Continuing series for retreat at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai….
XVII.
san antonio
cruise boats glow neon colors
night life’s lights shimmer
piano music jazzes
river walk laughter ripples
photo by lynn
joy of light series
10 Apr 2019 Leave a comment
in haiku series, tanka Tags: boats, colors, jazz, lights, piano, riverwalk
joy of light series
30 Mar 2019 7 Comments
in haiku series, tanka Tags: cat, eyes, glow, hunt, mice, night, pounce
XII.
glow of a cat’s eyes
hunting for unwary mice
stealthy night prowler
tail twitches, whiskers quiver
hunch low, slink silent, then pounce!
No joy in this for the mouse (obviously) but another take on “joy of light” theme at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
standing on the heights
14 Mar 2019 Leave a comment
in senryu, tanka Tags: air, blue, lungs, mountain, summit, Torreys
A few years ago, I climbed Mt. Torreys with my brother who has climbed many of Colorado’s 14ers. (Photo found at all trails)
inhale mountain air
top-of-world experience
scale barren summit
bird’s eye view of blue vista
worth gulping lungs, aching legs
photo by Brian Mehringer
silent (pause) paws
17 Feb 2019 2 Comments
in tanka Tags: coyote, death, howl, prey, rabbit, scent, snow
shadowed rabbit tracks
blue moon illuminates snow
coyote’s eerie howl
keen nose follows scent of prey
end is mercifully swift
Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai invites us to find a haiku from our archives and re-write it. I decided to post a haiku I submitted to a poetry contest last year…and make it a tanka. Death is part of life in our natural world.
veiled tears
06 Feb 2019 Leave a comment
in tanka Tags: Choctaw, justice, mist, poverty, turnpike
Choctaw nation land
low mist filters thru dead trees
ancestor spirits
crying out for true justice
turnpike poverty hidden
taka tanka
31 Jan 2019 3 Comments
in tanka Tags: fence post, grass, hawk, predator, silent
“Taka” is Japanese word for hawk. “Tanka”is Japanese poetry form.
red-tailed predator
eyes alert, talons sharpened,
silent as fence post
waits for slightest rustling
small creature disturbs switch grass
portent
11 Jan 2019 5 Comments
in impressionism, tanka Tags: blackbirds, caw, clouds, hail, storm, thunder, wheat
wild swoop over wheat
blackbirds caw in unison
ominous wing beat
storm clouds darken horizon
thunder rumbles threat of hail
Link to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai featuring “blackbird” kigo.
kazahana
03 Jan 2019 1 Comment
in tanka Tags: artistry, design, snowflake, symmetrical, winter
winter artistry
pointed in six directions
crystalline magic
shaped sharply symmetrical
an original design
celebration of lights
26 Dec 2018 Leave a comment
in haiga, tanka Tags: candles, child, Christmas, evergreen, pine, star, trees
so says Sophocles
01 Dec 2018 6 Comments
in distillation, quote, tanka Tags: free, gift, old, peace, relax
A distillation of passage from Plato’s Republic linked to Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Sophocles was a Greek playwright and here’s a quote from his play “Antigone”:
“Many are the wonders of the world but none is more wonderful than man.” — Sophocles
_______
this gift of old age
when strength of passions relax,
free to be at peace…
but elderly who complain,
were they happier in youth?
- Sophocles bust (public domain)
beauty chillin’
26 Nov 2018 Leave a comment
in tanka Tags: frost, glitters, holiday, prisms, sunshine
frost sparkles on trees,
catches prisms of sunshine
and glitters landscape;
i stare in admiration
of God’s holiday lighting!
exotic postmark
20 Nov 2018 3 Comments
in tanka Tags: blossoms, brave, love, orchid, post office
Carpe Diem Haiku Kai prompt to write of classic kigo, “ran” (orchid).
symmetry blossoms
in small post office lobby
— tropical orchid —
tender, delicate, and brave
sending messages of love
photo by lynn
