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

rainforest concerto (tanka)

The Time Glass prompt today at Carpe Diem Valley Stream, is to use the haiku composed by your host AND the photo of a waterfall. It was tempting to complete this into a tan renga but he did mention a “solo” renga or a tanka. I could not help but notice the waterfall was a photo in Maui, Hawaii. When I saw the last line of our host, “the silence” I thought of birds singing being masked by the sounds of gurgling streams OR the roar of the waterfalls.

I wanted to include birds from Hawaii and liked the sounds of the honeycreepers such as ‘l’iwi , hearing several examples on Youtube. I wanted to add the name of a tree that these birds inhabit and fell upon the Ohia lehua tree. Well, that brought me to a legend and Carpe Diem is keen on legends and stories.

Legend explains the birth of the Ohia tree and its flower, the Lehua blossom. The legend is tied to the volcano goddess, Pele. This story explains that if you pluck this flower, it will rain on the same day (for a tragic reason).

The legend of the Ohia tree and the Lehua blossom

The legend says that one day Pele met a handsome warrior named Ohia and she asked him to marry her. Ohia, had already pledged his love to Lehua. Pele was furious so she turned Ohia into a twisted tree. The gods took pity on Lehua and decided it was an injustice to have Ohia and Lehua separated. So, they turned Lehua into a flower on the Ohia tree so that the two lovers would be forever joined together. So remember, Hawaiian folklore says that if you pluck this flower you are separating the lovers, and that day it will rain.

What a beautiful legend…so romantic too! Now to complete this prompt:

Our host wrote:

Gurgling valley stream
brings joy to the heart of Mother Nature –
Il Silenzio © Chèvrefeuille

Waterfalls
drown echoes of wildlife
ohia tree
‘l’iwi chirps a concert
sucking on a lehua

I’iwi honeycreeper sees off an Apapane

river heals (Tan Renga)

Such a lovely prompt today at Carpe Diem to complete a Tan Renga. Our host shares his heart warming delight that Carpe Diem has become an engaged and loving family. Here are two completions by our host.

river stones
caressed by flowing water
pale moon shines (Becca Givens)

the sound of a waterfall
makes the night more silent (Chèvrefeuille)

river stones
caressed by flowing water
pale moon shines (Becca Givens)

behind a thin veil of clouds
she, the one I love, smiles at me (Chèvrefeuille)

Indeed, I am a late comer, more like the half-sister or step-sister whichever seems the nicest {grins}. A family that creates an art painters do, a mood great writers do and encouragement and guidance a caring parent or older sibling do. In that vein I have written this. I am starting with the completion that suits the mood of this prompt best.

river stones
caressed by flowing water
pale moon shines ©Becca Givens

intermittent trickle
winks of the milky way © Tournesol

Water is actually my lifeline in so many ways. At first I looked at this prompt and attempted several completions that appeared morose and yet it is meant to show the power of water and how its presence in my life changes the currents in my heart, soul and moods. So I wrote several and reread the instructions of our host giving us a choice to write another haiku or completion. Ah, so back to the drawing board and here are my haiku that map a part of my journey before I arrived to the above completion.

© Roger Kenner – Richelieu River, Chambly, Quebec

toes in icy water,
sting in hope, tingling
mollifies the soul

tears of despair
finally, river swallows
I can breathe

© Tournesol

serving tea (haiku)

artfully pouring tea,
a geisha dances
flute’s harmony

Carpe Diem Sparkling Stars “tea”

soothing tea (haiku)

I love sipping tea in porcelain tea cups. My great aunt bequeathed her collections to my father and I now have them in the same curio my Auntie Mae O’Donnell had. Although the tradition is on my Father’s side, my aunt being Irish, my mother taught me how to brew my tea as young as five. She would let me drink it in espresso cups which was just right for my tiny fingers.

My grandson loved to drink tea as well and would choose his tea cup whenever it was tea time. One day I invited my friend and her daughter who was grandson`s playdate. Well! I set up their tea cups with the tea pot brewing their tea. Ah, the cute things they do at five. I doubt he would want to even admit doing this now that he is 10.

I had a dear friend living next door when we were raising the children. I would often tuck in the children and run off to spend the rest of the evening with her sipping tea for hours. We had an understanding…when I`d call to say I was coming over, she would put on the kettle so when I arrived the water would be ready for my tea.

I find tea to be soothing. It is a lovely social ritual and different in many parts of the world but mostly, I like the subtle comfort it brings, the aroma of herbs, fruits and flora. Some teas are quite eccentric with a flower that expands in a special transparent tea cup. Tea is often a nice desert after a meal. How do you like your tea?

served in fine china,

floral and herbal teas

soothing the soul

Carpe Diem Sparkling Stars “Tea”

lost at sea (haiku)

lost at sea,
fog horns prevent collisions,
lighthouse guides ships home

Carpe Diem “the Lighthouse of Alexandria”

season’s end (haiku)

(haiku)

fallen leaf
led by destiny’s flow
season’s end

© Tournesol ’14
visit also Tournesol dans un Jardin at Blogspot

Frédéric Chopin – Classique, Sonata no.9

light of the stars (haiku)

cat braves the cold,

light of the milky way

catches a mouse

glares with spite

silhouette beneath the stars

the owl hoots

Carpe Diem

scent of pine trees (Tan Renga)

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge #54 at Carpe Diem is to write a second stanza of two lines (classical syllables-count 7-7) towards the haiku by Ese. To make the Tan Renga complete … but this haiku evoked so many memories, I could not choose only one so I am posting them all.

Our host’s completion

and now my attempts:

Pearly grey isn’t so bad (haibun)

Things rarely turn out as I imagine. This is sometimes best for what joy, discoveries and excitement would I find if my life was all mapped out. I’d be like a peg on a wall map. My need to control would actually make me a slave of my making. Do I get disappointed with the outcomes of life’s events? Of course I do many times. The heartaches, the disappointments and the self-degradation are part of life and in some ways who I am. I am a product of my past and life experiences. How I make of it, is still my choice. We always have choices…not always in abundance. I may have to choose for a pearly grey from a drab grey but still, I have a choice. And with the darkness of despair how else would I be blinded by the beauty of the glowing stars as well as golden sun? If I have doubts about love and being loved, I meet exuberance when I am embraced by those who do love me. It may come from someone I have not been waiting and then that makes it a double bonus cherished and forever imprinted on my heart.

I am a daydreamer by day and by night. Many times I cannot tell where a dream started or where a fantasy ended. And is that important? When life takes too long to show its glowing stars, I escape into stories I devour for days and days. And more recently, I dip into my consciousness and write what transpires from many escapades in delusions and fantasies, me, myself my muse and I.