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

bitter (daily post – tanka)

her lips puckered,
the old neighbour stared with hope –
sucking a lemon
bitterly disappointed
the old man slammed the front door

©Tournesol’17/05/09

Written for The Daily Post – Bitter

perfum d’espoir (troibun)

There is nothing like the feeling of rich dark soil slip through your fingers when planting a garden. Gloves will only rob you of that sense of life at your fingertips. Think about the erotic sensation of a piece of cheese cake or decadent truffles; feel the smooth richness on your tongue…

arching their bodies
nature’s sweet arousal
nestling in its moistness
in and out, in and out
worms surrender blissfully

(troiku)

autumn’s last harvest
winter’s table scraps
black gold of gardeners

autumn’s last harvest
feeding sod nutrients
leftover leaves

winter’s table scraps
Mother Nature’s caviar
salivating worms

black gold of gardeners
putrefying stench
parfum de la vie

©Tournesol’17/05/09

A troiku is a new haiku form created by Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Written for Poetics Tuesday Dverse-Poetics Pub- Soil Poetics

Today at DversePoetsPub, Björn Rudberg (brudberg) in Poetics wants you to write poetry about soil. This is what he says:

“To me soil is both the source of life, and destiny for death. Soil is where we come from and soil you’ll be:

Ashes to ashes and dust to dust

I both love and hate the scent of mulch. I love the growth and fear decay. I love to walk barefoot in warm dirt, but afterwards I wash my feet.
Soil gives grain for bread, but when the weather fails we die of hunger.
Soil is friend and foe.

There are many synonyms for soil: mulch and compost, dirt and grime, earth and ground all reflect the soil and various values we attribute to its worth.
Soil can be metaphors for land and country, for home and nations. For war and peace and for the roots of trees.
Taste the soil or bite the dust, bring me poetry from what you sense in soil.
Be gravedigger or gardener, be soil of your origin and dig it deep.

sounds of the night (troiku)

Troiku

heavy moans
fill the night
in their heat

heavy moans
on a hot summer night
bullfrogs

fill the night
foreplay leading to
full course meal

in their heat
sipping on their digestif
sighs of cravings quenched

©Tournesol’17/5/08

Haiku Horizons: heat

awakenings (troiku)

This week at Heeding Haiku with Chèvrefeuille,at MindLoveMiserysMenagerie the haiku theme is “a new day”. Our host writes…
in the light of dawn
the world looks mysterious
a new day begins
© Chèvrefeuille

So often I start with a haiku and then my muse uses it as a troika (the sleigh) and other thoughts are “pulled” out of those first three lines. Chèvrefeuille created a new form of haiku call the Troiku. So here is my troiku to A New Day

as the fog lifts
vibrant skyline returns
a world comes alive

as the fog lifts
aroma of fresh ground coffee
senses awaken

vibrant skyline returns
chanting ever softly
to the rising sun

a world comes alive
fledglings demand their breakfast
cacophony of starlings

©Tournesol’17/05/08

love blossoms – Daily Moments – May 7 2017 (Troibun)

The three women walked along the riverside reminiscing of times passed. Approaching an old vegetable garden two of them, scrunched up their noses at the putrid scent. The eldest seemed not to notice the stench and paused looking at a crow cawing on a branch.

(troiku)

graced by a presence
drawn by sweet fragrance
trust and compassion

graced by a presence
divine intervention
a mother’s love

drawn by sweet fragrance
budding promise
faith, hope and love

trust and compassion
if only the world knew
their blessed bouquet

Walking towards her children, one woman contemplated for a long moment. Inhaling a deep belly breath, she paused and felt a spasm in her chest as if her heart was bursting at the seams.

pink and white buds
begging share to their love
apple blossoms

©Tournesol’17/05/07

Daily Moments Troibun May 7 2017 love blossoms

Daily Moments – floral reflections May 7 2017

Driving along the boulevard, she noticed trees with leaves! When did they grow so fast? The rain and warm spells must have helped. And then she passed a house with cherry blossoms…she wanted to stop and take a photo but decided to keep the image more perfect in her memory. She sighed wishing she lived closer to this house and then she saw a magnolia tree! Well, now, this was a lovely drive filled with promise. These beauties could certainly tie her over until the apple blossoms expected in the next three weeks.

blossoms
all worth the wait
nature’s promise

She remembers, as a child, in June asking her grandmother when the lilacs will be ready. Such a fragrant gift to share…

nature’s promise
yet, just a hope
scents of lilacs
mid-June treasures
picked by teacher’s pet

Fleeting memories keep her in a state of grace…calm and content, such a lovely escape.

©Tournesol’17/05/07

Daily Moments – floral reflections May 7 2017

sakura (tan renga)

pink sakura blush
spring’s kimono falls to earth
silk snatched by a breeze

sashaying playfully
floating with grace

©Tournesol’17/05/06

Tan Renga Challenge at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

season’s treasures (tan renga)

from the paulownia
without a breath of wind–
falling leaves

storing innocent love affairs
summer’s furtive rendezvous

©Tournesol’17/05/06

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – Tan Renga

the poet’s craft (troibun)

In the past few years she has been altering her way of meditating. Rather than consciously searching for a quiet place to tune out for a few minutes, writing waka (Japanese poetry) has entered her life and added to another way of musing.

Her thoughts and feelings about a day, an event and especially about nature has become welcoming moments of contemplation. It is also a wonderful way to detach from the busyness of a day and look more carefully under a few layers and truly reflect within. Nature seems to have that effect in bringing out those hidden layers and connecting with nature.

(troiku)

simmering thoughts
swell of the current
the river flows

simmering thoughts
after a long winter’s slumber
tulips breaking ground

swell of the current
rolls off the tip
a poet’s tongue

the river flows
spilling over waves
in verse

Kim Russell is the guest writer and runner up of the Cherry Blossom kukai who wrote:

pink sakura blush
spring’s kimono falls to earth
silk snatched by a breeze

Check out her beautiful piece at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai where she writes about ‘the poet’s craft'” and creates a series of beautiful haiku and tanka. For this meme, the theme she leaves us with is to reflect on our own experiences as haiku and tanka poets.