Poetry ~ Waka
“Today, I visualize myself at peace.”
Misperceptions, misinterpretations and seeing what is not there can lead to confusion and inner turmoil. Listening and being led to the chaos mindsets of others is harmful to inner growth. It feels like living in limbo and never finding an outlet.
Today she is trying to visualize herself at peace. Closing her eyes, she chants her mantra and meditates…
jolt of white light
stir her innards
tranquil repose
©Tournesol’17/07/18
Suzanne has asked us to write about the Road to the Holy Grail, and quotes from “Reflections on the Art of Living” edited by Diane K Osbon:
“What the Holy Grail symbolizes is the highest spiritual fulfillment of a human life. Each life has some kind of high fulfillment, and each has its own gift from the Grail… It has to do with overcoming the same temptations that the Buddha overcame; of attachment to this, that or the other life detail that has pulled you off course… In the Grail legends, the land of people doing what they think they ought to do or have to do is the wasteland.”
I am not sure if I have interpreted this well but have tried interpreting a journey to engulfment.
***
So much time seems to be wasted when we all seem to think that time is plentiful. Is it? Really? In the past decade, she has returned to her path of spirituality. Usually strife and hopelessness draws her there and in time, she feels at peace. She is astounded at how often she rereads a passage of wisdom and spiritual growth twenty to thirty years later as if it were the very first time. What does that mean?
There are times when she was in her early twenty’s she may have digested words intellectually rather than emotionally. That is the only answer that makes sense to her. Life happens and too many times attachment to things and persons cloud our vision but the path is always there, waiting, forgiving and embracing.
Nothing can be rushed…it is not like spring cleaning with a power wash but letting yourself go and be. Emptying your mind and allowing to be filled with light.
meditating
visions of white doves
inviting her home
©Tournesol`17
For those who know me, also know my late mother’s name is dove in French, Colombe.
From On the Road, Suzanne has chosen the following quote to inspire us to write in our favoured waka form.
“As we turn every corner of the Narrow Road to the Deep North, we sometimes stand up unawares to applaud and we sometimes fall flat to resist the agonizing pains we feel in the depths of our hearts. There are also times when we feel like taking to the roads ourselves, seizing the raincoat lying near by, or times when we feel like sitting down till our legs take root, enjoying the scene we picture before our eyes.” – Soruyo
Thinking back when her children were little and stress had a way of creeping into the household. So often she would pack up a blanket, a healthy lunch and off they walked (her son biked) and she pushed the stroller for the younger one to the fort by the rapids. It was a mile to get there or 1.6km and if the children had behaved, they would walk to the wading pool half a mile away and maybe get a sundae at MacDonald’s across the street. The road taken then was to “stay above float” and it happened to make everyone content.
Sometimes, at the end of the day when the children’s father returned from work, they would plan a family bike outing, but before, she would take a “mommy run” to check on her bike she would say. What she actually did was ride very fast, wind blowing in her face, removing the “dust of her day” and by the time she was by the rapids, she was cleansed and became a person. She was not a mother, a wife, a daughter, a woman, a friend, a volunteer, a counsellor…she was one simple person.
roar of the rapids
inhaling every woe
announcing hope
water splashing at her feet
droplets giggle with joy
Once the stress of the day had dissipated into the current, washed away and moving on to the basin of the river, she felt lighter. Her shoulders rose naturally and she sat with her spine straight without a thought in the world…no dreams were necessary…
rolling white caps
just sitting – not wanting
contentment infused
©Tournesol ’17/07/18
twilight approaching
narrowing pathway
shadows linger
twilight approaching
birds mocking
my hesitation
narrowing pathway
finally, my eyes can see
a light within
shadows linger
becoming spiritual guides
path of soul-searching
My Travel Journal, (Troiku) is inspired by Chévrefeuille’s meme, “Basho’s Shadow Diary“. One thing I loved reading Basho, The Complete Haiku, translated by Jane Reichhold, was a dark side I could relate to; I find beauty in the darkness now since so many thoughts form into haiku or verses, lifting the darkness ever so gradually. Somewhat like the darkness is the murkiness of the mud until a lotus surfaces above water.
