I am way behind as I just noticed this prompt, Autumn Retreat – Departure for CDHK today looking at stunning poetry by Kim and Milan. So I decided to try and play catch up. July 15th to August 5th would be 22 submissions listed herein below.

Departure #1 growing up (tanka)

departing anew
kissing my children
leaving for work
returning to faces transformed
growing pains hurt mothers too

Departure #2 a mother’s love (senryu)

My mother always said that God loaned me to her for eighteen years to love, nurture and prepare me to leave the family nest and start my own independent life.

letting go
with love
a mother’s true love

Departure #3 dementia (tanka)

each day
she asks me
do I know you?
year after year
saying goodbyes

Departure #4 hanging on (tanka)

lilacs
even when you leave
your fragrance lingers
until next spring
I`ll still wait for you

Departure #5 summer romance (senryu)

summer love
hot and sizzling
but oh! so short lived

Departure #6 loving mother (tanka)

I remember
every day I left your side
I kissed you goodbye
one or ten-thousand kisses
each one was new to me

Departure #7 farewells (senryu)

standing at the dock
ship’s horn vibrates in my soul
but I can’t see you

Departure #8 divorce (tanka)

you were just a teen
visiting me from far away
my heart breaks
will I still recognize you
on your next visit

Departure #9 death (senryu)

a child cannot grasp
Où est GrandPapa?
death is forever

Departure #10 young bride (tanka)

leaving home for good
mother-daughter bond is strong
I was not ready
the cord did stretch forever
until I did let go

Departure #11 letting go (tanka)

taking down old photos
generations archived
time to let go
looking at my blank wall
each nail shouts their name

Departure #12 goodbyes (senryu)

the train whistled
waving goodbye to Daddy
piercing my heart

Departure #13 sudden endings (senryu)

shocked with disbelief
first fallen leaf in July
premature endings

Departure #14 white comforter (tanka)

first snowfall
autumn leaves rest
over death’s bed
comforting tears of grief
like Grandmaman’s duvet

Departure #15 dust to dust (senryu)

autumn leaves
falling near her grave
Mother’s not alone

Departure #16 shorter days (tanka)

barely daylight
in my waking hours
day ends too early
soon I will become
a keeper of the night

Departure #17 colours of autumn (tanka)

autumn’s irony
bright amber, gold and red
liven the landscape
final days approaching
casting its dismal shadow

Departure #18 Snow Day (tanka)

first snow storm
happy children making forts
schools are closed
I’m stranded for a few days
watching snow ploughs do their thing

Departure #19 man’s best friend (senryu)

pausing at the door
tapping of eager paws
no longer greets me

Departure #20 Falling in love with fiction (senryu)

that last chapter
like saying goodbye
to a good friend

Departure #21 attachment (senryu)

no longer a baby
waiting for the school bus
Mommy dries her tears

Departure #22 – A new school year (haibun)

I think that my mother was the only mother that I knew, growing up, who was not anxious for school to start in September. All my friends’ mothers did not work and relished the peace and quiet come September. Yet, my mother worked at home as a hairdresser but she loved having us around. It was as if each year a part of her children was separating from her little by little.

a new school year
teachers and classmates
influencing views
mother feels she’s lost her touch
forced to let go

© Tournesol 2017/08/05