Thought Prints

  Carpe Diem Haiku Kai #1360: New Life New Life, Spring Is Here I am writing this even though the time to join the Kai postings has passed.  Need to get back into my writing habits! pushing from the womb new life emerges  amid the pain © petra domina May the world emerge with new life as many nations suffer the pains of growth.

  Carpe Diem Haiku Kai #1845 Troiku Challenge: Summertime   Today's challenge from our host is to create a troiku using his own haiku for the primary source. at the seashore wind of summer through my hair the shortest night © Chèvrefeuille at the seashore clamoring sound of gulls punctuate the air wind of summer through my hair taste of salt on my tongue soothing warmth of the sand the shortest night daybreak comes all too soon gulls at work again © petra domina Follow this link to see other contributions to the troiku challenge. Thanks to Chèvrefeuille for hosting Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday #11 family tombstone Five years ago this very morning my mother died.  I had spent the night with her at the new nursing home we had just moved her to the previous day.  She was not happy.  Due to loss of eyesight in one eye, falling and breaking a wrist in less than 5 weeks she developed delirium.  She was still enough of herself that as we were getting her ready for bed she made one statement.  "I am gonna get up and walk right out of this place by morning."  Around 7 AM I left to get a cup of coffee and stretch my legs.  When I returned her life force was gone.  adding father’s name to the family tombstone with room for my own © Nicholas Virgilio saints gather to greet arrivals she ran to Dad's arms © petra domina

Carpe Diem #1804 New Beginnings ... candlelight instantly flaming candles fill the sky a new year instantly warm lips meet melting the cold flaming candles fill the sky smoke fills the air stars obscured a new year corks pop as flutes clink a sea of people © petra domina To anyone who stops by for a read the following was the challenge for today's work: "Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers, Yes ... another episode of our wonderful Kai, because I was late with our Monday episode, "snowdrops". Today I love to challenge you two times. I love to challenge you to create a "fusion-ku" with two given haiku and to create a Troiku with your new "fusion-ku". I have chosen two haiku by Jane Reichhold extracted from her online Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku", section New Year. Here are the two haiku to work with: a new year rising from wild seas a few stars filling the glass with candlelight champ...

Carpe Diem #1802 New Beginnings ... without beginning Deathpoem by Shinsui (* - 1769) beginning first steps final breath © petra domian

Carpe Diem #1801 New Beginnings ... first cry cold sparrows huddle dream of spring and  building nest hatchling's first cry  © petra domina Chèvrefeuille, our host of the Japanese poetry blog, Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, challenges us with 'first cry'.  Us members of the Kai invite you to join us in learning and writing this wonderful form of poetry.  Click here to visit the blog.

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #112 Transformation ... sketching from life (Shiki's Shasei technique)  WYSIWYG is a computer programming term meaning What You See Is What You Get.  It seems to me that the form of writing Japanese haiku known as Shasei is basically the same thing.  To understand better read the full prompt by clicking here . Our challenge today is to take a haiku written by Shiki in the Shasei technique and make it a tanka. Sketching from life — eggplants are harder to do than pumpkins © Masaoka Shiki (Tr. Burton Watson) orange circle with shaded ribs eggplants, defined by light © petra domina Be sure to join the fun of reading and learning about this wonderful form of Japanese poetry!

Carpe Diem 1795 New Beginnings ... Rainbow What a wonder to my mind is a rainbow.  Imagine for a moment you are the Creator of all things.  You decide to paint the sky as a promise.  You look around and all you have is water, soil, air, a bunch of planets and a star.  A star so bright that it warms the soils and turns the water into a vapor. The vapor rises.  The vapor then gets cooler and begins to form droplets.  Clouds are formed from the droplets.  Now you make the droplets get bigger and become so heavy they begin to fall back to earth.  That star is at just the perfect angle to shine on the falling drops.  Almost by magic the droplets split the light from the star into all the colors of your imagination.  An arced painting appears in the air.  Imagine. wondrous colors spread across the heavens Creator's vow © petra domina © petra domina 2019 Japanese poetry especially the haiku is such a great wa...

