Thank you, returning haijin, for participating in the revival edition of #Haikai Challenge II. Congratulations, contributators:
Haikai Challenge Participants| 1. Colleen Chesebro 2. Peter 3. AJ (Ange) | 4. Kerfe 5. Suzette Benjamin 6. Ben Tonkin | 7. Melissa Lemay 8. Jules |
Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.
Moving on!
Let me take you behind the curtain of kigo selection, and share the following commentary on this week’s Kigo (from THE FIVE HUNDRED ESSENTIAL JAPANESE SEASON WORDS):
In the lunar calendar, the fifteenth of the first lunar month is the night of the first full moon of the year, hence ‘Little New Year’. Still observed on modern 15 Jan by some as the end of the New Year’s holiday.
While the moon this month is a waxing crescent, January 15th is around the corner. The date also coincides with the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Here in the US, his birthday is a Federal holiday.
The waxing moon and the Civil Rights leader’s birthday provide an opportunity to celebrate light in the darkness. We’re not even a month from the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, so a growing moon is a welcome sight, no? & Dr. King’s message–revolutionary in its time–remains as relevant today. While American Society has made some payment on the promissory note, more progress can and must be made. Recent years regression on addressing racial equity, and reactionary condemnation on any efforts to do so, makes that abundantly clear.
Nevertheless, where there is light, there is hope, right?
This week, write the haikai poem of your choice (haiku, senryu, tanka, kyoka, haibun, haiga, renga, etc.) that alludes to either Little New Year (koshoogatsu), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, waxing moon, or light in darkness.
As always:
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.
Happy Little New Year, haijin!
Frank J. Tassone 
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