Moon Beams (haibun) CP #517 Shiki(3) “reeds tremble”

July 11^th midnight we left Montreal via bus towards Toronto. This would be a 6 hour trip or shorter depending on traffic and mostly summer construction on Highway 401, the most boring highway that I know. That is why I take a bus or train when travelling alone, for by car, the risk of falling asleep at the wheel hypnotized by the same white line on black asphalt is too dangerous.

I felt like I was chasing the moon tonight, walking towards the bus terminal. I tried to take a few pictures but my camera could not do it justice. It shone so bright and it looked like a tiny spec on my camera.

On the bus I would see glimpses of the moon on the right and when I aimed my camera, the bus turned slightly and it was not to the left. I was sitting on the right side way in the front on the top deck of this double-decker Megabus. Fortunately I had two seats, so I could stretch my long legs. My tablet was on most of the ride to occupy my busy mind. I was lucky if I slept an hour and now I know that it may have been due to the “almost” full moon.

For hours the white glow teased me going from the right of my window and then to the left where I could l could not see as well, then whoosh, it would disappear. The more we approached mid morning around 3 a.m.

Moon, I saw you,

swell in size

inflamed and boisterous

daring and glorious

you shine like a star

you acquiesce afar

finally with unrest

you shine ahead

towards the West

the lower you get

the larger you’ve set

into a golden lantern

it’s 3am, cannot sleep

your energy fills me

that beaming glow

as travellers follow

all through the night

you’re glowing light

keeps us alert, safe

you’ll not abandon

us until early dawn

that golden star

we’ll not see yet

as we head West

just feel the glow

from the East

as you, moon,

shall seek rest.

This was Thursday morning that I saw this “almost full moon” on my bus ride; and on Saturday the moon was at its fullest and there was a great celebration at the retreat where I was, called The Guru Purnima. We waited with anticipation for the celebration until the wee hours of the night (5am. more precisely) In the meantime, I went out for a walk and took a few photos of the full moon and my mind wandered…

(haiku)

hot summer night

waves crash on the beach

guided by moon beams

lovers embrace

hide behind bushes

bright moon glow

Although this prompt is to write about the full moon in the Fall or Winter, I had these notes from my trip I felt fit so well with the mood of the full moon. You can see more explanations, Chèvrefeuille so graciously and eloquently gives at Carpe Diem #517 Shiki (3), “reeds tremble”

Ride home (haiga)

Train runs on time

chasing clouds on the run

whistle blows.

clouds etched in the sky

bales of hay set out to dry

one dark cloud taunts

lightness dims

sun bows gracefully

almost home

darkness greets me solemnly

city lights wink high above.

Unknown sky (haiga)

Carpe Diem #509 Chiyo-Ni (2) ”in an unknown sky”

meigetsu ya ittemo ittemo yoso no sora

autumn’s bright moon,
however far I walked, still afar off
in an unknown sky

© Chiyo-Ni a well known haiku poetess from the 18th century.

clouds horde June sky
walk on darkened path
my dog howls ahead.

A party of five (Haiga)

they all lined up
all dressed to the nines
waiting to party

tea was brewing
cake just out of the oven
cooling

one gentleman in their midst
and four wanting maidens

such a fine day
filled with hope and promise
for one party.

I wanted to get out my daughter’s 20+ year old Barbies but at this late hour, it was a chore to hunt in the hot damp basement, these would have to do. The 3 straw dolls were gifts from my daughter when she was very little, the porcelain lady and gentleman were once attached to bedside lamps belonging to my grandparents some 80 years ago.Oh, and the background of course is my fan for these hot summers. I do look somewhat stylish in the Métro, I dare say.

Week 20 at Haiku Horizon and the prompt is “party”

Elegance (haiga)

Daisy

elegance

effortless perfection

a bees’ perch

stretched neck

reaching for the sky

sun smiles

Missing them already (haibun)

I love traveling by rail and do as often as I can. The trek Montreal to Toronto by car can take about 5 to 6 hours and by train if I am lucky and get the express which only stops at 3 places, it takes 4 and a half hours. Some other trains can take up to 7 hours and the bus takes 6 hours and costs anywhere from $18 to $50. Just fuel to get there one way costs me $70. Now if I am really lucky, I try to book a few days before departing and can get on business class for one-third of the price. That means, I get longer leg room, can get a seat alone by the window and am paying the economy class price.

At business class, we get a 3-course meal with all the before dinner drinks, wine, and after dinner drinks you want. Well, I stick to a glass or two of wine but there are some who can sure pack it in. I would be crawling off the train if I tried to keep up. Last winter we were stalled for an extra two hours due to the cold weather, the tracks were iced and they could not switch tracks. So we waited for all the trains to pass on one particular track as a safety measure. I sure was glad I was in the business class…nice and roomy, blogging away on my laptop.

I visit once or twice a year to see my family now. I rarely go see my friends as there is not enough time but to catch a lot of my friends and colleagues, I pick up a shift in Toronto since it’s the national office of where I work. Every time I leave, I feel homesick barely a few miles out of the city. I have two places I call home since 1997 and it is with mixed feelings I leave each time.

train slows down
nearing a crossing by the lake
echoes on the beach

picking up speed
whizzing by lakes and farmland
my heart aches

Submitted for: Carpe Diem Haiku Kai #507, Shiki, Smoke Whirls

Harmony (haibun)

Robert Dowling

She looked up at the sky and saw only grey clouds. “Again, only grey poop on” she muttered. That’s what she thought of those grey clouds…pooping on her life, her mood, her heart and her soul. There was no longer any light in her life. She sighed, giving herself a bigger push to swing higher. “Maybe if I swing high enough, I’ll be able to kick one of those clouds and see rain that will wash away all the bleakness in this land.”

