freedom at last
hot summer night
skinny dipping
~
blue mist
ocean fog rolling in,
flippers splash
© Tournesol ’14
This was my response at the first prompt in June ’14 “By the River”
Author: Tournesol
A little bit about moi:
I am a mom, a nana, a sister, a woman, a friend, a human being…a youth counsellor, Family Life Educator.
I have been working in the helping profession for over 25 years and volunteered in various capacities from youths to seniors.
Tournesol is my nom de plume for haiku and other Japanese form poetry here at Tournesoldansunjardin https://cheryllynnroberts.wordpress.com I hope you enjoy reading through my daily waka.
I also have another blog "Stop the Stigma" where I may stand on my soapbox now and then and hope it will become a place to drop in and share or comment on issues important to you. In that vein this could be a great way to learn from each other.
http://stigmahursteveryone.wordpress.com
pumpkin seeds (haiga)
gut Mister Pumpkins
designing Jack-O-Lanterns
crow burps a seed
© Tournesol ’14
mourning a healer (haiga)
If my grandmother would have been born within the Aboriginal culture, for sure she would have been a wise elder and perhaps a Shaman. But she was a humble woman living by la rivière Yamaska; a village healer in many ways being a mid-wife, a go-to person if someone was sick from newborn to elderly. She had herbal remedies and others passed down to her from her mother and an old village doctor.
To this day, I still miss her when I am sick. For some reason her hand on my forehead and her homemade chicken broth comforted me. She spent hours and days with mothers in labour, sat by a dying person’s bed many late nights and even doctors called on her for help. Most people called called her Garde Daudelin OR GrandMaman.
..
At Carpe Diem our host tells us about a Mongolian shaman named Batbayar. A beautiful story you can read more here of a Shaman and his apprentice. Our host wrote this in honour of the passing of this shaman.
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whispering leaves
telling all wisdom of the steppes
cry of an eagle © Chèvrefeuille
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To make this interesting for me, I searched where there were ealgles in Québec. In Northern and Eastern Québec there are many surprisingly, golden eagles. In the Gaspé Penninsula, residents are helping researchers with sightings as they are very proud of the eagle in their territory. (Gaspé is where Kerouac’s parents were from).
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I have heard from aboriginal youths that the Northern Lights are their ancestors from the “other side”, spirits revealing they are well.
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golden eagle cries
shaman’s loss mourned over
lac Natashquan
© Tournesol ’14
spirits announce
shaman’s safe entrance
aurora borealis
© Tournesol ‘14
Carpe Diem Haiku Kai “Helpful”*
To read and hear more about the Golden Eagle in Québec click here.
kite on a branch (haiga)
red kite in flight,
snares on a tree branch
squirrel’s new friend
© Tournesol ’14
pressed leaves (haiku)
© Clr ’14
(c) Clr ’13
© Clr ’14
© Clr ’14
© Clr ’14
© Clr ’14
squirreling away,
losing layers of colours
still, beauty in loss
spared none
leaves have all fallen
pressed in Basho
Basho holds
whiffs of dried leaves
varied colours
© Tournesol ’14
[“Matsuo Basho (松尾 芭蕉, 1644–1694), born 松尾 金作, then Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa (松尾 忠右衛門 宗房),[2][3] was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku).”] Read more here
dawn breaks (haiku)
October morn
peering through my window
dawn breaks
heart warmed with grace
my cat calls me to bed
sky shades
with purple hues
a naked tree
© Tournesol ’14
Saint-Benoit-du-lac (tanka)
This prompt brought me to a monastery in the Eastern Townships, about an hour’s drive from Montreal near Magog at Saint Benoit du lac where monks do not only pray but they are known for their cheese.
