Poetry ~ Waka
Our host, Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem gave us a photo to inspire our imagination and paint what we see with our words.
poussière d’ange
cantiques lumineuses
dans la voie lactée
angel dust
radiant incantations
in the milky way
© Tournesol ’16/01/04
The cold air awakened her. It was minus 22C and she just could not seem to warm her room this morning. She shuffled to the living room in her fleece robe de chamre. The sun rising slowly, catches her attention.
(troiku)
dawn of day
winter sky
seems less cold
dawn of day
ball of fire
slow rise
winter sky
melts with burning glow
that golden star
seems less cold
sky’s ablaze
warming hearts
© Tournesol ’16/01/04
January 4th/16 Daily Moments and CDHK Shoukan (less cold)
At the Secret Keeper, the weekly writing prompts are the following words:
WAIT | MEET | TEAR | ACCEPT | CEASE | which you can write various forms of poetry or flash fiction 300 to 500 words.
I decided to write a Troiku (a new haiku form created by Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, one of my favourite waka forms.
The annunciation
(Troiku)
last Christmas Eve
it waits upon a crooked fence
a crow eyes its prey
last Christmas Eve
dark skies meet a mother’s grief
crushed – she must accept
waiting on the crooked fence
a mother’s relentless tears
will never cease
a crow eyes its prey
poor pinky* squeals for mercy
mother’s howl of woe
© Tournesol ’16/01/04
*pinky = baby mouse
Consistency breeds comfort. It feels familiar when repeated at the same time over and over, like a mother’s lullaby soothing her baby. After the first snowstorm of the season, nature seems to produce a steady snowfall every other day…sometimes a heavy flurry that often tapers to a slow constant flutter.
She hears a humming in the middle of the night a drone that calms her back to sleep. Bu,t this morning she awakens just before sunrise and watches the snow fall gently. It’s a light snow at first …just enough to veil the outlines of the droning machinery outside her window.
She looks at the trees, fitted with sweaters of pure white and the cedars hide bashfully under stoles of pure fresh powder.
It’s Sunday morning and the sun is rising somewhere in the east far above snow clouds. The sky is a pearly grey, not threatening in the least but rather like a dome hovering over her home. It feels like a shower of white poppies…nature suggesting Sabbath’s day of rest.
She hears another snowplough clearing a shopping centre’s lot across the street; those eager patrons will be checking the last day of Boxing Day week hoping to find another deal, the right size, and right colour… the real deal! If not, they’ll just sit in the mall with a Laura Secord ice cream cone and watch the tired faces of adults being pulled by their offspring s chanting, “Just one more, just one more!” Comfortable armchairs are strategically placed in the centre hallway of the mall where tired fathers and husbands wait patiently and people watch.
A smug smile forms on her lips as she relishes the warmth and calm of her home, not inclined in the least to go out unless she needs something. She sighs, relieved at the thought of not having to brush half a foot of snow off the hood of a car and scrape the windows of melted snow turned to ice and sits back relishing the sound of her furry friend purr.
arresting snow – falls,
manmade humming stills,
settles on a branch
© Tournesol ’16/01/03
Daily Moments of January 3, 2016
first light
golden glow awakens
birth of a day
first light
morning feed starts the day,
newborn cries
golden glow awakens
icicles spark wanting hearts
hope’s desires
birth of a day
filled with promise
new beginnings
© Tournesol ’16/01/02
Daily Moments
au fond,
dans le gousset de mon cœur
tu es toujours là
in the depth,
in the pocket of my heart
you are always there
(c) Tournesol’16
Daily Moments Jan 1, 2016
Happy New Year ! I sit here, thinking of the possibilities of this year and hope I can fill at least a tiny part of these inspired opportunities I do have.
We are well into three hours of 2016 and I am high on life, my beliefs and my hopes. I just finished watching Patch Adams and Robin Williams made me laugh out loud and weep with happiness at the compassion he shows to patients. The only bad words in the entire movie for me was “transference” and “class above patients”. Yes, well, this movie just confirmed what I have felt, lived and believed most of my career in the helping profession. Oh, I know I am not a medical expert but the message in this film goes beyond that. I am not an expert, people who come for support are the experts and I simply try to help them recognize that.
This film renewed my faith in my goal in life. To strive for compassion even when things look bleak for me, to not judge, and to expect nothing more than a will to try to to remember the times I have been low on life and simply show empathy. We’ve all been there. Sometimes the only thing we can say is, “Man that sucks! I’m sorry you are going through that.”
I don’t believe in making a list of resolutions for the New Year because that just leads to causing stress and fear of not succeeding. The only resolve I do want to carry over every year is to strive to be the best person I can be, forgive myself when I slip up and keep my heart open at all times even if it hurts sometimes. The benefits are worth the pain.
This past year was a year of healing and I don’t think I would have managed as well (with my sanity) without your support and encouragement. Bless you and thank you.
Writing here in this amazing community at WordPress has enabled me to grow in my writing…I have learned through your comments and through your creative gems you have shared here.
Onward to 2016 with as much inspiration and soulful promise in writing and sharing.
a brand new year
fresh snow glistens
snowflake on my cheek
© Tournesol ’16/01/01
cold snowy night
keeps the snow snowploughs busy
sits by the window
© Tournesol ’15/12/31
Daily Moments – Narrowing Focus Carpe Diem
Such weakness of body pulled her down throughout the day; she tried to read to no avail; writing a line or two would have been a paramount success but with feeble mind the words were lost in a fog; she completely lost track of time.
cruising in sleep
around the clock and then some,
sailing through time
(c) Tournesol ’15
Daily Moments – December 30 2015
Looking out the window, she takes note at this part of winter she enjoys so much. Sitting comfortably in the warmth of her home, her furry friend sits by her side, content her mistress is home today.
She sees a car drive by covered in snow and only a small circle in the windshield brushed off to see. She sighs. She had strict rules about driving in winter and always took extra time to scrap the snow off all the windows of her car. “One less thing to worry about, now” she thought to herself, since she no longer had a car. No more stressing to get anywhere that public transit or a taxi couldn`t do just as well and safely.
white downy snow
flawless –
adorns the land
© Tournesol ’15/12/29
The Secret Keeper Prompt: PART | STONE | FLAW | STRICT | NOTE |
Tournesol dans un Jardin 
