This week Bastet suggested we be spontaneous and photograph on impulse. Well, today, I had to get some cat food at Safari which is an elaborate pet shop. I buy my fish there and would often go there for an hour or so with my grandson on rainy days. It is across the street from the Mall near me and it is really a lovely experience going there.
So today, I walked in and pretended to look at my smart phone for messages. My flash was not on and figured, I had time to take a few pics. I would have loved to get the turtles and fish with the waterfalls but I started with the birds…probably not the greatest ideas as I was way too close to staff. Within a few minutes and about 10 shots, I was told we are not allowed to take photos in the store. Well, gee, I played dumb and looked forlorn and then mosied up to the cat food and completed my purchases. So here are my shots taken on impulse I tell ya, one of the cockatiel was talking to me and the other wanted to sleep…the looked like the odd couple.
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I wanted to post these while I still have time. May be a bit busy the rest of the week. My favourite is the first one.
At Carpe Diem this week, the Ghost Writer #16, is Jen of Blog It or Lose It on ”Tanka by Shiki”. Not surprising she did her research and did justice to the poet Masaoka Shiki. I encourage you to read more here and read more haiku and tanka by Shiki, Jen as well as Kristjaan.
As my evening was ending, I was reflecting on gardens and wondered what I would write to contribute to this beautiful post. I could not help but think of my own garden I have created over the years, seen the seedlings blossom and nurtured them to maturity. I even saw them multiply into grand blossoms.
And yet, it’s not as if I have a family of ten children but I do consider my family as a garden that we weather through the seasons with joy and hard work but mostly with love. As a gardener toils in his garden, the labour is fueled by love.
Summertime, I am reminded of my past summers watching my children play in parks, soccer and soft ball games, swimming and sailing at the lake at our summer camp. I am also reminded of the work I still do working with youths and realize that I do continue to garden in my own way; and to me as well, it IS a labour of love.
Tonight is the eve before I leave for my vacation. My son came over for a visit and we went out for a nice dinner and came back here and watched a movie which I had recorded, Star Trek; I had saved this movie to watch with my son…a movie experience is always richer when shared with a loved one, non?
dinner and movie
marks the start of summer break
with pleasant company
blossoms of my own garden
shared good times ‘til twilight
So although this prompt was in honour of gardens and flora, I hope this offering fits as well.
I wanted to get out my daughter’s 20+ year old Barbies but at this late hour, it was a chore to hunt in the hot damp basement, these would have to do. The 3 straw dolls were gifts from my daughter when she was very little, the porcelain lady and gentleman were once attached to bedside lamps belonging to my grandparents some 80 years ago.Oh, and the background of course is my fan for these hot summers. I do look somewhat stylish in the Métro, I dare say.
I love traveling by rail and do as often as I can. The trek Montreal to Toronto by car can take about 5 to 6 hours and by train if I am lucky and get the express which only stops at 3 places, it takes 4 and a half hours. Some other trains can take up to 7 hours and the bus takes 6 hours and costs anywhere from $18 to $50. Just fuel to get there one way costs me $70. Now if I am really lucky, I try to book a few days before departing and can get on business class for one-third of the price. That means, I get longer leg room, can get a seat alone by the window and am paying the economy class price.
At business class, we get a 3-course meal with all the before dinner drinks, wine, and after dinner drinks you want. Well, I stick to a glass or two of wine but there are some who can sure pack it in. I would be crawling off the train if I tried to keep up. Last winter we were stalled for an extra two hours due to the cold weather, the tracks were iced and they could not switch tracks. So we waited for all the trains to pass on one particular track as a safety measure. I sure was glad I was in the business class…nice and roomy, blogging away on my laptop.
I visit once or twice a year to see my family now. I rarely go see my friends as there is not enough time but to catch a lot of my friends and colleagues, I pick up a shift in Toronto since it’s the national office of where I work. Every time I leave, I feel homesick barely a few miles out of the city. I have two places I call home since 1997 and it is with mixed feelings I leave each time.
The prompt at Heeding Haiku With HA this week is rather unique. No guidelines on nature or emotions…This week, HA would like you to analyze everything that you can at this very moment of time and write a haiku or tanka or both to commemorate these few moments of this day of your life. Write/Right NOW!
