Heeding Haiku With Chèvrefeuille, January 8th 2020, new beginnings

Happy New Year

Dear friends of MLMM,

First I have to apologize for not given you a Heeding Haiku With episode last week, there were personal and private circumstances that needed my attention. So Heeding Haiku With escaped from my attention. My excuses.

Than I love to wish you all a wonderful 2020 full of health, love and inspiration. Because of the start of a new year I have chosen the theme “New Beginnings”. Every year brings new things and maybe this year will do that too, but this week I have chosen this theme, because I love to challenge you to create a classical haiku or haibun themed “new beginnings”. As you maybe know in Japanese haiku history there were five seasons instead of four. That fifth season was “New Year” and it was used (roughly) for the period between December 15th and January 15th.

Let me give you the most important classical rules for haiku:

1. 5-7-5 syllables
2. use a kigo (seasonword)
3. use kireji (cuttingword or interpunction)
4. nature as the main inspiration source
5. it has to describe a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown in water
6. a deeper (spiritual) meaning
7. the first and third line are interchangeable

The kigo you have to “pick” from the New Year’s season.

butterfly flutters
kisses a rainbow of flowers —
first dream of the year

© Chèvrefeuille

In this haiku you can count 17 syllables, 5-7-5. It’s a nature scene that just lasts for a moment. “First dream of the year” is a classical kigo for New Year. The interchangeability of line one and three isn’t really possible and a deeper meaning … butterfly means “metamorfosis and is also a sign for a short life.

About Chèvrefeuille

I am a Dutch haiku poet. And I am the owner and host of the weblog "Carpe Diem, a daily haiku meme" on Blogger (or Blogspot). I am writing haiku since the late eighties and in 2005 I became an international known haiku poet and in 2011 ten of my haiku were included in a worldwide anthology "Spasms of Light". With that anthology I became an even more known haiku poet. In October 2012 I started my daily haiku meme.

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