cold winter night
hidden by the old elm tree
first grown-up kiss
~
hidden by the elm
old woman blind to carnal sins
full moon beams
© Tournesol `15
first full moon of the year (haiga)
Tag: haiku
au clair de la lune (haiku)
valser sur glace
au clair de la lune
baiser langoureux
~
waltzing on ice
by light of the moon
languid kiss
© Tournesol ’15
too much glitter (haiga or photoku)
sparkle trouble
cars whoosh by as I wait
bus stop
© Tournesol ’15
thriving souls (haibun)
This prompt made me think of the tall golden grass in the autumn. I wonder if I could have collected some and braided it, somewhat like our autumn decorations at Thanksgiving with dried corn cobs and long braided husks.
Walking in the freezing yesterday, I noticed the long golden grass had frozen as if promises for Spring were frozen in time during the cold winter months. Perhaps winter is a time to percolate ideas and spring is to put some of these into action and fruition.
As we begin a new year, the Japanese culture adorns their front doors with sacred rope to ward off evil spirits…somewhat like protecting the hibernation of treasured thoughts, hopes and prayers.
braided rice straw
hangs at the entrance
barring evil spirits
hangs at the entrance
open to abundance
budding souls
barring evil spirits
faith in the new year
holding treasures
© Tournesol ’15
Frozen in time (haiga)
© Clr ’15
© Clr ’15
© Clr ’16
grassland
defies winter’s bitter frost
frozen in time
~
ice cannot bar
golden hues of straw
implies its strength
© Tournesol ’15
Snow turned to rain (haibun)
Well now despite the dangers of this weather, like over 150,000 residents in this province without hydro, the slippery roads in areas, the flooded streets in others and the dangers of walking on ice, slush, snow covered ice…it really is beautiful. Hydro went out a few times for a few seconds, but I went to the store (hence the photos I took in the rain) and bought extra D batteries for my flashlight and extra large candle and all is set up in the dining room…just in case. It is when you are prepared these hiccups are least to happen, right?
The photo below is right in front of my apartment building. I kept hearing cracks, thuds, and bams and gazillions flops at once…snow falling from the branches and ice as well for the freezing rain turned to rain.
I still do not have the best waterproof boots…well, yes, they are but not 10 cm high, so I put on plastic bags before putting on my winter waterproof boots and came back home with nice dry feet. I shall keep this up until the Sorel Boots go on sale.
reality looms
nature violates its course
vision of beauty
© Tournesol’15
First snow of this year (haibun)
Finally a snowstorm! That may sound a bit silly but the past two weeks without any snow during the holidays was truly not fun nor was it pretty. It was a dark and dreary for the holidays. I missed the wet snow flakes falling on my face when walking outside Christmas Eve; I missed the snow banks that looked like the wall of a fort protecting me when I walk on the sidewalk. The days are still short although slowly lengthening and the snow is necessary to give light in our wintry world…my world!
Today is Sunday and it has snowed nonstop for the past 36 hours and it’s my first day back at work. I actually look forward to walking to the bus stop and hearing the crunch crunch underfoot. And tonight will be even nicer as I walk late in the evening in the middle of the road as I know the sidewalks in the city will not be cleared…it’s only Sunday, the city knows they have until Monday morning to get things cleared up on major arteries including sidewalks.
calm after the storm
footsteps echo on fresh snow,
winter wonderland
© Tournesol ’15
New sun (haiga)
cat purrs
golden warm glow
new sun
~
new sun
early bird catches the worm
cat leers
© Tournesol ’15
hot juke box (haiga)
I could not wait to find a few moments to attempt this prompt Carpe Diem Ghost Writer #29, “Pop culture references in haiku and senryu”. from our host’s Ghost Writer, Jen from Blogitorloseit trying to think of some song, a fad, something that could have a hidden meaning within my haiku and then I saw the prompt for Carpe Diem #581, Hanabi (Fireworks).
I started multitasking between phonecalls at work and surfing YouTube for samples of fireworks from the International Montreal Fireworks we have every summer. That is held on Saturdays and Wednesday…how I got caught many times on the Jacques Cartier Bridge on Wednesday evenings coming home, forgetting it was that time of year only to be turned back to take the tunnel Louis H. Lafontaine…not my happiest nights nearing midnight.
I will show a small glimpse of only 2 minutes of the fireworks just so you can see from the view of us ordinary citizens watching from the streets, some are on the Jacques Cartier Bridge {which is closed for residents on both sides of the St Lawrence…I live on the South side off the island of Montreal} and that is the bridge you see illuminated from time to time in some of these shots.
Wasn’t that amazing! It is exciting, romantic and I feel like the child within me is reborn every time I see fireworks. I like this brief video as it shows folks gathering on streets and on the bridge.
Now I listened to the other video below a few times to catch the songs. I first chose a video of Japan 2013 which is spectacular and thought it might be appropos for a haiku but then I wanted to honour our host and looked for an entry of the Netherlands but as I was surfing for this, I kept finding Italy…so many from Italy and thought to myself, well let’s have a look and listen to one and see what that’s like. When we look from the bridge and parks near the site on Isle Ste-Hélène (old home of Expo 1967 Man and His World) we do not hear the music that goes along with the fireworks. There are a few radio channels that air it live so some people will turn that on so we can hear but for me, I enjoy being dazzled by the lights. In this case, you really had to have the music to appreciate this spectacular show of lights in the skies. Georgia, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
After viewing the video, I knew this was perfect for the Pop Culture and Fireworks prompts…and listening was as important as viewing, so this is my attempt according to this video:
Great balls of fire
rocking the world,
penny loafers
penny loafers
faint in exaltation
trodden beetles
trodden beetles
flashing love me do’s
no stones unturned
no stones unturned
can’t get no satisfaction,
misanthrope
misanthrope
can’t live without you
disco-nnected
disconnected,
blazing heavens stir
flushed face reflects
flushed face reflects
brilliance of explosion,
transient stars
transient stars
dancing suggestively,
dirty
dirty,
children beg on streets
feeding families
feeding families
hope restored, they chant,
“We will survive”!
© Tournesol `14
last year (haibun)
It’s been a challenging year personally and professionally. I can’t hide behind a cloud and pretend the New Year changed that. However a new year offers opportunities to continue processing areas that need attention somewhat like housekeeping. I need to look at what I want to keep among all the dusty clutter before I can find balance in my life. That is the longest part.
Think about when you are clearing out a closet and all the things you find at the bottom way at the back. You take out a box for example, that is covered with dust; you open it and look at the contents. It brings you back many years to a moment in time. You feel the emotions good or bad; you may weep a little, you may get angry and even kick that box around…again the feelings resurface and another layer is removed. You may feel you are done with this and trash the box or you may dust it off, put it back securely at the back of your closet for another year or so. There is no right or wrong way…but your own way.
There are good things I want to topple over to this year. New and old friends I have encountered near and far, the relationship I have with my children and grandchildren is my duvet for the cold months and stroke of soft silk in the warmer months; my poetry and the past six or seven months training in Japanese poetry at Carpe Diem with our host and mentor/master Chévrefeuille, his followers who inspire me and the amazing WP community that inspire and support me. And my amazing colleagues who are the strength and foundation that serve youths across this country and allow me to love my work.
like a gambling debt
stays too close for comfort
last year’s loss
~
spilling over
like turkey leftovers
last year’s grief
~
a new year
good housekeeping
feng shui
~
last year’s haiku
shadow into the new year
time to excel
~
my heart beats
to the love my children,
flame of a candle
© Tournesol ’15
Tournesol dans un Jardin 