Tournesol ~ dans un jardin: September 2014

2014/09/29

One (haiga)

Percé Rock at Sunrise, Québec.

mother nature

greets the Great Spirit

sunrise

Etsy photography

Diverse faiths

summon their G-d

echoes at sunrise

Carpe Diem Time Glass #4 Sunrise

man's best friend (haiga)

left behind in haste

home to city life

piercing howl

molten asphalt

led by scents of home

cracked paws

master's guilt
soothing sores, bearing treats
home sweet home.

Haiku Horizons "home"

V (haiku)

V-assembly

cacophonic honk

home south

Haiku Horizons, Prompt 32 "home"

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/29

2014/09/28

pirouette (haiga)

Colourful Horny Toad Lizard

sizzling hot night/

ballerina's quick pirouette/

horny toad

Carpe Diem Little Creatures #6 Lizard

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/28

faith (haiku)

Carpe Diem Special #109, Words by Francis of Assisi 4

[...] “A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows.” [...] Francis of Assisi

moving shadows
as the sun climbs to his throne -
Peter Pan was here
© Chèvrefeuille

Inspired by Francis of Assisi

faith restored
showers of light beams
after the landslide

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/28

2014/09/26

whispering guest (haiga)

Who is my whispering guest?

Bette and I

gazing out my patio

geese honk

what am I today?

sluggish like a snail

feline purrs

who am I today?

roles lost in multi-tasking

leaf kissed my window

where am I today?

tranquil moments of now

cat sees the dead fly

how am I today?

quill moves with gentle

strokes

jotting lines

moments flash in autumn breeze

whispering guest

© Tournesol '14

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts 2014/09/29

winter dreams (haiga)

scattered petals

tiger lily beds

fallen leaves

orange blossoms weave

winter’s quilt

tawny hues share

tranquil dreams

Carpe Diem Sparkling Stars #7, Koyu-Ni's "Tranquil"

posing(Tan Renga)

nature sleeps

carpet of silent snow
red leaf falls

© Becca Givens

chasing shadows in the park

squirrel stops to pose

© Tournesol '14

Carpe Diem, tan renga, challenge 51, becca

corn (haiga)

cunningly

in the cornfield

cat chased a mouse

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Robertgs 2014/09/26

Carpe Diem #569 Corn

I felt energized walking to the bus today with the warm sun. Imagine walking September 25^th in a sleeveless shirt and jeans. Yes, indeed, it was so warm, I had to put my hair up in a bun, the sun was so hot on my neck. I had checked the forecast before leaving and felt encouraged to see that mid 20C was expected until Sunday. Today was my last day of my work week since I have Friday and Saturday off. So off I marched to the bus in good spirits.

summer heat

yet autumn wind

blew fallen leaves

Ah but when I passed a row of trees, my feet touched a precious season’s gift. I slowed my pace to hear the sound that pleased my ears. Within a few seconds, I was a ten year old walking to school hearing the crunch under my feet observing the lawns covered with reds, amber and shades of gold and yellow. Fast-forwarding in my reverie I was jumping in a large pile of leaves, making my crunch, autumn bed...last play before the ground will freeze...until I will lay on a white blanket making snow angels...but not quite yet...

jubilant

walking through autumn treasures

crunch of fallen leaves

***

crunch of fallen leaves

season`s new sonata

music to my ears

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai #570 Fallen leaves

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts 2014/09/26

survival (haiku)

makeshift tunnel

barely space for one more

ant

claimed its space among

a colony

colony of ants

filled every space avoiding

the exterminator

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/26

Haiku Horizons "space"

a thousand deaths (renga)

Inspired by this disturbing video at Mindlovemiserysmenagerie, Tale Weaver# 26

Metallica - One [Official Music Video]

Be a man
he said
yes, Father

right, left, right, left,right
attention!, aim, fire

be a man
he said,
yes, Sergeant

peacekeeper or warrior
protecting and killing

never-ending
causes for democracy
wrapped in bloodstained cloths

end of tour of duty
safely on home turf

only innocents
feel the safety
civilians

how he yearns for safety
turning back the clock

nightmares, flashbacks
a thousand deaths each day
deathrow

space for daisies (haiga)

on tickling grass

cleared a space

kneels to pray

***

reverent space

beneath the tombstone

daisies for Nana

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/26

Haiku Horizons "space"

2014/09/24

Prelude (haiga)

green to gold

rusting grassland

reaching to the sky

smiling at the sun

embracing autumn

squirrel in the park

prelude

burst of colours

last concerto

(c) Tournesol '14

Vivaldi - Autumn, The Four Seasons (Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293)

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/24

apples (haiga)

fallen apple
school trip to the orchard
crow gulps the worm

Carpe Diem #568, Apples

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/24

2014/09/23

weaving deams (haibun)

Everyone should have dreams and when they are met, then we need to add more. It is what adds life and spice to our lives. As a very young child I dreamt of being an actress like Marilyn Monroe driving around in a red flamed Cadillac …HA!

