Friday, November 23, 2012

Carpe Diem #52, Silver Birch


Dear haijin, visitors and travelers,

Today we will find our inspiration in Silver Birch a wonderful tree, with his white/silverish skin. I have sought out the WWW for some more background information on the Silver Birch.

Renewal and Purification

  • Following the last Ice Age, the robust and weather-hardy birch tree would have been among the first to re-colonize ice-ravaged landscape. In botanical terms, it is known as a pioneer species. In Celtic mythology, therefore, the birch is a symbol of renewal and purification.
Steps to Heaven
  • The birch tree is one of the national trees of Russia. In Siberia, shamans use the tree for initiation rituals. A candidate carves nine notches in the trunk of a birch to represent the nine steps to heaven of shamanic folklore.
Love
  • In German folklore, the birch is regarded as a tree of life and was traditionally used to make maypoles, around which lovers danced. Welsh folklore associates the birch tree with love, too; lovers met under a birch tree.
Protection
  • In the Swedish city Umea, according to popular legend, the silver birch tree halted a fire that nearly burned the city to the ground in 1888. Silver birch trees are now planted all over the city. In Celtic mythology, the birch was used to protect against evil. Babies' rattles and cradles were made of birch (Source: Meaning of Birches )

Credits: Silver Birch lane

Now we have learned a bit more about the Silver Birch I think we can write a wonderful haiku about it. Let's give it a try ...

in pale moonlight
silver birches look like ghosts
rustling leaves


rustling leaves
in the Autumn sunlight
like golden coins


like golden coins
the goldplated birch leaves
in pale moonlight


I hope you all enjoyed the read. This prompt will stay on 'till November 25th 11.59 AM (CET) and I will post our new prompt rain, provided by Bjorn Brudberg, today around 10.00 PM (CET)

Have fun, be creative and inspired ... share your haiku with Carpe Diem.


8 comments:

  1. I like that I come to know so much new stuff here !
    Beautful haiku. specially love the second one :)

    Please check An year end writing prompt

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    1. I love to share knowledge about haiku and the background of the prompts. Have you read our lectures yet?

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  2. Hi Kristjaan, what a nice prompt for a Swede. Birches are indeed dominant here.. I like especially your first one.... ;-)

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    1. Thank you Bjorn for your nice words.

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    2. Hard prompt for a desert-dweller, however!

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    3. Well you did a great job with your haiku. i loved the 'Ents'.

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  3. I like silver birches but also silver poplars, which are abundant here at the Low Rhine and which is a staple for wisent (or European bison). I enjoyed looking at old and new pictures of birches. Thanks for reminding me.

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  4. Hi, Kristjaan!
    Actually there are problems with linking, but I haven't found out, why it didn't work or better, why it works sometimes and sometimes not. I had the idea it was the hyphen I used, but then it worked with hyphen. So, I hope someone finds the fault in the linking software soon. Thank you for linking my haiku.
    Lothar
    (copied the answer from my blog)

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