Willow salutes (CARPE DIEM Haiku #488)

Canada photo Series – British Columbia

The Willow whispers

foilage salute with panache

a breath of fresh air.

Submitted for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, #488, Breeze

Summer Solstice (Carpe Diem Haiku #487)

Photo credit: Bonfire in Finland

Kids giddy with joy
staying up late to play
Summer Solstice.

All night bonfires
singing, dancing, having fun
Summer Solstice.

Tilling the soil,
cultivating the earth
life renewed.

Mother Earth
bestows sustenance
life renewed.

Rejoice in life
fires blaze and celebrate
promising season.

(Tanka)

Sleepless children
longer days, shorter nights
full-house in the summertime
parents miss intimacy
steeling quickies now and then.

© Cheryl-Lynn 2014/06/09

Submitted for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – #487 Summer Solstice

Reflections (Bastet’s Pixelventures)

Okay, I went a little overboard with my enthusiasm here. I took about 10 photos and then the dilemma was choosing. So I broke it down to two {for now}.

This first photo was taken outside just before sundown; it is a restaurant on boulevard Saint-Laurent a five minute walk from our offices. I thought it looked pretty cool.

Here I played with the contrast and colour saturation and added a cool looking frame I discovered on my Google +; all my photos automatically uploaded from my phone to Google

This is still on the same boulevard a few doors further and I liked the sign so I clicked my photo again. The sign says “The Art of Living” and I liked that half of the reflection shows the tree and sky.

Again I played with saturation mostly here and added a nifty frame and there you have it for reflections. Thanks for the prompt, Georgia!

All photos taken with my smart phone last Wednesday.

© Cheryl-Lynn 2014/06/08

Submitted for Bastetspixelventures – Reflections

Satisfaction (haiku) CD #486 français

© CLR Lake Ontario taken from the train.

jour ensoleillé

délassé sur la rive

verre de citronnade

pédalo navigue

les petits plongent dans le lac

comblé dans l’eau fraiche

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – #486 Satisfaction

Satisfaction -CarpeDiem Haiku #486

© CLR June 2013 rivière Yamaska, Farnham, Québéc.

Lazy sunny day

sunbathing by the river

drinking lemonade.

paddle boats sculling

kids wading in the river

splashing, gurgling.

bullfrogs, motor boats

transistor radios

echoes of laughter.

scorching summer night

sitting on the balcony

hear the crickets sing.

sitting on the balcony

untying her kimono

gentle breeze caress

summers may promise

moments of delight and bliss,

desires quenched.

© Cheryl-Lynn 2014/06/07

Submitted for: Carpe Diem Haiku Kai – #486 – Satisfaction

Photo taken by my family home growing up where there were row boats, paddle boats and motor boats as part of the scenery all summer long.

Kindness (haibun)

The kindness Blog

This man grabbed the nearest table umbrella to escort three women to their car in the pouring rain. Now that’s what we call a GENTLEman!

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Kindness

Hearing the ding-dong sound, I ran down the stairs, reaching the closing doors of the Metro car then suddenly, I saw two hands block the doors…they reopened and I rushed in. Looking at the owner of said hands, I was touched to see a very young man who had allowed me to step on the train. Thankfully, I would not be late for work…again! I know it’s illegal to do this but I was truly moved by this gesture. A young man barely in his twenties by the look of him and me, over fifty years old…why had he done this?

This was my first year returning to Montreal. I suppose chivalry still does exist but it’s more than that…it is acts of kindness people show regardless if they are living in a big city or a village.

How do you react when someone holds a door for you? Are you offended if you are a young woman? Or are you flattered or just touched? I grew up in the age when feminism became quite strong…well, it toppled to ridiculous in some cases for I would have cringed being a man just trying to be polite and holding a door for someone. It’s like you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Sometimes I just want to scream at people who get offended at acts of kindness. There does NOT always have to be a hidden agenda and what if there was…so what? You don’t have to reciprocate. Sheesh!

Years ago when I had just moved to Toronto, I had just dropped my daughter off at the bus terminal on Dundas and Bay. It was a Sunday afternoon and I knew I had to go home to a small empty apartment. So I decided to walk down Yonge Street. My heart was heavy with loneliness already missing my daughter and thinking of my son as well who both were in Montreal. My mixed emotions weighed with remorse and worry for them. The weight on my heart was heavy. It was busy on the street with city folks taking advantage of the glorious sunny day. I kept my head down and hardly noticed anyone.

“Hey, don’t look so sad, Lady. It’s a beautiful sunny day and tomorrow is another day!” I stopped and looked towards the voice. There was a homeless man standing near his belongings setting up for the evening in front of a closed down theatre. His genuine smile showed a few missing teeth and I smiled through my teary eyes, nodded and whispering “thank you”. Continuing on my walk, the tears just would not stop. I looked up at the beautiful blue sky and squinted at the sun. I was smiling now and realized my sobbing was not sadness but tears of joy. I had been touched by an angel…kindness.

(haiku)

metro doors open

woman limps in with a cane

young man gets up, smiles.

Submitted for a Tracesprompt: Is the Age of Chivalry Still Here?