Poetry ~ Waka
Burning the midnight oil seemed futile. Over thinking can only shed angst and more puzzles.
searching for answers
in the recesses
of her mind
searching for answers
in reflection on the water
the river speaks
in the recesses
on the other side
of dementia
of her mind
filled with memories
rest on cobwebs
Daily Moments August 25, 2017 – too much thinking (senryu)
I had started to research and drafted a post for this prompt but that was two days ago and pfffft, I lost it all. Returning to the drawing board, I found a poem by Issa Kobayashi who I truly love his work. His last line in haiku often end with a nice surprise and sometimes with a bit of humour. I am sharing some of his bio here that I found at the Poetry Foundation:
”
Japanese poet Kobayashi Issa, also known as Kobayashi Yataro and Kobayashi Nobuyuki, was born in Kashiwabara, Shinanao province. He eventually took the pen name Issa, which means “cup of tea” or, according to poet Robert Hass, “a single bubble in steeping tea.”
Issa’s father was a farmer. His mother died when he was young, and he was raised by his grandmother. His father remarried, and Issa did not get along well with his stepmother or stepbrother, eventually becoming involved in disputes over his father’s property. When Issa was 14, he left home to study haiku in Edo. He spent years traveling and working until returning to Kashiwabara in the early 1810s. In Kashiwabara, his life was marked by sorrow— the death of his first wife and three children, an unsuccessful second marriage, the burning down of his house, and a third marriage.
Issa’s haiku are as attentive to the small creatures of the world—mosquitoes, bats, cats—as they are tinged with sorrow and an awareness of the nuances of human behavior. In addition to haiku, Issa wrote pieces that intertwined prose and poetry, including Journal of My Father’s Last Days and The Year of My Life.”
The moon in August is sometimes called the Corn Moon or Cold Moon. Now this time of year when referring to the full moon, however, in Japan, they are referring to the autumn moon or harvest moon which I prefer to write about in September. I am really not ready to write that much about autumn…yet.
I remember travelling by car or by bus marveling at the full moon. It is sometimes on my left side and then my right side depending where I am driving and how many twists and curves I have taken. But when I am driving home alone late at night, somehow I don’t feel so alone. It is almost a sordid affair…like the man on the moon is keeping me company and only he and I exist until I get home.
I have chosen this poem by Issa for inspiration:
My humble attempt also having fun:
traveling with the moon (Troiku)
under a full moon
midnight rendezvous
skinny dipping
under a full moon
along the lonely highway
I’m not alone
midnight rendezvous
under the willow
stealing their last kiss
skinny dipping
splashing late at night
snoopy neighbour smiles
©Tournesol’17/08/25
A Troiku is a new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
This post was written for Suzanne’s On The Road Friday prompt: Travelling with the Moon.
Sometimes I get up in the morning and I am dazed, with dreams still lingering in my mind. Those first few seconds where I ask myself, “Um, what day is it? Where am I?” and slowly I come back to my real mundane world.
This morning was like that and as the day progressed, it changed from satisfying and calm to frustrating and chaotic. Now, all of this was going on in MY mind! Personal situations started bubbling. Then, you know when you day is going smoothly and then you ask for something out of the ordinary to someone yet, simple in a logical world would be a no brainer. Well, we do not always live in a logical world, now do we? Everyone has their own thing, their own moods, their own triggers and their own perceptions and ideas of logical.
The longer it takes to get a response to my request, the more I regress to that snot faced toddler stomping his feet…yep, that is pretty much how I felt. Part of me was silly and childish and another part of me was logical trying to make sense in a less than logical environment. Now mind you, this was still all going on in my mind again…good thing no one saw the scenarios in my mind’s eye!!