“Watch it, little one! You may fall and you sure as heck don’t want to fall way down there!!”squawked the black crow above, settling on a dried up tree…no leaves, just branches..

Elaina looked up at her friend. He had become her friend in the past year.He had given her the idea to braid long strips of cotton to hang from the twig that was her only seat outside her birdcage. She now had a swing which gave her a sense of freedom.

She had been disgusted by this huge black crow, at first when she was brought here by “him” but she realized over time, that Cornelius was a product of “his” master plan. Anyone who defied him or tried to escape only fell into the den of désespérance or Des-Spa as Cornelius jokingly called it. It was the bottomless pit that lay below…a sort of limbo but Elaina felt it was a hell created by “him”.

“I suppose you’re right, Cornelius, even if you are not a wise old owl,” she giggled and for a brief moment, the clouds separated and a hint of glow shone from the skies. Whenever Elaina sang or laughed, this occurred. But it never seemed to last more than 2 to 3 seconds.

Somehow, somewhere far above there was a positive force of goodness and beauty that was trying to communicate to Elaina. She felt it in the soles of her feet. Well, not really soles but she had been stripped of all her clothes. She had made herself a make-shift dress from the veils that covered her cage/home and with the long strips leftover, braided it as per instructions from daring Cornelius.

“He” had stripped her of her clothes but had the decency to jail her in a veiled insulated cage she could use as bedding or blanket on cooler nights. She didn’t mind sleeping without bedding. She felt less trapped this way. And Cornelius could keep her company when she was lonely and spread his wings to keep her warm on cooler nights. He always enjoyed her giggling and especially her singing in her soft soprano voice. She sounded like an angel in a celestial choir. Perhaps that is why the clouds separated briefly…maybe angels thought she was a lost sister.

Somehow she knew if she could sing long enough or the right harmony, the skies would be unlocked…finally breathe hope and compassion…she would just have to be patient.

The Celestial Order

patience unlocks skies

heavens unleash goodness

beauty of the soul.

Written for MindLoveMiserysmenagerie Photo Challenge #15 – birdhouse

Emotes to manhood (haibun) (SoCS)

The drama teacher told us the other day that the boys do not emote enough and asked me and Francine to give examples. Is she kidding? I am a bundle of emotions. My soul and heart are like a bunch of elastics that pile one on to the other building a ball bigger than a golf ball. Each elastic can snap at the knowledge of sadness, pain and suffering. An elastic or two will snap if there is hatred and bitterness. I am the most ridiculous example of someone you should NOT be like. But these guys need examples, she said.

Well, I beg to differ, Mrs. Messier! These boys know how to emote alright. They did it just fine when they were babies, even as toddlers but when they got to nursery school at the ripe OLD age of 3 and 4, they were laughed at for showing emotions. If they dared show any signs that remotely looked or sounded like a kid with a sad face or wanting to cry…well, the boys would call them sissy. The girls were allowed to cry if someone called them stupid or told them, “I hate you!” A boy had to cross his arms, pout, scrunch up his nose and narrow his gaze with eyebrows trained to make a high V. That was how they emote alright. The hid it in their hearts and sometimes it got too big, it slipped into their fist especially if they felt a tear escaping…

So how can I show these 16-year-old boys how to emote tomorrow in drama class?

Hmmm, I think I will tell them a story about a little boy going off in the forest to hunt deer with his father, grandfather and uncles. And suddenly it starts raining and thundering. And then lightning strikes and hits a tree and falls on his uncles, striking them dead! Lightening did not let up, yet, though, no sirree! Lightening hit his father and his grandfather and all he had left was his little rifle and a knife and a deer that was off to the side staring at him with those big doe eyes! He stared back…he bit his lips, he scrunched his nose, he narrowed his gaze and the dear gently sauntered up closer to him and nudged him with its nose. The doe had also lost her mom and dad and brothers. The boy understood right there. He put down his rifle and knife and knelt next to the deer and hugged it and cried… he wept with it in his arms until nightfall.

When the moon came out from behind the clouds, he could see his way back home. He had an apple in his rucksack and gave it to the deer and whispered to it, “Run and hide, dear one. Thank you for healing my heart. I have become a man today. I am not afraid to cry and to show compassion.”

Deviant Art-Boy and Deer

robbed of his loved ones

nature teaches him how

becoming a man.

Submitted for LindaGHill’s Friday Reminder SoCS – Prompt “Emote”

A bit late but life got in the way …again.

These are Linda’s instructions and it’s a fun prompt…just let it go, write until your thoughts stop, then you’ve reached the end, then publish.

Linda says:

This week’s prompt word is “emote.” Feel free to add a suffix to it, or not, and just let it flow.

After you’ve written your Saturday post tomorrow, please link it here at the prompt page in the comments so others can find it and see your awesome Stream of Consciousness post. Don’t hesitate to join in!

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” or “Begin with the word ‘The’.”

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people will come and read your post! The way to ping back, is to just copy and paste the URL of my post somewhere on your post. Then your URL will show up in my comments, for everyone to see. For example, in your post you can copy and paste the following: This post is part of SoCS:http://lindaghill.wordpress.com/2014/06/27/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-2814/ The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. Have fun!