unsplash-logoRonda Darby

Well, haijin: Many of you took time to gaze through the mists at the moon!

Haikai Challenge Participants 

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Congratulations, contributors!

Now, for this week’s challenge:

The United States celebrates President’s day this week. The Federal Holiday commemorates two of the greatest US presidents that ever lived: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

George Washington’s career as General of the Continental Army and first President of the United States speaks for itself. Two stories from his life, however, speak to me of his greatness as a leader and as a human being of the utmost quality. Ron Chernow relates the first in his biography. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Washington held supreme executive authority as the victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. He could have easily become dictator of the newly independent nation. Instead, he surrendered his office–literally handed over his sword to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia–and retired to Mount Vernon. He would make a similar surrender of authority years later, when he completed the second of his two terms of office. Other presidents would follow his precedant of two terms for decades. After President FDR won an unprecedented four terms (dying in office during the fourth), A constitutional ammendment limiting future office-holders to a total of two terms passed.

Abraham Lincoln preserved the United States. That would be noble accomplishment enough. He did so while suffering personal tragedies and his own depression. However, his Gettysburg address inspired war-weary Americans to elevate their perception of the conflict at hand. The war was fought not only to keep a nation together; it was to preserve the vision that nation represented–a vision defended in blood by young men whose sacrifice already made holy the ground upon which they fought. Lincoln’s steadfast leadership saw the United States through the greatest crisis of the country’s history.

What kigo can we use to commemorate the holiday that celebrates the lives of these great men? The rose is the national flower of the United States. The wild rose (yamabuki)is a late-spring kigo. Due to the circumstances, however, we can be forgiven if we tweak tradition in order to honor President’s day.

Therefore, your kigo this week is the rose. Write the haiku, senryu, haibun, tanka, renga, haiga or any other haikai of your choice that states or alludes to the rose as a symbol of President’s day.

As always:

Here’s how the challenge works:

1. write the haikai poem of your choice.
2. post the link of your post to Mister Linky.
3. pingback by posting the link to the challenge on your site.
4. read and comment on other contributors’ posts.

Good Hunting, haijin. Happy President’s Day, to all whom celebrate it!