Ligo Haibun Challenge – Mirror Image

November 10, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 35 Comments

Such an interesting turn of phrase “mirror image” as compared to … oneself. More incongruous than the image appears (visually speaking), we (humans) always tend to “see” more than what is really visible to the naked eye.

Still, the person on the outside looking at the same person (on the inside of a mirror) has the distinct advantage of being seen in a two dimensional platform – which is, of course, never the actuality of life.

Wading deeply through the stream of reality, I could look down at life’s liquidness and see my own mirror image reflected in the fluidity of all life as it swirls around me. Ebbing waves of ‘this or that’ moment of experience exhibiting – all that I appear to be.

But I rarely do – look. I selfishly do not stop the train of thought, (my personal perception of life experiences) and indeed my ability to continue on with an absorption, immersion and captivation of life which I find quintessential to my own well being and improvement.

In summation, a true mirror image of self might be viewed as a matrix where each new bit and piece and layer of the “who I am” rearranges and renews – at will, (my ‘true image’ being of constant change) – as it should, because with each subsequent change I become more of who I truly am.

life’s true potential

mirrored in streaming nature

from dream to reality

Penny L Howe, 2013

. . . .

For more details to this weeks Ligo Haibun (writing) Challenge click here!

Thanks for stopping by, sending love, prayers, much hope and courage to those in the Philippines for their many loses. Please support them in any way that you are able to!

Penny

Life’s Reality – or another crazy night? Ligo Haibun Challenge

October 27, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 31 Comments

This week the Ligo Haibun Challenge presents two quotes as prompts! I have chosen the George Carlin quote:

“And then there are the times when the wolves are silent and the moon is howling.” ― George Carlin

A full moon out tonight, as I walked alone. A clear sky too. Very cool, the air crisp this late in the season. I didn’t notice the full moon right away, my mind turning out to be every bit as full as the moon shining down on me. My thoughts confusing, taken up with the insanity of life’s struggles! The moon seemed to have it’s own agenda anyway, up there so high, aloft from everything happening down here.

I remember shivering, pulling my jacket tightly against my body, I don’t know what possessed me to walk down to the river in the first place. It’s even chillier there, but I could hear the water lapping against the shore and it seems soothing – does that sound crazy – and I’m tempted, indeed drawn to the dark liquid. The need to touch, so strong. It won’t change my existence, still I scoop up the water in my hands, feeling velvety ice water threading through my fingers.

Damn, everything feels so futile tonight, an emptiness. The moon mocking my solo sojourn to the river, as if to echo those meaningless feelings. I see my kneeling silhouette illuminated against the rippling water, proving my reality, at least. My fingers are frozen numb now, doesn’t matter. I could hear the moon, you see. It was howling and I recognized the tune. I’d heard it before.

And with that recognition I could walk back home, even with the moon still mocking in it’s solitary mode. I’m impervious now, entirely focused on rubbing my hands together to get some warmth back into them.

just another night

no winners, no losers – just life

and the howling moon

For more information about The Ligo Haibun Challenge and to give your writing talents a try click here! A great activity for writers to take part in!

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge and Warm welcome!

October 11, 2013October 12, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 13 Comments

It is my pleasure to announce the addition of a fourth judge to the panel of the Ligo Haibun Challenge: Esenga of Ese’s Voice, a gifted and skilled writer. Read her own words as she explains The Danger of Being Me! Welcome Ese!

For this week’s (writing) prompt there are two photos from which to choose:

Your haibun writing challenge: pick one of the above photos (click on either photo for a larger view). Think about the photo you’ve chosen. What does it mean to you? What thoughts, memories, experiences come to mind as you ponder? Consider how you will present your piece?

With that in mind, begin! Write a few paragraphs (one or more), include the haiku (form of Japanese poetry – 3 lines of 17 or fewer syllables), an essential part of your haibun. Your haiku (one or more) can be either a closing to your written piece or in-between the paragraph(s) to add emphasis.