Well, my blood pressure surely went up a notch or two and that can be dangerous with a seasoned person like me but now I am calmer. Things are sorted out and I have grown out of my toddler’s shorts and I’m all “growed up now!”
inhaling a new day
golden glow on blue canvas
life can be like that
dark clouds loom mid-day
bright moods turn to gloom
life can be like that
day’s end takes a turn
orange and magenta skies
life can be like that
©Tournesol’17/08/24
Daily moments – Life is like that (haibun) August 24/17
brisk winds
strip trees bare, until
return of summer
brisk winds
blowing gold and amber leaves
nature’s duvet
strip trees bare
warm breeze passing through
Indian summer
return of summer
autumn in remission
before winter’s sleep
© Tournesol’17/08/23
Written for Heeding Haiku with Chevrefeuille at MindLoveMiserysMenagerie and the theme is Indian Summer.
A troiku is a new form of haiku created by our host, Chevrefeuille. You can see at his blog Carpe Diem Haiku Kai where he introduces his readers to this new form – The Troiku.
even through grey skies
sun still shines brightly
above those clouds
despite life’s quagmires
moon shines down on me
never give up hope
even through thunder storms
the Great Spirit knows
©Tournesol`17/08/22
Inspired by a tanka Olga wrote at Stuff and What If in reponse to a prompt for Suzanne’s On the Road: travelling with the moon
Bits and pieces of the dream comes to mind. Two men and a woman open act one and towards the last act, after many exchanges and events, two women and one man bow for their performance.
A very illogical dream comprising of penises and vaginas…yes, I kid you not!! Absurd as it may seem. I kept coming in and out of sleep but would get back into the action of things each time. There was talk about operations, if I remember some dialogues in the dream. At the end I was shocked to see that there were now 2 women and one man. “Aww,” I thought to myself, “I guess that was the talk about penises…one was removed and a vagina put in place.” What a weird dream!
moving pictures
in the shrine of her mind
roll in endless loops
bizarre performances
all night long
(c) Tournesol’17-08-22
Daily Moments – catching dreams (haibun)
My friend shares her days upon her visit at the ashram in Amritapuri in Kerala, India, where Amma and her devotees reside. Perhaps September will be a time for me to consider since it may rain but it is also cooler. If you want to read more on Karuna’s journey in India, click on the above tab on the Menu INDIA.
My Daily Challenges for Spiritual Growth: Today, I seek guidance.
chanting softly
in my mind’s eye
she smiles
asking her guidance
I wait…it will come, I know(c) Tournesol’ 17-08-22
Setting Up
I spent a good part of my first days at the ashram setting up my room. That included unpacking the suitcase I brought from Seattle and the items in the small trunks I keep here year round. I washed the clothes from the trunks in buckets. That task was made considerably harder since I couldn’t wring out the clothes with only one hand, my non-dominant hand at that. I knew I could choose to use a laundry service, but clothes dry so fast here that I prefer to do it myself. Luckily, I was in India not Seattle. I could press the items on the washing stone in my bathroom and get out a lot of the excess water. And in India, the clothes and towels would drip dry in a reasonable amount of time even though they were not rung out properly.
The morning of my first…
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bleeding nations
too many turn a blind eye
only white flags fly
©Tournesol’17/08/214
Written for Carpe Diem #1240 Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue (Barnett Newman)
Nearing the end of summer is such a busy and pleasant time of year. Fruits are still plentiful at the farmer’s market, we can smell the peaches, plums and first pickings from the apple orchard. Vegetables are in abundance and it is a time to make homemade ketchup, pickled beets and bread and butter pickles. Kitchens are filled with aromas and tiny hands reaching for a spoon to savour the fruits of our mother’s and grandmother’s labour.
harvesting season
golden honey on my tongue
taste of heaven
harvesting season
tart and crunchy Lobos
first apple pickings
golden honey on my tongue
mixed with lemon and ginger
GrandMaman’s potion
taste of heaven
after dinner digéstif
apricot brandy
©Tournesol’17/08/21
Haiku Horizons: Prompt “Taste”
A troiku is a new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
The theme today at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai is ‘shifted flowers’ and the painting I have chosen is an abstract oil painting my aunt did from a photo she took. She said one morning she walked out onto the garden and was mesmerized with such beautiful colours.
jardin du matin
à la suite d’un ciel étoilé
éclat de nuances
morning garden
morning after starlit sky
burst of shades
©Tournesol’17/08/21
Tournesol dans un Jardin 