Carpe Diem #1794 New Beginnings ... new born In our 1999 Jeep Wrangler Hubby, Janer and I were bouncing along the country lane one early spring day.  Top down, enjoying every bit of nature along the way.  Just on the other side of a barbed wire fence we heard a sound.  The momma cow dropped a new baby. tender grass shoots embracing the new born calf tongue's caress © petra domina One of the most inviting and helpful haiku and Japanese Poetry sites on the web is Chèvrefeuille's Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .  Come join the fun and write a few lines yourself!

Carpe Diem #1793 New Beginnings ... first day of spring Living in Central Texas our winters are very mild.  Sure we have a few days below the freezing point but most days are warm or warmish.  Today on the 6th day of January we stopped for frozen custard. Customers were in their shorts playing corn hole.  It surely felt of spring. custard melts kites filling the blue sky this first day of spring sticky little fingers  point to the swallows above © petra domina Learn about the art of Japanese poetry or just enjoy the work of these participants on   Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .

Carpe Diem #1754 "An Act Of Devotion" ... the pilgrimage ends It was to be the last night before we left for a new pilgrimage.  We would return in two weeks to get his mom to live in a new memory care unit close to our new home.  It was not to follow our humanly plans.  Mom just wanted to go "find Daddy", her name for her husband.  Her son, my husband, had cared for both parents, even retiring early in order to give better care.  His one last act of devotion was to tell his Mom, "It's ok to go on now and go find Daddy."  Her last words were of love.  Then the pain drugs took over her mind.  The next morning as soon as she was moved to the same floor where "Daddy" had passed, she left this world.  We will always believe Daddy had come for her and she had found him. arms of devotion caressing the giver of life last embrace © petra domina

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #104 Photo-shopping Haiku "Camellia" (Yosa Buson) Illustrated version of Basho's "Narrow Road Into The Deep North" with haiga by Buson Here is the haiku to "photo-shop": tama-suri-no zayu ni hiraku tsubaki kana Unfolding at the hand of the glass polisher: a camellia! © Buson (1716-1784) Any one who visited my different blogs may be aware that I worked in and around computer graphics for decades.  Once I retired I took on the project of scanning my mother's many photos.  I began using photoshop to repair the damages to photos.  Missing parts, speckles, mildew damage, etc. were removed, added or repaired.  Thirteen years has seen an improvement in my use of the photoshop tools.  Sometimes nothing more than straighten the photo is all that is needed.  Can I improve or slightly adjust Buson's haiku?  We shall see. Unfolding in the hand of the glass polisher: a camellia! Buson & petra domina ...

Carpe Diem #1753 Trail of Saints, Krakow, Poland A modest nun of the Convent of the Sisters of Our  Lady of Mercy, Helena Kowalska (1905–38) source: https://sacrum.visitmalopolska.pl/-/sw-siostra-faustyna-53 Service, commitment, a smile, a cup of food or water.  Rendered in Love with only thoughts of others' needs.  Too tall a task to be taken by most humans.  There are those who give totally, fully, all of self till self disappears and only the seed of love remains. A seed that will grow with the light if goodness. earthly angels hushed footprints of old nudge pilgrims © petra domina Click here for challenge post.