I encourage you to enter. Publish your written piece on your blog for others to read and enjoy. To officially enter the challenge, link your URL Address to the blue link box below.

___________

To assist in getting a “feel” for the intriguing method of haibun writing, read from our current and past entries. Full rules for entering and to learn more about the other judges (Nightlake, Pirate, Penny) and the “Ligo Haibun experience” click here!

Have a great day,

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge – Torturous Love!

October 7, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 16 Comments

One of the two word prompts for this week’s Ligo Haibun (writing) Challenge is – torture! I don’t believe anyone can think about that word without coming up with sad, painful and scary feelings. I chose the broken heart from a shattered love relationship.

My offering:

I Suppose

Lying midst scattered remnants of reality, I do not care to move, curled up in a fetal position, hugging knees tightly to my chest. The position, an instinctive leftover memory of safeness, I suppose. Am I fragile? I suppose so. Does a butterfly have wings that can be pulled off? Yes, I suppose this is true also.

The pain is overwhelming, you know. I don’t suppose you care. But if you did … if you did, the sweet sorrow from the tortuous pain you left me in, would be your undoing … or maybe not, I suppose.

my tortured soul

from rapture to exquisite pain

lies comotose

〜*〜

Do remember, this is a work of fiction everyone, I couldn’t be further from that state of existence if I tried. My days right now are full up with tennis (giving lessons), writing and drawing, enjoying family (baking) and the Autumn of things, and, of course, being online creating and inspiring others, along with you! ♥

Be sure to check out the other wonderfully written Ligo Haibun Challenge entries written by a talented group of international “word artisans”!

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge – Honorable Mentions and more!

October 3, 2013October 3, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 14 Comments

It is a very positive time for The Ligo Haibun’s troupe of writers. We have both Honorable and Special mentions for many, presented by the lovely Nightlake in her newest post, click here to learn all about them.

All entries this past month were well written, making it hard to chose. Adding a few of those that were also a pleasure to read: Bjorn, Aesop’s Clerk, Ese, Patricia, Celestine, Jules, Jody, Oberon, Joe and two new entrants Bastet and Brenda.

To all of you who participated, thank you, so very well done. And a warm hello to those who have returned, as well as our new writers.

Recently, I had an interesting and brief conversation, via Twitter (140- character limit) with another blogger about the distinction between haibun and haiku. When you’re explaining something with 140 or less total characters, you have to be very specific with the words you write, lol. Well I was (very specific), and She got it! So the short-short version of a haibun (twitter version):

The haibun has two parts. 1) Prose, a paragraph or two and 2) An accompanying haiku. prose + haiku (Japanese style poem) = haibun!

Full rules for entering this haibun writing challenge here. To read more about the judges and the Ligo Haibun Experience, and to add your name to the mailing list click here!

The prompt for this week’s Ligo Haibun Challenge are the words:

“Fascination” or “Torture“

Chose only one as the inspiration for your haibun! Good Luck.

I encourage you to enter. Publish your written piece on your blog for others to read and enjoy. To officially enter the challenge, link your URL Address to the blue link box below.

A special thanks to Aquileana, for our excellent “twitter conversation” about haibun and haiku the other day – it was great fun. Check out her wonderful blog out here!

Have a great day,

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge ~ For all writers!

September 13, 2013September 13, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 24 Comments

The Challenge:

Fall (Autumn) is a busy time of the year for many, along with changing seasons, it is also the return of school in many countries. Each day that passes finds us presented with a potentially wide range of emotions for us to handle – the ‘ups and downs’ that may beset us.

With this in mind, the hosts (Nightlake, Ye Pirate and myself) of the Ligo Haibun Challenge have selected the following two words for you to explore and think on while writing your haibun this week, chose either one:

“paradise” or “apathy”

Enjoy your creativity this week!

I have chosen Paradise. Yesterday I wrote a serious story about Paradise as it relates to love. Today I write a whimsical haibun on the same subject!

