Celebrating joy ~ Haibun ~ Daily Moments 2023-6-21

 

 

Today we celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day which also falls on summer solstice. All day an the beginning of summer, the end of the school here in Quebec and the birth of her mother. On June 22nd, 1926, a lovely, smiling baby girl was born…she had curly locks and a contagious laugh. She brought joy to so many people and loved her children and grandchildren/great grandchildren more than life itself. And that says a lot. She had two open heart surgeries and 3 other heart procedures…she fought so hard to live. Where did she get the courage and strength? Surely her unrelenting faith as well as her love for her family. It is appropriate that she started her journey into this world during the summer solstice…the sun was her best friend.   Oh how she loved its glow and warmth!

 

She is missed but today her memory brings joy. Bonne Anniversaire, Colombe….Happy Birthday, Mom/Nanny.

 

Open your heart
letting in joy
Scent of sweet lilacs

Open your heart
Rustling leaves
Sound of laughter

Letting in joy
Swaddled in the warmth
Of summer

Scent of sweet lilacs
longest day of the year
Summer solstice

© Tournesol 2023-06-21

Good news – Haibun – Daily Moments June 18, 2023

(c) Clr-2018 San Diego

Nothing confirms more how valuable and loved a friend is to you until you spend weeks worrying for their life. And then the phone rings…

shoulders roll back
chest expanding wide…
sigh of relief

© Tournesol 18-06-2023

Insomnia (senryu)

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

Easter – Pâques (troiku – 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
(c) Clr ’19
(c)Clr’16
© Clr’16 Hopeful moments
(c) ’16-05-13
(c) clr’19

sporadic visit (Troibun) Daily Moments

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

First snowfall – (troiku) daily moments

First snowfall Nov 16 2022

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

No more tears (haibun)

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…

Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Montréal, Qc.

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:

In Loving Memory of a Wonderful Man

Hello Autumn (haibun)

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

Reflections on Grief (Free Verse)

We hear of endings
the last time
that last moment
saying goodbye
and yet,
no warnings of “firsts”
first Christmas
first New Year
first birthday
and many other firsts
who would have known
the last would turn full circle
to the first
being as tender as that last day
bittersweet in many ways
ingredients of woe
are recipes of grief.
how to separate sorrow
from blissful memories?
you don’t
it’s not planned
it’s processed
it’s lived
it’s worn
like an old hoodie
fitted like a soft duvet
feeling like a heavy blanket
struggling with the heaviness
of fond narratives of a past

ah but the weight one feels
of such collections that we sort
but carry oh so selfishly
letting go is not a language
yet understood…
hanging on to each noun, pronoun,
verbs and oh those adjectives!

Time does not lighten this quilt
but our heart becomes accustomed

weaving heartfelt stories
every shade and colour
securing them with bonded yarn
strong, everlasting scripts
never-ending stories
our heritage woven lovingly
… a family heirloom.

(c) Tournesol 2022-09-23

Mid-morning calm (haibun)

(c) Clr'15 Chilling in the shad
(c) Clr’15 Chilling in the shade

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

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