Poetry ~ Waka
spring is in the air
children linking arms
skipping to the park
spring is in the air
fingers stroking golden locks
on a park bench
children linking arms
chasing the blues away
chanting nursery rhymes
skipping to the park
wiggling their tiny hips
singing “Happy”
©Tournesol’17/05/01
A Troiku is a new haiku form created by Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
Aw, finally spring is really here! She loves May for many reasons…budding blossoms giving hope, lilac trees burgeon and tulips reaching to the sky in so many brilliant colours. She remembers as a young child in primary school, the month of May meant she was allowed to go out on a school night. She would put on her Mary Jane’s that her mother had brought from the shoemaker. The taps had been added on the tip and heels. They said it was to prevent the wearing of the shoes. But she just loved to hear the clickety click when walking on the sidewalk to church. She would change into something pretty, bring a sweater for the walk back home and of course place her rosary in her little purse.
Clickety click, and on she went but entering the church the clicks echoed so loudly, even tip-toeing made heads turn. Old ladies with thin lips and silly hats frowned disapprovingly but there were always one or two that knew her mother or grandmaman and nodded approving her presence to recite the evening rosary to Mother Mary.
first day in May
walking through the park
lovers hand in hand
first day in May
begins the month of Mary
droning Hail Mary’s
walking through the park
hair blowing in the wind
cherry blossoms wave
lovers hand in hand
kiss under the cherry tree
petal on her nose
©Tournesol’17/05/01
Daily Moments – First day in May (Troibun)
I had not read the meme properly and just realized we were to write a tan renga…since it is May 1st, I can’t help keeping the same theme as my daily thoughts.
on a gust of wind
the cherry blossoms dance through the streets
in praise of the Creator
© Chèvrefeuille
girls clutch their rosary,
month of Mother Mary begins
©Tournesol ‘17/05/01
Our host, Chèvrefeuille, at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai presents us with a meme of the Spiritual Way – Imagination giving us the choice of four photos for our inspiration.
Time seems to loiter
slowly crawling uphill
each laboured breath
wheezing to the top
mayhem starts to enter
idol pandemonium
down, down, down
spiralling carelessly
or so it seems to me
twists and turns
clutching by the sides
hurling anecdotes
of a drawn-out past
settles in the present
warning for the future
unless…
mastering these moods
feelings and obssessions
hurdles that care less
dealt once in the past
habit keeps them near
patterns that have settled
trick me into believing
how powerless am I
and yet…
given it some thought
rational and real
oh! silly do I feel
preoccupied with naught
then…
praying to the universe
chanting consciously
feeling the absurdity
lifting and disappear
now…
how I must be mindful
when time does unravel
effort downhill travel
with an intense speed
settling’s just a habit
how I do know better
and I have discovered
this long-awaited gift
spirituality and me,
chanting passionately
gently brings me back
to virtual reality
(troiku)
hanging on to
likelihoods
the unknown
hanging on to
unlikely and naïve
dandelion puffs
likelihoods
only calculations
do add up
the unknown
invisible to humans
held by the divine
©Tournesol’17/04/29
Daily moments – Time spins April 20 2017 – troibun
Walking through the thicket, the woman stops a moment to admire wild daisies. It is mid-day and the sun is commanding nature to acquiesce to her splendid rays. Birds perched in the shade of their home are silent as they embrace their afternoon siesta except for a few chirps from fledglings resisting their nap. And then, the concert begins…from tree to tree sopranos tell their story while another group sing the refrain…piercing sounds mesmerize and finally the last of the fledglings give in to their lullaby.
spellbound
cicadas take centre stage
nature listens
The woman crouches slowly, taking a picture of her subjects; she smiles at the effect the soft wind has on the flowers. It appears the daisies are waving and smiling with their golden centres boasting towards the sun. And then, she freezes…
blue butterfly
perpetual trace
on her cheek
blue butterfly
on tender petals
wings unfold
perpetual trace
sounds of summer
of her youth
on her cheek
fluttering wings,
still caress
©Tournesol’17/04/29
At Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, our host and mentor, Chèvrefeuille gives us a spiritual meme where we can choose among four photographs for our inspiration. They are A young mountain monk, Laughter, Time Flies and Tranquility. The image of a clock depicting how time flies is what inspired my haibun/troibun but more than just time flies…how a split second experience can imprint forever in my mind. The blue butterfly visited me from April to November, 2015 following the death of my mother December 2014. I have never seen such a constant presence as this beauty before or after. I know, deep down, she was helping me in my grief.
And now the memory of my experience with the blue butterfly brings me such joy…
I feel such laughter in my heart, imagining the daisies also chortling…like the monks in the photo our host has given us. By the time I had completed the troiku(a new form of haiku created also by Chèvrefeuille), I felt my whole being washed with a sense of tranquilty. So, I suppose I was influenced by all four photos and left with a lingering sense of wellbeing.