Then I wanted to be a nun or nurse when I was in elementary school. My grandmother was a mid-wife but to me she was a nurse. Then I realized I could not stand the sight of blood and all I wanted to do was hold patients’ hands and comfort them. Ah, so that was a counsellor or social workers.

Teaching was also another dream, so I wavered between counsellor and teacher. Going to university would have taken a long time and cost money which mom did not have, but I got a scholarship for a secretarial college and married young, had children which was a huge part of my dream!! So this other dream was on hold, simmering always at the back of my mind. During the years I was home until the children were in school I dabbled a bit in writing, another dream I had growing up. I used to fantasize typing my novel in the attic of an ocean side house.

I did eventually work in homecare as a person support worker, and eventually got my degree to work in counselling. There were roadblocks alright! I managed to work in a private school for five years (so I guess the teacher dream came to fruition). But then I met some stumbling blocks. It was difficult finding work in my location after the teaching position closed; but I was determined to have my degree recognized and work in a career I had been dreaming of for over 25 years. Moving 600 km away was the answer in attaining my dreams. Sometimes we get tested as to just how important it is to achieve a dream…so working further away for a decade allowed me to fulfill my dream and come back home with substantial and marketable experience. I was able to continue working in a career I love.

Going back to university as an older adult with life experience was the best thing for me in order to succeed and become the counsellor I am today.

March 2013 I started writing just to get things off of my chest or stand on my soapbox about issues important to me such as mental health. And then I dared write a poem here and there and discovered it was very therapeutic. It was as if my muse kept me company when I was at two extremes…very happy or in extreme pain both physically and emotionally. Now I write daily out of passion for the written word. I still have dreams like volunteering to find more resources for people suffering with mental illness and their friends and family…I’m working on it…hopefully I will find more time for that and painting and drawing...I would love to be able to draw the images in my mind that match the poetry I write.

Someday I would like to publish some of my poetry to give to my children, a genre of legacy.

weaving patterns

life spins with staggered threads

tapestry of dreams

Posted by Cheryl-Lynn Roberts, 2014/09/23

Carpe Diem Tackle it Tuesday, #8 Fixity

journey's end (haiga)

What a beautiful prompt we have at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, Ghost Writer #26 with Jen from Blog it or Lose it. An avide writer, reader, poet and explorer of history and nature’s beauty. If you visit her blog, you will come to understand this.

Jen has introduced us to an American poet Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) she is known for many works of literature incuding Sonnets to Duse, Helen of Tory and Other Poems, Rivers to the Sea, Flame and Shaddows and Love Songs. Jen says that Teasdale is probably bst known for three poems: “Like Barley Bending”, “I shall Not Care”, and “Leaves”.

Our inspiration today is to read this poem and share what it means to you:

Leaves (1917)

ONE by one, like leaves from a tree,

All my faiths have forsaken me;

But the stars above my head

Burn in white and delicate red,

And beneath my feet the earth

Brings the sturdy grass to birth.

I who was content to be

But a silken-singing tree,

But a rustle of delight

In the wistful heart of night,

I have lost the leaves that knew

Touch of rain and weight of dew.

Blinded by a leafy crown

I looked neither up nor down -

But the little leaves that die

Have left me room to see the sky;

Now for the first time I know

Stars above and earth below.

On my way to work yesterday I had extra time and took photos in the local park near the office. So what a delight to read this prompt today! This poem has several meanings to me and reading it a few times, I am sharing one interpretation.

journey's end

lavish leaves

standing proudly

shading golden star

filled with amour-propre

confident with purpose

lost, in foliage

missing meaning

only filtered light

trapped in splendid hues

meeting life’s trimester

reds, ambers, yellows

swollen ego still persists

filtered light

embracing nature’s third act

winds strip every vanity

shedding one by one

looking up to heaven,

journey’s end... alight.