Category: Haibun

Child’s Play (haibun)

Cloudfront – St Patrick’s Day Parade – Montreal

The first St-Patrick`s Day parade was celebrated in Montreal in 1759, three years before the start of New York’s well-known parade, in 1762. Rain or shine, snow  or sleet, the parade has run consecutively each year since 1824. My great grandfather arrived from Ballybunion, Ireland in Montreal after the Great Famine and was one of the organizers of the St-Patrick’s Day Parade.

It has also been voted by the National Geographic one of the top 10 St. Patrick`s Day celebrations in the world! This does not surprise me. St-Patrick’s Day celebrations are times when politics are set aside and the French and English speaking people parade in the streets of Montreal, Irish pubs are filled with revellers singing, dancing and drinking various ales and draughts …of course there is a lot of green beer too; servers are dressed in costumes dated back to the 19th century.

Montréal St-Patrick's Basilica
Montral St-Patrick’s Basilica

St-Patrick`s Basilica in Montréal opened on March 17th in 1847 and this church has an even more significant meaning to me as my father’s cousin, Father Michael O’Donnell gave his first mass at St-Patrick’s Baslilica in 1979…a very solemn and moving moment for friends and family.

Wikimedia.org (Montreal St-Patrick’s Day Parade

As a young child, St-Patrick’s explanation of the Holy Trinity made so much sense…

Longboat Key News – Real Irish shamrocks in a field

child moves gracefully,
field of three-leaved-grasse
chanting, “three in one!”

© Tournesol ’15

CDHK

Resources: Montreal Irish Parade – historian’s corner

National Geographic – top 10 St Patrick’s Day Celebrations

Tourisme-Montréal – 10 Fun Facts

artist’s haven (haibun

Cherry Blossom Time

Photo credits: Katrin Shumakov at Flickr

I often write about the cherry blossoms at Stanley Park in Vancouver. My first trip there, I met a lovely Japanese couple at the airport on my arrival. It was early April, and they encouraged me to visit Stanley Park, proudly telling me how the Japanese government has donated many cherry trees to Vancouver.  I’m so glad they told me and was so enthralled by the beauty of a park situated by the Pacific Ocean, bursting with pale pink flowers throughout the park.

..
I learned later that High Park in Toronto has many cherry trees. “How could I have missed that?” I scold myself, having lived so close to that park for thirteen years. It was only when I moved back to Montreal did I hear of these cherry trees.

cherry blossoms
photoshoot haven,
spring’s promise

© Tournesol ’15

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai

Hues consume her (haibun – haiga)

Mesmerized by nature’s evening performance, she sighs and falls imto a sea pf  peaceful tranquilty.

magenta consumes me

drowns in colours
 gold dips beneath the skyline
wrapped in magenta

© Tournesol ’15

OctPoWriMo – 8 – Colour me Good

The long road (haiga – haibun)

She felt so many regrets these days, not remorse, but regrets. Was it the weather, approaching “le mois des morts”? Perhaps. November creeps up so fast. Was it Thanksgiving in a few days that makes her wonder of what she is thankful? That would be something to concentrate a bit more on, she keeps arguing with herself today.

There are some things she would never change and the obvious would be her grown children but what else? She looks out at the darkened sky, oh so much earlier than a month ago! Going back to university to get her degree was something she would never regret. She couldn’t. She took the long road to get there, true. Nine years while raising a family and working at two to three part time jobs. But that road gave her goal more purpose. It allowed her to be who she was born to be …the labour of her birth was just a little longer.

Each day she walks to work in the fall and feels blessed to see the sunflowers still standing strong in October. How resilient those roots must be to push through the concrete on that city street!

late blooming sunflowers

 

sunflowers hail
standing strong despite a slow start
blessing late bloomers.

© Tournesol ’15

#OctPoWriMo Day 7: the road less traveled

They spread their leaves (haibun)

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. Kahlil Gibran

https://frandi.wordpress.com/lebanese-family-tree-photos/ Sketch by Kahlil Gibran

In her youth she had  many plants in her home.  Begonias, African violets, dieffenbachias, spider plants, cactus and ivies. Oh! how she loved them!  Those years trying to have children, she treated each one like her baby.  Each plant had different needs… watered once a week, some twice, some once a month. All had their special personality, some shied from the sun, others rose with the sun and her prayer plant that folded at night reminding her always to say her prayers before going to sleep.  Now she had her mother and this plant to remind her.

