December 31, 2010

Poetry Friday--Akemishite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

© Diane Mayr, all rights reserved


Akemishite Omedetou Gozaimasu is roughly equivalent to "Happy New Year" in Japanese. This is the second year I've participated in a nengajyou, that is, a New Year's card exchange, with haiku poets. Participants from all over the world send holiday greetings to fellow haiku enthusiasts. I sent the above card to the United States, Canada, and six other countries. (I could have sent to more, but I ran out of cards!)

I wrote about the nengajyou (I've also seen it spelled nengajo) last year, so, if you're interested in learning more, click here. Here's a blog posting from Kimono Reincarnate that has some samples of typical nengajyou cards.

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. I have a grandbunny named Miles, who lives with my son and his wife. I took the photo of Miles in January in anticipation of participating in the nengajyo again this year.

In case you can't read it, here's the haiku that appears on the card:
new year's day
the scent of christmas tree
still on the rabbit's breath
Miles loves chewing on the Christmas tree, and it sure does give him piney-fresh breath!

2012 will be the Year of the Dragon. I don't have any dragons in my family, so I'll have to come up with something besides a photo for next year! (Don't suggest a dragon costume for one of my two cats--I could end up as cat food if I tried to put something on either one's head!)

Poetry, poetry, and more poetry should be one resolution on everyone's list for 2011. Head over to Carol's Corner to get a head start!

Celebrate responsibly! See you next year!

8 comments:

  1. I just love this! Happy New Year, Diane!

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  2. Me too! Funny bunny! Happy New Year, Diane and Andy too!

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  3. I love your haiku -- and the idea of an exchange! Good for you for planning so far ahead with the photo.

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  4. Thanks for stopping by, Ladies! Here's a haiku from last year that I just found. Talk about serendipity:

    new year's eve
    realizing it's fireworks
    not the pipes banging

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  5. I'm giggling about bunny breath!! Happy New Year!

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  6. Happy New Year, Diane! Your photo and poem are great. I want to participate next year, if I can remember!

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  7. The scent of Christmas on bunny's breath... how totally awesome is that?!

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