Monday, September 29, 2014

Carpe Diem #572, Sage


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I am a bit sad ..., because this is our last episode for this wonderful month of Carpe Diem with all those gorgeous prompts by Jane Reichhold and Francis of Assisi. But ... it's also a joy to look forward to our next month in which we will celebrate our second anniversary. That will be a great month I think, and the first "surprise" I have already shared with you all! Our new Carpe Diem "Ask Jane ..." feature in which Jane Reichhold will give answers on your questions and ideas about haiku, tanka and renga. There will be a few more surprises next month ... you will see ...

Our last prompt of Carpe Diem September 2014 is now at hand and today we share haiku on sage. There are several different meanings according to sage, but sage in this episode is about that gorgeous little plant. Sage is considered a nearly universal magical cure-all, able to dispel curses and bestow wisdom, clarity, health, and prosperity. A sage leaf kept with a Tarot deck will preserve it uncontaminated by negative, distracting forces. One way to break a curse with sage is to light a leaf (or handful of leaves) and then blow out the flame, allowing the embers to continue smoking. Then use the smoldering sage to draw large, counter-clockwise circles in the air. The smoke will banish the curse and bring a blessing in its stead.

Credits: Sage in bloom
Here are two examples of haiku composed by Jane Reichhold:

evening stretches
over desert gold
purple sage

Cathedral Canyon
under Christ's picture
wild sage

© Jane Reichhold

I especially like that second one, because of the contrast with that what I wrote above about Sage. Well ... my friends ... this was the last episode of Carpe Diem September 2014 and tomorrow I will publish our first Ghost Writer post for October 2014 in which we will celebrate our second anniversary. I hope to publish our prompt-list as soon as possible ...

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 2nd at noon (CET). Have fun ...!


2 comments:

  1. So sad to have the end of kigo.. really appreciated.. I love the sage haiku examples here. I'm a little behind in returning comments.. I will try to make amends soon. Monday evenings is very hectic as I have started a course in creative writing.. lot's of fun and much to learn.

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  2. Thank goodness for lovely poets I follow, noticed there were 3 prompts I had totally missed.

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