One year she adopted  a beautiful fern that she kept in her bedroom where it was cooler and visitors might not rub on it.   And then, she had babies which took up all her attention. Most of her plants left for foster homes.

Her family moved to a home in the country, where there was room to run and play and plant a huge vegetable garden.  She planted marigolds around the vegetables to protect them from unwanted visitors and petunias and begonias in the front flower bed.

That was long ago. She’s  moved since then; the children grew up and left. She and her cat look out at her humble herb garden and a mother-in-law tongue sits in the dining room. Now the plant serves her, wagging its tongue and purifies the air.

© Clr '15
© Clr ’15

flowers blossom,
spreading their leaves 
 until the sun sets

© Tournesol’15

DversePoets – Haibun Monday

Storm within (haibun +¸haiku)

On her walk home, she listened to Deva Premal, she had purchased three mantras last night…yep, three of the same mantras chanted differently. It gave her energy to start her shift and blessed her when she came home at the end of her long night.

She reached her home minutes after  midnight;  she gave her loyal feline friend a cuddle, then fired up the laptop. She must have touched a button she was not used to with her new Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge NEWS popped up with the first article shocking her.  “All my babies are dead”…her hand hesitated on the mouse for a split second and then she clicked.  A tragedy!  Preventable, unnecessary… drunk driving tragedy.  It was as if the weather of that nice evening walk home in the cool brisk air had changed dramatically.  This was why she no longer had television.  This was the reason she stopped purchasing newspapers 14 years ago but the internet still bled bad news.

home at twilight
sits with a midnight snack
and, then the storm broke
prays for those who’ll never rest
grieving for their babies

© Tournesol ’15

___________________________________________________

(haiku)

three dead children
parents’ limbs ripped of their souls
idle bicycles

a father,
a grandfather
gone forever

families,
communities and nations
grieve

the storm invaded,
addiction grabbed too many
victims

© Tournesol ’15

Haiku Horizons “storm”

Deva Premal – Gayatri Mantra

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

tát savitúr váreṇ(i)yaṃ

bhárgo devásya dhīmahi

dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt

We meditate on the glory of the Creator;
Who has created the Universe;
Who is worthy of Worship;
Who is the embodiment of Knowledge and Light;
Who is the remover of Sin and Ignorance;
May He open our hearts and enlighten our Intellect.

Nouvel an – Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – octobre 2015 (haibun)

© Clr '15
© Clr ’15

Carpe Diem is more than just  a website or a daily writing prompt…it is a way of life with a mentor who patiently guides us with many  seasoned members who also generously share their gift.   I can feel the family connection and encouragement among members.   I learned so much from these  experienced siblings.

But this past year,  has been a place that lifted me when I felt down, allowed me to write through my grief when my mom passed and enabled me to find my voice and my place. Happy New Year, Chèvrefeuille  and Haijins!

un nouvel an
semant nos graines d’inspirations
une récolte familiale

a new year
  sowing seeds of inspiration
a family harvest

© Tournesol ‘15

CDHK New Year

Here is a Thank you I wrote last week. Merci Chèvrefeuille

 My thanks to our mentor, Chèvrefeuille, who shares his passion and thoughtfully teaches us more than words, daily.

haiku lover
shares his passion, teaching
patiently
one moment comes to life
seventeen syllables

© Tournesol’15

garished dressings (haibun)

© Clr'
© Clr’15

Gazing at the blood moon turning red during the lunar eclipse, she was mesmerized to see how the sun reflected the colours of our earth, such a rich red-brown beauty in the sky.

trees in garished robes
hues of reds fall silently –
moon holds centre stage

© Tournesol ’15

Autumn walk (30 doh – 023 September haiga)

Finally, she can breathe with the temperatures lowered but not plummeted to shock the body. Walking to work she looks at the fallen leaves forming a lovely carpet and up at the changing colours ever so slowly resisting the transition this year for some reason. Ah, yes, due the unusual warmth, nature is quite confused. Again she approaches her concrete garden that seems to blossom only in the fall. Perhaps it is a gift from the gods hiding underneath sowing the seeds all through summer.

21074192874_2686e7bf78_z

trees shed leaves
yielding to season’s slumber
wildflowers resist

© Tournesol’15

30 days of haiga – 023 – Autumn Walk – Rick Daddario

twilight walk (haibun)

autumn moon 2015
© Clr’15

This time of year she looks forward for her walk home late at night. The moon gets bigger nearing midnight, shining on her path she walks slowly not feeling really alone.

her lone walk,
autumn moon hovers
midnight companion

© Tournesol ’15