First snowfall Nov 16 2022
snowflakes
carpets forming
spreading joy
snowflakes
adorning
bare branches
white carpets forming
like white sheets on a stick
spreading peace
spreading joy
peace
no wars!
(c) Tournesol ‘2022-11-16
A widow and her sons gathered with their cousins the evening before…reacquainting with each other, reminiscing their childhoods…remembering their father, their uncle, her life long partner of 68 years, who passed. They laughed, they danced, they ate a feast cousins had ordered for the family; they drank and remembered a wonderful man who touched so many friends and family of all ages. One cousin was up late downloading music her cousins had chosen to be played at the burial. Another cousin went to the florist to get roses and rose petals.
The next morning, she woke up early and went to the coffee shop to have breakfast and listened to her muse…in two hours her uncle’s ashes would be interred at the family graveside. It was cloudy but not raining and clouds were making room for the sun’s rays…
grey skies beckoning no more tears grey skies casting shadows under their eyes beckoning softly whispers please don't cry no more tears like dust in the wind smiling from above (c) Tournesol 2022-10-18 and then the sun appeared as if he was smiling ...
Songs:
Wish you were here – Pink Floyd
Father & Son – Cat Stevens
Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton
My Way – Frank Sinatra
Hallelujah – Alexandra Burke
Dust in the Wind – Kansas
Poem read:
It’s been 10 to 12 C the past few days and today, she could actually feel a shift in the air. Windows were open all day and her two felines slept on their carpets by the open patio door. By late afternoon, she could feel a chill and she closed the windows except for her bedroom where she enjoys the cool air under her warm duvet.
silky soft
stretching along her chest
scent of autumn
Inhaling freshness with a sigh
remembering their runny nose
nose peaking
above down feathers
breathing in crispness
© Tournesol ‘2022-09-23
Daily Moments Sept 23/22
(c) clr’2022
As we hope to approach the end of this pandemic, a month ago the world witnessed an explosion of chaos, of violence, of trauma, of one of the worse assaults against humanity…I’m not an expert on this. I am but an ordinary person who is in her late autumn years…or is it winter? Well, it is not spring or summer, so you figure it out.
Watching the news is a cat and mouse affair for me. I want to be in the “know” but most days I can no longer handle it. I know I need to be fresh and together so my heart is open to be filled with trauma, sorrow and the multiple questions from a confused generation of youths and young adults. And so I watch the news 3 days a week to keep some balance in my heart…my mind.
I cry for youths. I cry for my children and their children…heck, I cry for anyone who is younger than me and so many of their dreams are in question. I weep out of fear, worry, disappointment with the world and how we have become split in so many ways…more than I have ever seen in my lifetime.
I have lived a long full life without the chaos we are faced with now but my heart aches especially for children, teens and young families all over the world.
I have been trying to embrace brief moments of joy…I heard a flock (gaggle) of geese honking over my building at sunset last week…the sound made my heart beat just a little faster. My geranium is blossoming so much as it stretches out towards the sun in my bedroom window…embracing moments of joy, my feline stretching in the sunshine and my granddaughter talking to me in “her” language that is music to Nana’s ears.
don’t cry little one
the sun is shining today
hear the geese honk
April rains wash pain away
the sun will dry your cheeks
chin up little one
skipping rope and chanting rhymes
oh! sweet merriment
(c)tournesol ‘2022-03-30
Valentine’s is supposed to be about love and couples but since I had my children 4 decades ago, it was more about LOVE for anyone who is very special to you, especially my immediate family.
I remember cutting out Valentine cards to share at school to those “special people” …if it was someone, we had a little crush on, we did not sign it. I also helped my children cut theirs out as well and in this generation, they seem to include more people. I am hoping that is indicative of the world we now live in…to be kind to one another…to show support and caring.
The media shows us the opposite because unfortunately “tragedy sells.” Yet, with all that has been going on in the world in the past two years, I am sick of giving attention to sadness, cruelty, and hardships. I am not saying I want to live in a bubble, but I/we DO need balance…knowing about kindness and how wonderful many people have come forward to help one another warms my heart and that too should be in the media…not just an addendum at the end of the news.
One thing I have loved doing in the past few years is writing my own greeting cards and sending them out to some friends far and near…mostly friends who live alone like me.
I do not know about you but when I get something in the mail, I get so excited…I run upstairs and put the envelope on the dining room table and make myself a cuppa tea and then I sit down and savour it. Sometimes it is one line and other times it is a bit longer but the fact that someone cared enough to write something on paper, put it in an envelope, sealed it with love, addressed it with care and attention, put a stamp and walked or drove to drop it off in a mailbox means so much!