Perhaps I was also the young monk from the mountain observing the memories of my youth…my mother and the blue butterfly.
spring enters slowly
cleanses season’s debris
beauty’s worth the wait
©Tournesol’17/04/26
April showers
cleaning winter’s debris
skies are grey
intermittent gold reprieve
drops of sunrays’ budding hope
nature ripens
browns to greens
spring’s burning promise
©Tournesol’17/04/24
April 24 2017Daily Moments – season’s promise – Soliloquy no renga
When I looked up Haiku Horizons this week’s prompt had not been posted yet but I mistook “drop” last week’s as this week. Oh dear! But adjusting my last line made it all work out (smiles)
That time of day where words are not required…silence carries a life of its own. The homeless man whose weary feet, too heavy to continue, marks a spot to rest an hour or five. The rush hour street car groans its morning tune…his lullaby.
Heros of the night who keep watch for those where pain and suffering visit at two in the morning..nursing homes, hospitals, police stations, helplines…winding down their long day seeing flashes of their comfy bed mingled with the trauma they just witnessed. No words…just thoughts, visions…turning into a steady hum.
Stray cats seek a dry abode, giving chirping critters the eye that says it all. Birds chant their morning praise, feeling lucky to be alive… singing melodies of joy, hoping to see that worm raise its lovely head…
Bakeries and coffee shops are already ready to help mankind jump-start the day.
Mornings are such a foreign thing to her. So, this is how the other half lives …some starting their day and others winding down. She, falls in between …feels as if she is always trying to catch up…
Hear the silent hum
Melodies
Brew at dawn
(c)Tournesol’17-04-21
spring is in the air
Easter weekend came in sprints
sunshine here and there
spring is in the air
awakenings
playful loves resume
Easter weekend came in sprints
mournful for a day or two
rising with a smile
sunshine here and there
dropping old resentments
kindling life anew
©Tournesol’17/04/17
A Troiku is a new formed haiku created by Chèvrefeuille at Carp Diem Haiku Kai
dimanche après-midi
rencontre improvisée
échange amical
dimanche après-midi
bavarder de ci, ça
et de tout
rencontre improvisée
plongeant dans les hauts et les bas
des larmes et des éclats
échange amicale
la vie, comme il se doit
réunir entre femmes
Sunday afternoon
impromptu get-together
friendly exchange
Sunday rendezvous
talking of this, that
and everything
impromptu get-together
swimming in highs and lows
tears and giggles
with a real friend
connecting as women do
life, as it should be
©Tournesol’17/04/10
At Friday Music we are given a beautiful Québecois song for our inspiration. The song is even more special since it is by a Québecois singer/songwriter, Alex Nevsky [formerly Alexandre Parent) from Granby, Québec which is in the Eastern Townships where I was raised. I decided to write a haibun concluded with a tanka. I have not added the English translation as the literary translation does not do the song justice.
Jeter un sort, par Alex Nevsky Cœur de pirate
Lyrics for Jeter un sort by Alex Nevsky feat. Cœur de pirate
Qu’importe le temps et les promesses
Si longtemps ce n’est que maladresse
Et j’attends de toujours ton regard
Qui se pose sur mes lèvres en retard
Qu’importe le bleu de l’océan
C’est le vide que je vois finalement
Pris ici et rien pour s’arracher
De nos coeurs si intimement liés
J’ai jeté un sort
Sans trop savoir ce qu’on deviendrait
Corps à corps on disparait
À travers l’aurevoir
Et j’ai tout donné à cette cause
Cette fois c’est assez
Laisse nous au moins partir
Laisse nous au moins vivre
Laisse moi au moins vivre
Qu’importe la beauté du pardon
Aucun n’oiseaux ne mourra si nous partons
Chacun pour soi vers les jours malheureux
Tout nous déçois, mais veux-ton vraiment mieux
Est-ce nécessaire de regarder
Loin devant soi
Pour comprendre qu’on c’est égaré
L’horizon n’est peut-être plus dans tes yeux
De précision, mais plus jamais de feux
J’ai jeté un sort
Sans trop savoir ce qu’on deviendrait
Corps à corps on disparait
À travers l’aurevoir
Et j’ai tout donné à cette cause
Cette fois c’est assez
Laisse nous au moins partir
Laisse nous au moins vivre
J’ai jeté un sort
Sans trop savoir ce qu’on deviendrait
Corps à corps on disparait
À travers l’aurevoir
Et j’ai tout donné à cette cause
Cette fois c’est assez
Laisse nous au moins partir
Laisse nous au moins vivre
Laisse moi amusions vivre
Sitting in the café, she lifted her head and rubbed her neck from writing for so long. Her eyes turned towards the fireplace. A young man was reading, with his head leaning against the ear of the armchair. She could vaguely read the title…Bonheur d’O… She wondered if this was fate…this handsome man reading one of her favourite love stories by Gabrielle Roy, Bonheur d’Occasion.
She lowered her head slightly to return to her writing and only slightly tilted her head…she was fascinated to see a man read such a romantic book and now she was curious. Was he a professor or a grad student?
Then he turned towards her direction…
plunged in liquid blues
swimming in transcendence
breath held a moment
time’s at a standstill
bliss multiplied by two
©Tournesol’17/04/08
More about Gabrielle Roy in English from The Canadian Encyclopedia
Written for Friday Music at MindLoveMiserysMenagerie
Tournesol dans un Jardin 