au petit matin
et le vent montagneux
soufflant des cantiques
jumelant avec les moines
un pinson gazouille en harmonie
early morn
and mountain wind
blowing hymns
accompanying the monks
a finch tweets in harmony
© Tournesol ’14
six day bender (haiku)
Wandering
looking for home
got lost
lost again
turning in circles
unlisted number
soul searching
chanting my mantra,
I’ve come home
© Tournesol ‘14
Most people are bi-cultural or multicultural…let’s face it. In North America we are are blended in that huge melting pot. What IS interesting is how one identifies himself. I sometimes envy French Québecois who feel so sure of their identity. My mother always presented herself as a bilingual Canadian. I guess that is the only way I can see myself too. I cherish both languages/cultures that have woven the tapestry of who I am today.
lonely soapbox,
sometimes my views get
lost in translation
*
on the fence
each side
tears me apart
© Tournesol ‘14
This last one was just having fun thinking of Kerouac’s road trip for almost a month when he wrote On the Road.
six day bender
sex, love and rock ‘n roll,
day of rest
© Tournesol ‘14
nature’s wonder (tan renga)
In my search for riverbeds, rocks and deserts for Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge “River Stones” by Magical Mystery Teacher ,I came upon another great find. Apparently this recording has gone viral on YouTube since March 2014, one that I had yet to see.
For centuries this dry area, a massive creek bed, has seen the disappearance and return of water in a series of flash floods. I found it fascinating that the Zin river in the Negev desert suddenly transformed due to heavy rains from the mountains. This river runs 75 miles long and drains into the Dead Sea. (read more here)
In the Old Testament it is said, that Moses sent twelve spies to cross the Promised Land and that the Zin River, in biblical times, marked the border of Israel.
Now watch this video and you will see as these bystanders also witnessed the flow of water into a once barren river. I had to watch it twice so I could immerse in my feelings of that moment of wonder. It felt like the Great Spirit was smiling down on our planet in one part of the world, in the Negev desert.
in a desert land
stones from rivers far away
muttering dark tales © MMT
youths too young to understand
they pitch for future games © Tournesol
wonder heaves
water floods murky tales
born-again river
© Tournesol ‘14
silent stories (tan renga)
Carpe Diem Tan Renga Challenge, Magical Mystical Teacher “River Stones”
I was so pleased to see this haiku offered as our prompt to complete a tan renga. When I first saw it, I could think of so many completions simmering in my mind. I sat with pen on notebook, scratched a few but was not satisfied. I decided to do some research. One thing ( of many) I like about Carpe Diem is that our host as well as many of his family members often add a tidbit, a story, a history or background about the topic accompanying their stanza. Sometimes it is written, other times it is a video but certainly it is enough to inform readers of something they may not have known. So imagine how wonderful it is to learn more how to master (I’ll settle with compose for now) a haiku but to acquire knowledge about nature and the world around us. I can name just a few of whom I have learned so much at the top of my head such as Hamish Gunn, Waka Blogitorloseit , Jules’Gems and our host and yes, I know I am missing many…but remember, I said at the “top” of my head, there are many more on the first floor!
Searching under themes like desert and river rocks, I discovered several interesting stories. A story of the Wild West was my first stop but then I wanted to learn something of which I had no clue…and I came up with two. To facilitate reading, I am writing two separate posts.
Over 9,000 years ago monsoon rains swept into the Sahara desert. This allowed regions to be transformed into habitable areas for humans and animals…beyond the Nile Valley. It was between 9,000 to 7,300 years ago that also led to the introduction of domesticated livestock like sheep and goats. I find that so fascinating! I wonder which animals were bred. I am sure it is written somewhere…
Retreating monsoons eventually stopped and the Egyptian Sahara revisited its “dry spell” and inhabitants had to leave; many returned to the Nile Valley. I wonder what life was like then, how they communicated…they did leave traces with stone etchings.
in a desert land
stones from rivers far away
muttering dark tales © MMT
echoes beyond Nile Valley
silent stories etched in stone © Tournesol
monsoon gives birth
burgeoning life
drought takes it back.
© Tournesol
Related article and photo credits: Live Science – Sahara Desert
