Poetry ~ Waka
one more sleepless night
mantra chanting, mindful breathing…
toss – turn – groan
crying over spilt milk
many moons ago
such a bitter taste
daybreak
already at four thirty!
eyelids get heavy.
eyelids closing
body acquiesces…
all except the brain
mindless chatter
time to get up for work
one more sleepless night
© Tournesol 2023-06-13 Daily Moments
Spring is in the air Awakens our inner child Play, Love, Joy Spring is in the air Inviting new beginnings Awakens our inner child Rain or shine Heart still skips with joy Play - Love - Joy An ageless mantra For all (c) Tournesol 2023-03-25 le printemps est dans l'air éveille l’enfant intérieur jouer, aimer, jouir le printemps est dans l'air séduisant des nouveaux débuts éveille l’enfant intérieur ensoleillé ou pluvieux le cœur fait des sauts jouer - aimer - jouir un mantra Pour tous·tes © tournesol 2023-03-26
How I miss her nudging me...those sporadic visits. Going for a walk, I would feel the hints of a verse, a word...a perfect moment whispering to me. My mind always wanders...so hard to be mindful because my eyes see one thing for a moment and then she takes over with an interesting narrative. A bike missing a wheel thrown carelessly beneath a balcony. What if it was a kidnapping and the bike was thrown here from another town? What if it was an accident and the biker had no ID, police still looking for John Doe? What if...indeed!! I miss holding an image in my heart f then allowing it to simmer for a day or two and turning it into a watercolour of words, three brief lines that take your imagination on to a lovely journey. Other times it can be philosophical or spiritual but definitely, with a tasteful metaphor. Since the pandemic, rather than benefit from time during those moments if isolation... inspiration changed to a very scattered mind. Words were mixed with fear but this morning there was a slight shift ...
Softly whispers Welcoming lilt Brief rendezvous Softly whispers Moment in time wades in my soul Welcoming lilt Holding my breath Listening to her voice Brief rendezvous Still breathtaking (c) Tournesol 2023-03-05 Daily Moments
snowflakes
carpets forming
spreading joy
snowflakes
adorning
bare branches
white carpets forming
like white sheets on a stick
spreading peace
spreading joy
peace
no wars!
(c) Tournesol ‘2022-11-16
A widow and her sons gathered with their cousins the evening before…reacquainting with each other, reminiscing their childhoods…remembering their father, their uncle, her life long partner of 68 years, who passed. They laughed, they danced, they ate a feast cousins had ordered for the family; they drank and remembered a wonderful man who touched so many friends and family of all ages. One cousin was up late downloading music her cousins had chosen to be played at the burial. Another cousin went to the florist to get roses and rose petals.
The next morning, she woke up early and went to the coffee shop to have breakfast and listened to her muse…in two hours her uncle’s ashes would be interred at the family graveside. It was cloudy but not raining and clouds were making room for the sun’s rays…
grey skies beckoning no more tears grey skies casting shadows under their eyes beckoning softly whispers please don't cry no more tears like dust in the wind smiling from above (c) Tournesol 2022-10-18 and then the sun appeared as if he was smiling ...
Songs:
Wish you were here – Pink Floyd
Father & Son – Cat Stevens
Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
My Way – Frank Sinatra
Hallelujah – Alexandra Burke
Dust in the Wind – Kansas
Poem read:
It’s been 10 to 12 C the past few days and today, she could actually feel a shift in the air. Windows were open all day and her two felines slept on their carpets by the open patio door. By late afternoon, she could feel a chill and she closed the windows except for her bedroom where she enjoys the cool air under her warm duvet.
silky soft
stretching along her chest
scent of autumn
Inhaling freshness with a sigh
remembering their runny nose
nose peaking
above down feathers
breathing in crispness
© Tournesol ‘2022-09-23
Daily Moments Sept 23/22
I’m in the country this week minding my son’s dogs and cat. Heidi (German Shepherd) and Mia (Golden mix) are sisters and they are like two giant peas in a pod. They play together, sleep together, eat together but compete to get petted of course. And GiGi, the Persian could care less about those giants. She does her own thing. She loves jumping on the kitchen counter and drinking water straight from the tap and pleads with me daily. My son warned me NOT to do that since it took him months to have her finally drink out of a bowl. Since he leaves the kids for ten to twelve hours, he would not want her to dehydrate. It is so tempting though to indulge the little thing, like Nana giving too many sweets to the grands…that is exactly how I feel with these pets.
It is a long trek to get to work for me but the peacefulness here is palpable.
birds muted
soft breeze pacifies
mid-morning calm
&
mid-morning calm
after canine game of tag
shadow bed
(c) Tournesol ’15
It’s Mother’s Day and I keep thinking backwards and then forward…I miss my mom but i see her in me, and through me and through my children and love her for keeping her spirit alive in all of us. She is in my children and grandchildren…loving them so so much.
It’s that time of year again
remembering uncooked chocolate pudding
and toast in bed
each grain of powder saying, “I love you Mom”
ceramic paper weights
paper doilies
macaroni necklace…
I remember picking dandelions
and drawing pictures,
gluing absorbing cotton clouds
hearing her voice singing songs with made up words
laughing with delight and childlike joy
running her fingers in her curly hair
hugging me, whispering “I love you, darling”
(C) ClRoberts 2022-05-08
Remember when we had to get used to saying “The Artist- formerly known as Prince”? I was trying to find a way to name that Russian president [what’s his name] similarly. I wrote several forms. I was still not satisfied. Then I looked up some names he is known for today…”Dickhead” is one that caught my attention. But the only one that seemed to fit how I felt about him today is “Devil Incarnate – formerly known as Putin”.
dogs howl in mourning baffled by the devil's work longing their masters echoes of rustling leaves trees shudder with grief midst the smog of war clouds form from malice and greed STILL - Ukraine's heart beats (c) tournesol '2022-04-03
As we hope to approach the end of this pandemic, a month ago the world witnessed an explosion of chaos, of violence, of trauma, of one of the worse assaults against humanity…I’m not an expert on this. I am but an ordinary person who is in her late autumn years…or is it winter? Well, it is not spring or summer, so you figure it out.
Watching the news is a cat and mouse affair for me. I want to be in the “know” but most days I can no longer handle it. I know I need to be fresh and together so my heart is open to be filled with trauma, sorrow and the multiple questions from a confused generation of youths and young adults. And so I watch the news 3 days a week to keep some balance in my heart…my mind.
I cry for youths. I cry for my children and their children…heck, I cry for anyone who is younger than me and so many of their dreams are in question. I weep out of fear, worry, disappointment with the world and how we have become split in so many ways…more than I have ever seen in my lifetime.
I have lived a long full life without the chaos we are faced with now but my heart aches especially for children, teens and young families all over the world.
I have been trying to embrace brief moments of joy…I heard a flock (gaggle) of geese honking over my building at sunset last week…the sound made my heart beat just a little faster. My geranium is blossoming so much as it stretches out towards the sun in my bedroom window…embracing moments of joy, my feline stretching in the sunshine and my granddaughter talking to me in “her” language that is music to Nana’s ears.
don’t cry little one
the sun is shining today
hear the geese honk
April rains wash pain away
the sun will dry your cheeks
chin up little one
skipping rope and chanting rhymes
oh! sweet merriment
(c)tournesol ‘2022-03-30
