The Tea Kettle

 

steaming teacup
cradled in cold hands
bestowing warmth

tea party
kettle whistles on the stove
steeped in gossip

 

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badger teakettle
creates a stir
banished from Morinji,
life spent be friending  tinker
returned to temple in esteem

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Green Willow

Carpe Diem #1358 Green Willow

tarry with me
beneath the comely willow
windblown and free

sensuous willow
swaying in the sunset
gathering secrets

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sweet scent of iris
beside the  babbling stream
green willow fades

The Flute

Carpe Diem #1357 The Flute

trill of the flute
a melancholy  whisper
in the cherry blossoms

rustle of bamboo
soft like a child’s voice
sharing secrets

Peony Lantern

Carpe Diem #1356 The Peony Lantern (Japanese fairy-tale)

 

after the storm
peonies blossoms bow low
weighted with tears

Lafcadio Hearn [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

morning dew
graces the samurai’s sword
rust sets in

 

 

Sea King and the Magic Jewels

Carpe Diem #1355 The Sea King and the Magic Jewels (Japanese fairytale)

a thousand times
repayment not enough
brother unappeased

tears mixed with sea
Lord of the sea salt rises
giving hope

in the sea of reeds
palace of fish scales
glimmers like gems

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trust broken
jeweled princess returns home
leaving her child
as the sea path closes
her sister appears with a song

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sea flowers
sway on the reef
gems of the ocean

The Star Lovers

Carpe Diem #1353 The Star Lovers (A Japanese Fairytale)

This haiku i wrote for the Star Festival 3 years ago.

ocean’s apart we gaze
the same stars
in our eyes

a new Haiku:

remnant of the sky
woven with tears
star lovers

fragile bridge
star crossed lovers
wait to span

 

 

Empty Calabash

 Carpe Diem Extra January 23rd 2018 — Celestine Nudanu (special feature)

Celestine’s Site – Reading Pleasure

empty calabash
reflecting the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom                     © Celestine

empty calabash
seed pods echoing
women’s fingers

reflecting the fading sun
the flicker of flames dance
spirits awaken

a beggar sits in the gloom
an offering of porridge appeases
his feeble spirit

Horaizan

Carpe Diem #1352 Horaizan (a Japanese Fairy-tale)

sweet flowers blossom
in the shadow of Fusan
age forgotten

flowering iris
wrapped in sweet perfume
forgetting the world

Sindbad ‘s Fifth Voyage

Carpe Diem #1351 Theme Week ep. 5: The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad

garden of delights
courage restored
with the sunlight

deceptive looks
strength not determined by age
old man of the sea

Sindbad’s Fourth Voyage

Carpe Diem #1350 Theme Week ep. 4: The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad

after the hurricane
paradise is short lived
fattened for slaughter

together in life
together in death
that fatal mountain