unconditional (haiku)

purity of heart
comfort’s a privilege
no questions asked

leaving the nest (haibun)

At Carpe Diem, we are asked to write a haibun to the haiku written by Kala Ramesh., Taking Flight. The narrative and haiku must not be more thatn 150 words. Here is my narrative.

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Her mother told her she was her “baton de veillesse”. Every birthday, her mother repeated the story that she was conceived on a Sunday afternoon. “You were planned. You are special.”

She knew what her mother meant with those innuendos and guilt trips, “after all I did for you.” When she finished college, she had to return home to help her parents support her three younger siblings.

“Is this my calling?” she often asked the Great Spirit. She felt this responsibility getting heavier each year. Once the youngest sibling had fled the nest to marry, she too decided it was time.

One June night, she left in the wee hours of the morning never looking back.

Cher Maman & Papa,
Merci de me donner la vie; maintenant je vais la vivre.
Votre fille, bien aimée xx

taking flight –
a butterfly shrugs off
its shadow
© Kala Ramesh

(147 words)

Baton de viellesse is a French expression meaning that child has a duty to take care of her parents when they age. It was probably often used before pensions or social security existed.

sitting in darkness (haibun)

Stop the Stigma

Depression can be a passage in time life offers one to take stalk of one’s life; other times it can be more complex…meeting up with past traumas, a chemical imbalance and the brain needs a boost of “vitamins”, a professional who accompanies one through the darkness so they don’t stumble in those twists and turns in that labyrinth of a tunnel…perhaps it is a moment to grieve which I often call a “necessary depression” to take the time one needs to mourn a loss…to recognize and embrace that moment even when it hurts. I remember telling a youth embracing suffering sounds so absurd but picture embracing a cactus! and once you have felt the pain, with a supportive listener helping you detach from the needles of that plant, a lightness is felt and finally one may find enlightenment.

(Troiku)

waiting in darkness
waiting for the light
nothing seems to…

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near brush of colour (haiga)

dormant nature
sun gently nudges
slumber stature

children’s toys alive, awaiting
chortling patiently in hope

Written for Justine’s challenge at Eclectic Corner – Splash of Colour

slow melts ( haiga)

pets shed their coats
cars still tucked in hydro plugs
thaws like a slow dance

sub-zero nights help the sap
fun filled days at sugar shacks

daylight lingers
lovers dine in dark cafés
after sunsets

paralyzed in pain (haibun)

Everyone had left for school. The hush in the house was deafening. Edwina lay in her bed, swimming in her tormented pain. Soon she would have to get up. Her eyes looked to her right on the bedside table at the clock. It was 7:45 and she had to be at work at noon. How would she make it on time? Would she even try this time? She closed her eyes tightly, annoyed that she had not improved over the months. All the weeks of therapy, medication…nothing seemed to get her out of this “bain de torture”.

(haiku)

annoyed with self
wades in blistering pain
still awaits the hush

If she did not move any part of her body, breathed lightly and slowly, she might not hear her heart pounding in her ears. It was all in her head, they all said. There was no reason to feel tormented with what no one can see. There is no evidence that she feels what she feels. No proof of the sounds she hears. If only someone could possess her whole being, for one split second, they would surely jump out of her skin, she thought.

(tanka)

lays in wait
tremors stir inside her soul
grisly scream endures
tormenting thru and thru
‘til long desired hush

annoyed * hushed * pain

Heeding HaIku with HA at Mind Love Misery’s Menagerie

sweetened with love (haibun-Haiga festival)

Since I received a belated birthday bouquet of roses today, it is only common sense to write about that. After all, we are far from seeing any budding blossoms here and these are my first flowers of 2015. The fragrance of roses is that much sweeter when given with love from a child…another special day.

on a March day
searching for blossoms
Mother’s birthday

Mother’s birthday
celebrating decades
scent of a rose

scent of a rose
mother weeps with joy
counts her blessings

Carpe Diem “First flowers”

faith wins despair (haiga)

embracing cascades
spilling into dark waters,
release her despair

seeking refuge
leans over the footbridge,
faith holds her back

Haiku Horizons “refuge”

Carpe Diem: Back To Basic

a lovely haiku and for those who are interested in writing more, the writer had even noted the steps for a Classical Haiku.

Reading Pleasure

Done for Carpe Diem. We are to:

Describe a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown into water;
2. use 5-7-5 syllables;
3. Use a kigo (or seasonword);
4. Use a kireji (or cuttingword);
5. Sometimes a deeper spiritual or Zen-Buddhistic meaning;
6. First and third line are interchangeable.