CD : 521 Issa 4 'Melons'

CD 521-issa-4-o-cooling-melons

hito kitara kawazu to nare yo hiyashi uri

if anyone comes,

turn into frogs,

o cooling melons!

© Kobayashi Issa

nusubito no miru to mo shirade hiyashi uri

oblivious

of the gaze of the thief. -

melons in cool

© Kobayashi Issa

cooling down

together with the melons

I take a bath

© Chèvrefeuille

almost seedless some

watermelon leave only

rind for the compost

©JP/davh

CD : 520 Bunson 4

CD 520-buson-4-flowers-of-plum

Sumizumi ni nokoru samusa ya ume no hana

in nooks and corners

cold remains:

flowers of the plum

© Yosa Buson (tr. RH Blyth)

fresh fallen snow

reflects the light of the full moon -

first plum blossom blooms

© Chèvrefeuille

last winter chill hangs

icicles melting off of

the plum tree branches

©JP/davh

CD: 519 Chiyo-Ni 4

CD 519-chiyo-ni-4.

''that is all there is ...''

(in loving memory of the passengers of the Malaysian Airplane attack)

cool clear water

and fireflies that vanish

that is all there is...

© Chiyo-Ni

lost lives

leaving just tears -

morning dew

© Chèvrefeuille

bleeding hearts are out

of season - pink flowers are

dripping human tears

©JP/davh

There is not much of a story here... just to watch it with sound off would be nice too.
I once had this pink flower which can look almost red. I didn't know it was white too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le2jNxGmaCk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamprocapnos

There is a history and legend section which traces the flower back to Japan.

CD : 518 Basho 4

CD 518-basho-4   has spring come

haru ya koshi    toshi ya yukiken    kotsugomori

has spring come

or has the year gone?

second-to-last-day

© Matsuo Basho (Tr. David Landis Barnhill)

In Dutch:

de zon gaat onder,

zacht fluistert het jonge groen

de naam van Boeddha.

In English:

at sundown,

fresh green leaves whispering

the name of Buddha.

© Chèvrefeuille

~~~~~~~~~~~

haiku:

three feathers

little bird light song

welcome morning waking me

show the way to day

mallards in the creek

know it is the season to mate

and see the same lady

the birds on the roof

announce the sun is setting

in sweet eve’n song

© JP/davh

Note: In keeping with the theme of firsts... I am not sure where the first haiku I ever wrote is, as I have much still in paper in files. This series could be the first haiku series of that particular year - I am not really sure if ducks mate for life, I know that herons do. This haiku is about 14 years old and was found in one of my poetry journals.

CD : tan renga 43 Basho The old lady cherry (tree)

CD tan-renga-challenge-43
(should be challenge 44?)

ubazakura   saku ya rogo no   omoiide

the old-lady cherry

in bloom: a remembrance

of her old age                                          © Matsuo Basho (Tr. David Landis Barnhill)

a day to celebrate

the first cherry blossoms                        (Chèvrefeuille)

~~~~~~~~~~~

the old-lady cherry

in bloom: a remembrance

© Matsuo Basho                                           of her old age

to employ the skilled carver;

© JP/davh                        cherry wood bowl from my tree?

~~~~~~~~~~~

note: a storm felled the cottonwood which felled the cherry. I would like

to do something to remember the tree other than burn the dried wood.

CD: haiku shuukan 14

haiku-shuukan-14-nocturnal

owlet lost her way

gave me fine visit during

the middle of day

I told her she was supposed

to be a nocturnal bird

must have listened to

my heartfelt pleading, because

I’ve not seen her since

©JP/davh

CD : 517 Shiki 3

CD 517-shiki-3-reeds-tremble

meigetsu no deru ya yurameku hanasusuki

at the full moon's

rising, the silver-plumed

reeds tremble

© Masaoka Shiki

fresh fallen snow

reflects the beauty of the moon -

the scent of Christmas

© Chèvrefeuille

tall reed grass once grew

where now a small forest stands

no sun or moonlight

©JP/davh