Carpe Diem #1752 Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht (The Netherlands) Growing up in a Protestant faith, relics were not something I encountered.  In my 70th year while visiting Europe for the first time I finally saw them.  I still did not quite see how bones or a cup could have an influence on a person's faith.  As I read today's challenge post I began remembering the effect of standing by the dining tent used by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.  The. Actual.  Tent.  I was moved to tears.  And there it was, enlightenment, understanding. dem bones saintly remains call to faithful © petra domina Relics in Stift Melk Abbey, Austria.  In the heaven on earth room.  April, 2016

Carpe Diem #1681 Troiku Month (10) moonlit night This is the haiku to work with to build a troiku : the wild geese take flight low along the railroad tracks in the moonlit night © Masaoka Shiki _________________________________ the wild geese take flight above the silver threads lonely whistle blows low along the rails fog churned by massive wheels dusty cinders fall in the moonlit night geese honk of sights yet to see © petra domina

Carpe Diem #1679 Troiku Month (8) spiderweb Today troiku challenge from our host,  Chèvrefeuille,   is the following modern haiku: Spiderweb anchored To a tree, a bush, the ground Centered spiral shines © Calvin Olson (2016) ____________________________ Spiderweb anchored swaying gently in the breeze bee escapes            surprised walker            To a tree, a bush, t he ground             escaping the web                                                               Centered spiral shines                           unnoticed by the gnat                           final du...

Carpe Diem #1678 Troiku Month (7) Unlocked Fence unlocked fence walking towards the countryside finally free © Chèvrefeuille Here is the inspiration photo: Unlocked Fence Fences are a hot topic in my nation these days. The subjects of how high, how long and how much it will cost are in the news almost daily.  There is no mention of gates, only the fence. unlocked fence beckons one to come inside clang of gate    walk across the countryside    miles stretch across horizon    sun drains all but hope       finally free?       the child is taken       from parent's arms             © petra domina          

Carpe Diem #1677 Troiku Month (6) Chasing A Fly I need for you to go read the original challenge post to fully appreciate the genius of Chèvrefeuille.  He has been my inspiration and guide in the way of haiku.  Thanks be to Chèvrefeuille. Challenge haiku: chasing a fly in silent meditation mode eyes fixed © Chèvrefeuille ------------------------------------------------ About 4 decades ago we were sitting in a restaurant with my parents and our young son.  Suddenly our son shouts, "There is a fly in my tea".  Rather than allow him to further disturb the entire restaurant, we all shushed him.  But there was no shushing this young man.  In even a louder voice he yells, "No, really, THERE IS A FLY IN MY TEA."  This time I responded I would get him a new glass of tea.  That calmed him.  If only as a mom I had remained calm and addressed the real problem, a fly in his tea, there would have been no further interruptions. chasing...

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #88 Crossroads ... Sea Cliffs The challen ge from our host,  Chèvrefeuille,  is to fuse the following two haiku into one.  Then create a troiku from the fusion.  Here are the two haiku to use for your "fusion-haiku": coming to sea cliffs the off-shore breeze raises a flower fragrance curving with the land a rainbow of clouds moves out to sea © Jane Reichhold (Taken from: "A Dictionary of Haiku", a Modern Saijiki) sea cliffs awash with flower fragrance rainbow mist forms   sea cliffs   rise above the pounding surf   puffin nests      awash      with flower fragrance      humble trellis         rainbow mist forms         papa puffin dives for food         sea cliff nursery             © petra domina Not a puffin 😁

Carpe Diem #1664 Tan Renga Challenge Month May 2019 (11) Tan Renga Hineri "Only Tracks" Our host,  Chèvrefeuille, gave this assignment: Here is our delayed post as mentioned yesterday. Today I love to challenge you to create a Tan Renga Hineri. That means: I will give you a haiku to work with. You have to add a minimum of three stanza and a maximum of five stanza. You have to create the 2nd stanza, the 3rd stanza (a haiku) and a 4th stanza (two lined). If you are inspired enough than you can add also a fifth stanza (a haiku) and a 6th stanza (two lined). Try to create a "short story" and try to "close the chain" with a "ageku" (closing verse) that refers to the 1st (given) stanza. late summer alone on the beach with only tracks                © Jane Reichhold imprints left on so many shifting grains of sand rocks not a bed for rest death's rattle never ending spirit takes flight in words ocean waves refresh so...