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.
Walking through the thicket, the woman stops a moment to admire wild daisies. It is mid-day and the sun is commanding nature to acquiesce to her splendid rays. Birds perched in the shade of their home are silent as they embrace their afternoon siesta except for a few chirps from fledglings resisting their nap. And then, the concert begins…from tree to tree sopranos tell their story while another group sing the refrain…piercing sounds mesmerize and finally the last of the fledglings give in to their lullaby.
spellbound cicadas take centre stage nature listens
The woman crouches slowly, taking a picture of her subjects; she smiles at the effect the soft wind has on the flowers. It appears the daisies are waving and smiling with their golden centres boasting towards the sun. And then, she freezes…
At Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, our host and mentor, Chèvrefeuille gives us a spiritual meme where we can choose among four photographs for our inspiration. They are A young mountain monk, Laughter, Time Flies and Tranquility. The image of a clock depicting how time flies is what inspired my haibun/troibun but more than just time flies…how a split second experience can imprint forever in my mind. The blue butterfly visited me from April to November, 2015 following the death of my mother December 2014. I have never seen such a constant presence as this beauty before or after. I know, deep down, she was helping me in my grief.
I feel such laughter in my heart, imagining the daisies also chortling…like the monks in the photo our host has given us. By the time I had completed the troiku(a new form of haiku created also by Chèvrefeuille), I felt my whole being washed with a sense of tranquilty. So, I suppose I was influenced by all four photos and left with a lingering sense of wellbeing.
Last weekend she spent time in the country at her friends’ home. They had just received their puppies for breeding and family and friends came over to see the puppies run freely.
Life as it should be simplicity siblings bonding
life as it should be
two sisters and two brothers
running freely
“Not another rainy day!!” Trula stomped her feet and threw herself on the couch and sulked.
Her nana rocked by the window and pointed her finger at her grand-daughter, “Child, you take each day as it comes. You cannot command the universe or turn your back to what the Great Spirit hands you each day. You will regret it some day.” Holding her wooden beads, she whispered softly to herself but the only audible words were “protect her”.
Trula rolled her eyes and scowled at her nana. Year after year, it was the same thing when it was cloudy, raining, snowing or windy, Trula made a scene and refused to study and as she got older refused doing chores on the farm.
Several years later her nana died, when Trula was twenty-one. The family buried her on the farm near an old oak tree where Nana used to sit and read for hours and later when her eyes failed her, she would pray and smile up at the sky giving thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day.
A few days after the burial, Trula was planting seeds in the garden and suddenly the sky turned dark. An odd-looking cloud loomed over her and the wind picked up dramatically. Trula rose her fist to the sky in protest when suddenly she felt her feet lift from the ground and long tendrils pulling at her shoulder and head; a huge CRACK resonated from the sky muffling the sound of a broken neck.
(c) Brooke Shaden
the universe rules, appreciate each day rain or shine
Tournesol dans un Jardin 