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Here is my moment described on the
Hazy Day (Tanka)
My first day back at work today and the weather was still quite hot and humidity still high. Walking slowly to the Mall to renew my bus pass, I stopped by my favourite sushi bar to say hello to Angela. We’ve become friends after only two or three visits. We are quite friendly with merchants here in Quebec especially outside the city. She and I both agreed we missed Ontario. I moved to Ontario for work for thirteen years and fell in love with it. She emigrated from Japan to Ontario and also enjoyed her experience there. We both came back to be closer to our immediate family in Quebec. I can tell she is struggling adjusting and I empathized her pain. She asked me how I was when I purchased my shrimp Spring Roll and I mentioned my disgust with our health care system here compared to Ontario and she nodded in sympathy. So few words were shared and yet I felt a connection and as she wrapped my rolls with peanut sauce, I knew my lunch was somehow blessed.
Walking to the bus terminal very slowly, I noticed my bus leaving. I can’t run anymore with my bad leg, so I just took a deep breath and told myself, “Breathe, take your time, you’ll only get all hot and sweaty.”
The next bus arrived within less then ten minutes. I took a seat near a window but no air was moving. The bus filled up and finally we were moving. A faint breeze came in but nothing to write home about.
Finally we crossed the bridge and I could feel that nice cool breeze…not cold but still it was refreshing and I noticed the woman next to me closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling. I closed my eyes and let soaked up the moment for as long as it lasted…
This is how I felt a few moments after the bus pulled out on our trip to Montreal. I scribbled these in my notebook to remember that feeling.
English Haiku is a three-line poem structured in syllable count of 5-7-5. It visualizes an image, an expression or experience, including a season word or kigo. It is a small ode to nature.
English Tanka is a five-line poem structured in syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7. The first two lines and the last two lines picture images and the third line is a pivotal line i.e. it signifies a grammatically correct meaning and completes the image either when paired with the first two lines or when paired with the last two lines.
Most importantly, feel free and write, do not be burdened by the rules or guidelines. Enjoy crafting a haiku or tanka. And after when you have made the post, you can submit the links to your posts in the linking widget below at this link here at MindLoveMiserysMenagerie.
She looked up at the sky and saw only grey clouds. “Again, only grey poop on” she muttered. That’s what she thought of those grey clouds…pooping on her life, her mood, her heart and her soul. There was no longer any light in her life. She sighed, giving herself a bigger push to swing higher. “Maybe if I swing high enough, I’ll be able to kick one of those clouds and see rain that will wash away all the bleakness in this land.”
“Watch it, little one! You may fall and you sure as heck don’t want to fall way down there!!”squawked the black crow above, settling on a dried up tree…no leaves, just branches..
Elaina looked up at her friend. He had become her friend in the past year.He had given her the idea to braid long strips of cotton to hang from the twig that was her only seat outside her birdcage. She now had a swing which gave her a sense of freedom.
She had been disgusted by this huge black crow, at first when she was brought here by “him” but she realized over time, that Cornelius was a product of “his” master plan. Anyone who defied him or tried to escape only fell into the den of désespérance or Des-Spa as Cornelius jokingly called it. It was the bottomless pit that lay below…a sort of limbo but Elaina felt it was a hell created by “him”.
“I suppose you’re right, Cornelius, even if you are not a wise old owl,” she giggled and for a brief moment, the clouds separated and a hint of glow shone from the skies. Whenever Elaina sang or laughed, this occurred. But it never seemed to last more than 2 to 3 seconds.
Somehow, somewhere far above there was a positive force of goodness and beauty that was trying to communicate to Elaina. She felt it in the soles of her feet. Well, not really soles but she had been stripped of all her clothes. She had made herself a make-shift dress from the veils that covered her cage/home and with the long strips leftover, braided it as per instructions from daring Cornelius.
“He” had stripped her of her clothes but had the decency to jail her in a veiled insulated cage she could use as bedding or blanket on cooler nights. She didn’t mind sleeping without bedding. She felt less trapped this way. And Cornelius could keep her company when she was lonely and spread his wings to keep her warm on cooler nights. He always enjoyed her giggling and especially her singing in her soft soprano voice. She sounded like an angel in a celestial choir. Perhaps that is why the clouds separated briefly…maybe angels thought she was a lost sister.
Somehow she knew if she could sing long enough or the right harmony, the skies would be unlocked…finally breathe hope and compassion…she would just have to be patient.
Tournesol dans un Jardin 
