serving tea (haiku)

artfully pouring tea,
a geisha dances
flute’s harmony

soothing tea (haiku)

I love sipping tea in porcelain tea cups. My great aunt bequeathed her collections to my father and I now have them in the same curio my Auntie Mae O’Donnell had. Although the tradition is on my Father’s side, my aunt being Irish, my mother taught me how to brew my tea as young as five. She would let me drink it in espresso cups which was just right for my tiny fingers.

My grandson loved to drink tea as well and would choose his tea cup whenever it was tea time. One day I invited my friend and her daughter who was grandson`s playdate. Well! I set up their tea cups with the tea pot brewing their tea. Ah, the cute things they do at five. I doubt he would want to even admit doing this now that he is 10.

I had a dear friend living next door when we were raising the children. I would often tuck in the children and run off to spend the rest of the evening with her sipping tea for hours. We had an understanding…when I`d call to say I was coming over, she would put on the kettle so when I arrived the water would be ready for my tea.

I find tea to be soothing. It is a lovely social ritual and different in many parts of the world but mostly, I like the subtle comfort it brings, the aroma of herbs, fruits and flora. Some teas are quite eccentric with a flower that expands in a special transparent tea cup. Tea is often a nice desert after a meal. How do you like your tea?

served in fine china,

floral and herbal teas

soothing the soul

Carpe Diem Sparkling Stars “Tea”

lost at sea (haiku)

lost at sea,
fog horns prevent collisions,
lighthouse guides ships home

Carpe Diem “the Lighthouse of Alexandria”

season’s end (haiku)

(haiku)

fallen leaf
led by destiny’s flow
season’s end

© Tournesol ’14
visit also Tournesol dans un Jardin at Blogspot

Frédéric Chopin – Classique, Sonata no.9

light of the stars (haiku)

cat braves the cold,

light of the milky way

catches a mouse

glares with spite

silhouette beneath the stars

the owl hoots

Carpe Diem

scent of pine trees (Tan Renga)

The goal of this Tan Renga Challenge #54 at Carpe Diem is to write a second stanza of two lines (classical syllables-count 7-7) towards the haiku by Ese. To make the Tan Renga complete … but this haiku evoked so many memories, I could not choose only one so I am posting them all.

Our host’s completion

fingertips
stroking scales of pine cone
-forest memories © Ese

sunlight strokes my naked body
blankets have slipped away
© Chèvrefeuille

and now my attempts:

fingertips
stroking scales of pine cone
-forest memories © Ese

tap dancing on a tin roof
a lazy sultry afternoon
© Tournesol

fingertips
stroking scales of pine cone
-forest memories © Ese

kindling scents of woodsy pine
clumsy kiss of innocents
© Tournesol

fingertips
stroking scales of pine cone
-forest memories © Ese

lips softly brush my shoulder
like wings of a butterfuly
© Tournesol

Pearly grey isn’t so bad (haibun)

Things rarely turn out as I imagine. This is sometimes best for what joy, discoveries and excitement would I find if my life was all mapped out. I’d be like a peg on a wall map. My need to control would actually make me a slave of my making. Do I get disappointed with the outcomes of life’s events? Of course I do many times. The heartaches, the disappointments and the self-degradation are part of life and in some ways who I am. I am a product of my past and life experiences. How I make of it, is still my choice. We always have choices…not always in abundance. I may have to choose for a pearly grey from a drab grey but still, I have a choice. And with the darkness of despair how else would I be blinded by the beauty of the glowing stars as well as golden sun? If I have doubts about love and being loved, I meet exuberance when I am embraced by those who do love me. It may come from someone I have not been waiting and then that makes it a double bonus cherished and forever imprinted on my heart.

I am a daydreamer by day and by night. Many times I cannot tell where a dream started or where a fantasy ended. And is that important? When life takes too long to show its glowing stars, I escape into stories I devour for days and days. And more recently, I dip into my consciousness and write what transpires from many escapades in delusions and fantasies, me, myself my muse and I.