white light
beckonning full moon
white dove
white dove
soaring to infinity
free at last
free at last
moonbeams form a stairway
steps to heaven
© Tournesol ’14
moonbeams (haiga)
my mother, my dove (haiga)
(haiku)
Once a sprightly dove
now flies above and beyond
forever gone
une colombe
lost its voice
the earth weeps
a special dove
flies up to heaven
lost my voice
dove of life
above and beyond
silenced
silence
punched me
hard
silence
broke my heart
lament
lamenting
cries searching
ma colombe
lonely
without my dove
tender endings
necessary loss,
life sweeps away,
mourning dove
grieving
daughters shift gears
lost, am I
lost
baring a new role
orphan am I
wings spread,
chirping farewell
Mother dove
(american sentence)
An orphan is born when the last parent has departed forever.
© Tournesol ’14/12/03
trickle of the sand (haiga)
frightful dreams
whispers in the night
grim reaper
~ ~~
grim reaper
holding the hourglass
trickles the sand
© Tournesol ’14/12/01
spirit is infinite (haibun)
The only death I truly accepted and understood the infinite journey was my grandfather’s death. Although I was only six, I was blessed to be in a family that was open about life and death; my grandmother being a midwife, talked often of the births she assisted and it did not take away my youth as so many of my Anglo-Saxon raised peers felt…French Canadians kept many European mores I think. And so I remember going to hospital to await the news the doctors would pronounce of the impending fate of my GrandPapa. We often sat by his bedside holding his hand daily for a year, as I lived with my grandparents that year. My sister and I saw the priest perform his last rites, Extreme Unction and his last smile at me surrounded by his children the day he passed.
So for me, finite meant my favourite person had an expiry date to his suffering; he would be in a place where there is no pain, where he could run freely …and yes, I believed this and to some extent still do.
At my age, I have lost many relatives and friends to death and more recently a friend and colleague for whom I have shared a series of haiku; unfortunately there are many I have not quite accepted…sudden deaths, people too far for me to go to their service are mostly the people I still struggle to accept and sometimes I feel it was all a dream and they are still here.
How often I wanted to dial the number of my friend, Janet, who died suddenly when I was far away. The only person who read my mind, felt my emotions; our signal to chat after midnight…one ring…we both knew was the other who wished to talk until dawn. I still don’t accept the infinite passing of this friend.
(American Sentence)
Grandpapa, tu es toujours près de moi, dans mon cœur, ombrant mon âme.
(haiku)
humble corps affaibli
enfin libéré
douleur fini
âme pétillant
pure et infini
les cieux attendent
yeux brillants
plonge dans l’éclat céleste
lumière blanche
lumière blanche
le séduit à l’éther
infinité
infinité
âme sans âge baigna
grâce devin
~
weary body
humble and finite
pain-free at last
soul lives on
infinite and pure
heavens await
iridescence
eyes dip in hallowed glow
white light
white light
seduced to the ether
infinite
infinite
ageless soul bathes
celestial grace
© Tournesol ’14
Road Trip (sedoka)
When I lived in Toronto the first few years, I would drive down to my home in Quebec which was a 6 hour drive. Leaving in the morning driving east, I would follow the sun all the way to Montreal. They were long trips alone, so singing with the radio blaring was the only way to stay alert.
single girl road trip
driving back to the country
winter wind at my back
chasing golden sun
singing old high school songs
on that long lonely highway
(c) Tournesol ’14
a lotus blossoms (haibun)
I love the story of how a lotus starts off. Such a beautiful flower, appearing so delicate and yet it is so resilient. This flower grows in ponds and lakes where water does not move much, hence it sprouts first under water in mud and murky water. Just as humans go through life facing loss, sadness, death, and dark moments, hopefully we become stronger and our mind is awakened, acquiring wisdom. The lotus stems becomes stronger forming a bud that pushes its way to the light, above water and only then, free of dirt and mud, opens one petal at a time …just as humans open up to spiritual growth. How fascinating!
In Buddhism the bud of the lotus represents potential. We have the potential to spiritual growth and awakening, and enlightenment. As the lotus flower emerges from the water clean, this represents purity of body, speech, and mind…an awakened mind. *
murky waters breed
ignorance and bigotry
lessons learned
knowledge stems growth
building strength and wisdom
seeking clarity
reaching for the sun
budding above water
a lotus blossoms
(c) Tournesol ’14
flocon de neige (haiga)
![tablet-win_20141116_092522-2[1]](https://cheryllynnroberts.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/tablet-win_20141116_092522-211-e1416869034785.jpg)
au revoir feuillage
repose bien verdure
accueillant l’hiver
l’arrivé du froid
le charme des glaçons bijoux
flocons émerveillent
****
farewell foliage
rest well verdure
welcome winter
advent of cold
magic of icicle gems
snowflake enchantments
(c) Tournesol ’14
colours of paradise (haiga)
lovers bathe in sheer bliss
honey to a bumblebee
as the sun sets
strokes of beauty
sensual and lush overflow
colours of paradise
rooftop serenade
bowing at sun kissed skyline
gently slips away
(c) Tournesol ’14
paradise recalled (haibun)
What is paradise? Is it a place we pray and hope to reach some day? Is it a moment of total bliss, joy and exaltation? I think it depends on where you are in the cycle of your life and where you are in your life. If I were in a war zone, fearing the death of my children and grandchildren, paradise to me would be a safe refuge. A camp with enough food and shelter…safe from harm’s way would be paradise.
If I think of all the “Have’s” we have here…I have here, the luxuries, the comforts, the warmth and living without the threat on my life or my children, family, friends and country…I am really in paradise, non? And yet, we search and crave more.
Walking down the street to work and seeing the sun peak at me through the clouds, is not that a moment of grace? A rainbow an autumn evening in the city at rush hour, what a way to end a busy day…pedestrians looking up in exaltation…the smiles on their faces warm with delight and childlike wonder…those are moments of paradise.
Naive and innocent was I…we were such young newly weds, years later I remember thanking G-D for allowing couples to visit paradise in those intimate moments reaching nirvana.
My babies nursing and looking up at me with their huge baby blues, one hand gently stroking my cheek…paradise in all its splendour.
The soothing purring of my cat when I wake up from a nightmare, she has rescued me and brought me to a heavenly place…a moment of bliss.
To feel comforted, to be worry free, to reach your destination after driving in a blizzard…to arrive in a warm home, with a warm cup of tea…paradise.
I believe writing has allowed me to appreciate more, take note and savour more the moments that we are blessed with every day.
They are accumulations of moments too often missed…not stopping to relish, take a snapshot of those moments …it is the memory of those moments of bliss, paradise, that get me through the sullen moments. So, STOP, slow down, listen, bathe in it and store it forever in the attic of your brain.
a fleeting moment
hark! you’ll miss it
paradise lost
genuine joy
souls joined in concert
paradise
at long last
barren mother hears bliss,
“It’s positive”
nursing my newborn
stares into my eyes,
lost in paradise
those first steps,
first time hearing “Mama”…
rise to Nana
sun and wind
commune with the lake
blissful sailing
intimate lovers
matching their rhythms
nirvana
muse murmuring,
writing poetic prose
paradise found
enticed by nectar
butterfly kissed buds
heavenly blossoms
the long absence (haiku)
their kiss lingered
in store for a long absence
last tour of duty
(c) Tournesol ’14
Tournesol dans un Jardin 