My offering:

Paradise

Falling in love. This, the exact expression describing those sky rocketing emotions first felt when finding love with another.

The sensation like falling, in a way. Akin to leaping out of an airplane, free falling before the parachute opens, knowing not what the next moment might bring, loving the adrenaline rush racing through your body.

I’ve fallen in love. And it is paradise. Or the best feeling I can come up with when thinking of paradise. It would be nice however if there were a parachute. Just like jumping out of an airplane, there is gravity to contend with and it does pull one down. Sometimes pulling one right out of paradise into hell.

paradise exists

but only for a time

no parachute

Thank you. Now it’s your turn.

Write a haibun this Week. The Ligo Haibun Challenge is open to all writers, you are encouraged to enter.

To read about the Haibun style of writing and the rules to this challenge, click here. This is a weekly challenge so be sure to enter before the closing date and time. Click on the link collection to view time remaining, add your link and to access and read other entries for this week.

There were several writers who didn’t have an opportunity to submit their entries for recent challenges, They are listed below!

#Ligo Haibun – Inspired by Persia | Sarah Ann Hall

#Ligo Haibun – My Pet Penguins – hmv (Heath Martin Vogel),

#Ligo Haibun – Quote from Romi – horty ( Maria H. Rexach-Rivera, MD aka Dr. Rex)

Have an excellent rest of your day and weekend ahead! Thank you for stopping by,

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge – Honorable Mentions!

September 9, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 13 Comments

There is something wonderful about the art of crafting words. Some extra energy being generated inside ourselves when we sit down and pen our creative thoughts, emotions, ideas.

The nature of writing haibun extends this feeling. We find ourselves exploring and delving into the method and manner of our expressions even more fully.

Singling out a few for honorable mentions for August from the Ligo Haibun Challenge was difficult! All the entries were entertaining and well written. Thank you Nightlake for your wonderful descriptions of each of the following Honorable mentions:

Twoscamps: As the writer travels, you willingly join her on the various journeys. Such is the strength of description in these haibun that you will find yourself moving with the words. While all the haibun here need a special mention, do take a look at one called ‘illusion’.

Peripatetic Eric: Depth and ease with which the words flow are the hallmarks of this writer. His various haibun touch a chord in the reader, but the one titled, ‘Oblivion’ needs to be mentioned.

Reading Pleasure: Celestine’s haibun are emotional, passionate and always come from the heart. The haiku towards the end of her narrative is compelling and captivating. Check out her latest haibun for this.

Aesop Clerk: If you want philosophical writing with insightful knowledge of history, read Aesop Clerk’s haibun. Faith and facts are always analyzed in his haibun and the conclusions are summed up in a unique manner. For example, go through his haiku on ‘Liberation’ drafted in the first week of August.

Jules: Jules makes her point clearly and stresses her ideas with more than a haiku. Realism and a simple, but highly effective writing are her trademarks. Her haibun, ‘Aglow’, written on August 1, illustrates these points.

Congratulations to all! Your words – a pleasure to read. Be sure and take your “Circle of Appreciation” home and display! Our way of saying thank you!

Also an update: The Ligo Haibun Challenge, will continue to be hosted at Nightlake and Pirate’s most excellent blogs. I will be one less host for everyone to check in with, lol. While no longer a host, I am continuing in my role as one of the judges and will also be submitting my own haibun each week. Thank you everyone for participating, and I encourage you to continue to do so.

For those with a little time please check out some of the other wonderful Haibun entries below:

Everyone have a positive and creative week ahead!

Thank you,

~ Penny

A Challenge for Writers – Ligo Haibun

September 6, 2013September 6, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 49 Comments

If you write and would like to improve your writing skills, I challenge you. Write a haibun this Week. The Ligo Haibun Challenge is open to all writers, we encourage you to enter.

August has past and September has arrived, bringing seasons change to many parts of our planet. We tend to reflect more on things, as a new season emerges. I think possibly we are closer to nature during these times. Why is that do you suppose?