©Tournesol<17/07/07
early morning rise
shuffling to make coffee
crunch of a cockroach
early morning rise
even spiders feel lazy
in the heat
shuffling to make coffee
grinding dark roasted beans
startles a cockroach
crunch of a cockroach
cutting through the morning haze
a piercing scream
©Tournesol’17/07/17
This troiku, which is a new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille was written for Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, with the summer kigo “cockroach”
in the twilight
cloud of mist rises
soft moans through the night
in the twilight
swallows nestle for the night
cicadas hum
cloud of mist rises
forming ghostly shapes
over the river
soft moans through the night
golden glow of moonbeams
tangled limbs glisten
©Tournesol’17/06/17
At Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, we are inspired by Jane Reichold’s haiku using the summer kigo word “twiling”. Her verses as well as our host’s are absolutely stunning and any one an inspsiration to write. You can also start your haiku with “in the twilight” which I chose to do to write my Troiku, which is a new form of haiku created by Chévrefeuille.
After a long hot taxi ride in heavy traffic, she arrived at the hotel. She looked at the time and knew she might miss the first line for tokens to receive Amma’s embrace (Darshan) later in the evening or night. But luck (if you believe in luck) as you have it, she walked into the dining hall and was the next in line to receive her token. She was then led to the dining room to await Amma. There were over 2,000 registered for the retreat and there would not be room to sit during Atma Puja. And so she sat at a table among other devotees looking at the screen. To know that Amma was just upstairs (for real) added to this solemn moment. The room was silent.
Everyone received blessed water and when they came around to see if anyone was missing water, she took one more for a family member who is ill.
Devi Bhava is a special program that begins with the Atma Puja ceremony for world peace. Afterwards, Amma receives guests for an embrace. She continues doing this all night into the next morning. She was planning on staying the entire night to enjoy the devotional singing and music and remain in the blessed presence of the Divine Mother. In this case, the night went on until 11a.m. the following morning.
Walking around the hotel to exercise her body for the long night, she circled around the tables where there were many articles made at Amma’s ashram for sale. She purchased a few items as well as a 30 mins massage. The latter certainly did allow her to be filled with energy during the night.
She brought along a photo of a family member and when it was her turn to kneel for her embrace, Amma looked at the photo and then straight into her eyes. No words were uttered out loud but the moment was powerful. Amma, still hanging on to the photo, embraced the woman as she wept in her arms. Afterwards, Amma looked at her with a smile and knowing look. A Mother knows!
divine embrace
after months of worry
a cloud is lifted
She realized that “faith” is required to truly recognize daily blessings from the Divine. This time she felt she truly did. This was a turning point on her journey and it felt good, she thought.
On the train ride home, 12 hours after this embrace, she received a message from a loved one …a positive start she hoped.
like all beginnings
baby steps involve falls –and,
time and patience
©Tournesol’17/07/16
Inspired by the Waka prompts from On the Road posted every Friday (Australian time) or Saturday. No order is required to follow the prompts which is a great idea to peruse through the previous meme and see if your muse is inspired.
At Virtual Haiku on Facebook, we are asked to write a haiku to the photo shown This inspired me to write several and so I decided to use one of my photos and add the haiku and one tanka below. Also the prompt at HaikuHorizons this week is coincidentally, dark.
secrets
stored in dark corners
await
dusk revealing
untold secrets
another time
twilight mysteries
alluring and entertaining
hoot of an owl
embrace your fears
attune to uncertainty
insights may appear
childhood secrets
hiding in the dark – away,
from their happy place
carved into the crevices
of their soul
©Tournesol ’17/07/15
Daily Moments reflections in the dark July 15 2017
elle s’appelle Colombe
son amour sans fin
me nourrit
sa bonté multiplié
l’amour d’une mère
her name is Colombe
her boundless love
nourishes me
her bounty multiplied
a mother’s love
(c) Tournesol’17
Gazing from afar
in soft whispers – a favourite
love story unfolds
“you are the blue
of skies
that make me dream
of your eyes
you are the pink
of blush
warming my cheeks
when I think
of you
you are the green
of meadows
us – melting into one
a perfect lovers’ scene
you are the wind
off the sea
breathing life into my lungs
you are the red
of blood
running to my heart
you are light
of my life
illuminating total bliss
you are the fire within
that makes me wince with joy
so pure and enduring
left longing for more
you are a vision
just a dream
yet still fills
my whole being
for just a moment
this rumination
still surviving
will always be
and
forever thriving
as I close my eyes
I lay in wait at night
our secret rendezvous
I long for you, my knight
and as I drift away
I see you clear as day
you are the blue of skies
that lost horizon found
held together… bound,
until the sun doth rise.”
©Tournesol’17/07/13
Daily moments of sweet reflections – a lover’s muse July 13, 2017
Tournesol dans un Jardin 