I had another selfish reason to do this as well. It inspires me to write a poem and talk in writing to a friend, and forcing me to walk to the nearest mailbox which is 1 km away…so it is also beneficial to my physical and mental health to walk which is something I have not done much this winter especially since my fall early in January. It made me wary of walking on icy sidewalks.
I often try to spread out the cards so I have to go out more often.
This is a troiku (new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille, at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai I wrote a few days ago, that made me think of my friends this valentine week.
greyness lingers
lockdowns hold us prisoners
when will winter leave?
greyness lingers
looking for a bit of light
shining in my heart
lockdowns hold us prisoners
soon the days shall pass
Oh, see the light shine
when will winter leave?
thankful for a caring friend
brightens every day
© tournesol 2022-2-11
la grisaille s’attarde
les confinements emprisonnent
l’hiver nous quittera quand?
la grisaille s’attarde
mon cœur s’alimente à la poursuite
de la lumière
les confinements emprisonnent
bientôt le jour va paraitre
voilà, luminescence
enfin l’hiver nous quitte
enchantée d’une amie dévouée
égaiera chaque jour
© tournesol 2022-2-11
It's week two of our partial lockdown, curfews and life in this fifth wave. My heart goes out to people living alone, especially seniors who have no family or few friends. And then I feel for youths. How do they see the world these days, having been robbed of so much these passed two years underlining grief etched upon faces woven in the fabric of their souls upside down smiles not knowing why, how, when will life feel moderately tolerable again trying to pull away feeling bits of freedom independence rebellious teens being teens but not now stolen pockets of time laughing with friends no one sees their smiles masked with triple layers no one sees their frowns no one hears their truths crying silently in their dreams underlining grief etched upon faces woven in the fabric of their souls a time to make friends meet new people parties here get-together there finally find that special person who gets them… and yet, all those experiences pre-pandemic wishful dreams unrequited loves unfulfilled aspirations isolation desperation precious paltry moments facetiming, echoes of a video chat working part time everyone under pressure bosses seem demanding clients irritated parents stressed and worried cabin fever breaks time for a walk bike ride is always safe winter sucks these times holding them hostage reality biting with a vengence underlining grief etched upon faces woven in the fabric of their souls © cheryl-lynn ‘2022-01-07 Daily Moments Jan 7 2022
In memory of the 14 women who were killed Dec 6, 1989 there will be a tribute planned for the victims of Ecole Polytechnique shooting. The women killed in 1989 were Genevieve Bergeron, Helene Colgan, Nathalie Croteau, Barbara Daigneault, Anne-Marie Edward, Maud Haviernick, Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz, Maryse Laganiere, Maryse Leclair, Anne-Marie Lemay, Sonia Pelletier, Michele Richard, Annie St-Arneault and Annie Turcotte. Fourteen beams of light will be projected into the sky from Mount Royal where Prime Minister Trudeau, Quebec Premier Francois Legault and Montreal Mayor, Valerie Plante are set to be present. 14 beams of light reaching to the sky tears in heaven 14 beams of light 14 innocent women hear their cries reaching to the sky pleading for answers still …feeling their loss tears in heaven forever we remember (c) tournesol 2021/12/06 Tributes planned for victims of École Polytechnique shooting on 32nd anniversary - The Globe and Mail
Waking up
To darkness
Filled the day with dread
Sombre
Contemplation
Filled her living room
Thoughts of tomorrow
Same ol’, same ol’
Hope too far to see
Thankful
For digital distractions
Turning minds to mush
Breaking the numbness,
The sun began to rise
Oh! So round and bright!
One hundred & eight
Minutes of glorious sunshine
…phonecall from a friend
rays of true friendship
always pierce november skies
set her heart aglow
© tournesol ’2021/11/13
Daily Moments – November 13 2021 November rain
untold futures so many changes, scent of decay necessary losses autumn leaves waving like there’s no tomorrow… unknown destinies.. are they really? darkness looms ever so cunning coloured leaves giving notions of joy, and yet, life’s on pause… trees shedding life- one by one… on a sheet of rot children unaware seeing only beauty prancing, giggling jumping into piles staring at the sky until they’re all packed stuffed in paper bags carted off -- interred some buried in their gardens rest through the winter bringing life to earth in the spring how I love the different shades this bittersweet season the freshness of the air and yet, the scent of death pierces my soul my joints scream my heart is heavy… wondering if spring will ever come again… ©cheryl-lynn 2021/09/21 Daily Moment Muse – Free Verse
Daily Moments - September 21 2021...the wind was blowing and the curtains were covering my screen and this is what my muse picked up. wind in my face ~ Troiku a new form of haiku created by Chevrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai flaming Flamenco dancing feverishly my lace curtains flaming Flamenco filled with heat and seasons summer loves end dancing feverishly like the last race to the finish line my lace curtains waving faintly adieu © Tournesol 2021/09/21
Tournesol dans un Jardin 