

I would like to wipe away

the tears in your eyes

:

a blur of joy and sadness

ushers in each season

:

blossoms at their peak

the mountain the same as always

at day break

:

a mist of whitening dew

blades of grass sparkle at sunrise

:

a clear night

cooling myself under cherry trees

waves of flowers

:

I peel my eyes to glimpse

a shooting star flash the night sea

:

©️2018 Ontheland (bolded haiku are authored by Basho as translated by Jane Reichhold).

Renga with Basho #6

:

:

The Basho haiku for this Carpe Diem Renga challenge are translated by Robert Hass. The two-line responses in italics are mine. A true exchange of stanzas would be done in real time. This challenge is an opportunity to appreciate the haiku of a master and to practice writing two-line 7 syllable responses (I use the syllable count as a guide but don’t force my responses to comply).

:

cedar umbrellas, off

to Mount Yoshimo for

the cherry blossoms

©️Basho

:

our favourite rite of spring

don’t forget the wine glasses

:

midfield,

attached to nothing,

the skylark singing

©️Basho

:

crescent moon lingering to

enjoy a dawn serenade

:

with every gust of wind,

the butterfly changes its place

on the willow

©️Basho

:

bamboo chimes clack and sway

a lullaby in rustling leaves

:

the dragonfly

can’t quite land

on that blade of grass

©️Basho

:

dewdrops shimmer and scatter

sunbeams bounce in beryl green

:

when the winter chrysanthemums go,

there’s nothing to write about

but radishes

©️Basho

:

pink like mountain hanami

flowers tint my winter dreams

:

©️2018 Ontheland

Hanami is the Japanese custom of blossom viewing.

Pink radishes courtesy of Pixabay.com

fields of strife

Fields of wild strife—

I see purple flower clusters,

fires raging in B.C., Greece, California

unending warfare in faraway places,

my good fortune singed with sorrow.

:

Note: I use ‘strife’ to refer to the purple wildflower, ‘loosestrife’, as well as for the standard meaning: conflict and struggle.

The poem is intended to be a Gogyohka, a modern Japanese five-line poem with fewer requirements than a classical tanka.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #45 Gogyohka