Another time of reflection occurs when we read quotes. The hosts (Nightlake, Ye Pirate and myself) of the Ligo Haibun Challenge have chosen the following two quotes for your reflections; delving into the romantic and philosophical nature of things.

The haibun you will be writing this week will use one of the following two quotes:

“Not only the thirsty seek the water,

the water as well seeks the thirsty.” Rumi

“If your heart is a volcano,

how shall you expect flowers to bloom?” – Khalil Gibran

I have picked the second quote by Khalil Gibran, as my prompt:

“If your heart is a volcano,

how shall you expect flowers to bloom?” – Khalil Gibran

There has been great turbulence within me. Rumbling, cascading, volcanic emotions spewing forth in varying directions. Should one wonder at this? Extremes. Where they lay within. Am I given to holding inside the intensity of my feelings and then releasing all in an explosive cacophony of rich sensations. Is this how I live?

Now, just as my fellow volcanoes, I sit dormant as those around me – I, the expatriate of change. Is my time done or as a few of them, do I wait? Seething beneath calm smoothed over exteriors, viewing meadows of flowers in the nearby valley. I so long to feel the color and beauty they project and exemplify. I feel drab with lifelessness. At least I felt alive with my explosive nature during those passionate outbursts of living life.

Those same wildflowers have come to play and bloom upon the surface of my understanding. Wind, rain and sun – all companion me. I should be grateful, gazing upon the growing lushness of life around me. I did contribute after all, in my own fashion, within my nature. Why then am I so unsettled? Am I only a volcano in the scheme of things?

no middle ground

only a volcano knows

extremes of change

Thank you for reading my haibun offering this week.

There will be a special post honoring all the entries of the Ligo Haibun Challenge for the past month of August. This will include special mentions and updates!

I look forward to sharing these writers with you!

Have an excellent rest of your day and weekend ahead, thank you for stopping by,

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge ~Mother Nature’s Soliloquy

August 31, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 28 Comments

This week the Ligo Haibun Challenge encourages the writer to write a haibun using one of the two photographs shown here. My entry:

You, who frolic and play, and you who look out upon me, beseeching eyes of wisdom so inherent to your breed, I hear you. I move silently among you lingering on the touch of velvet soft skin. I gaze upon your glorious colors, my creations, each a masterpiece of perfection. Each, a place in this world.

I feel anguish, despair, a deepening sadness for your increasing loss of kind. The diminishing of life force. Wanton waste of life. Foolish, foolish humans. Must you suffer while they learn and grow. They my children too, and yet … at what point does there occur a level of attrition where needs be a justifying retribution, the balancing of scales. At what point is the point of no return revealed. Will I know? Will they?

nature’s decree

humanity loses

point of no return

Photo credit, Ese Kļava, 2013

Thank you! For more information, and to read the other entries in the Ligo Haibun Challenge click here!

Thanks for reading, I hope you’re enjoying your weekend!

~ Penny

Ligo Haibun Challenge

August 29, 2013 / Penny L Howe / 15 Comments

Welcome to this weeks Ligo Haibun Challenge – #13, open to all writers, everywhere.

For those Haibuner’s (my affectionate term here) who are already a part of our international writing group, you may be aware that the time when we publish our newest challenge each week varies. My apologies for this.

We (each of the hosts) live in three different parts of the planet (Interestingly, somewhat equidistant from one another – spanning the globe.) and have been diligently working (via emails) on coordinating the timing for this. Please bear with us, as we continue to improve this and other aspects of our writing challenge.

For specific information on how to enter this challenge go to the top of the page and click on Haibun – The Challenge! Also check out the other hosts Nightlake and Ye Pirate!

The Prompts this week are photographs of two very different type of animals, Thanks to Ese Kļava of Ese’s Voice for providing the first photo!

Pick one of the above photos and write! This should be fun – give it a try! After you’ve published your haibun post, do be sure and add yours to the collection below. Just click on the Link and follow the easy directions.