Tanka Tuesday :: Within

Categories Photography, Poetry24 Comments on Tanka Tuesday :: Within 
radiance catcher
craving the light and the warmth
hunting for the sun
clouds bathing me with desire
a wish in each step
the sparkle lays within me
my soul smiles sunbeams
when I see her reflection
brightening the wildflowers

Happy Summer! Finally it is here, I’m sure I’ll miss the spring freshness, but I’m ready for all the pleasures of the summer.

It has been cloudy these last few days. I went to a park in the last day of spring, the longest day of the year to see the sunset, but I think the sun wasn’t aware that lots of people were outdoors waiting for its performance that evening. Anyway, it was pleasant to be outdoors in the middle of beautiful flowers. And as Rumi says:

Don’t you know yet?

It is your light that lights the worlds.

Rumi

Tanka Tuesday this week is a theme prompt – Discovery – I didn’t use this word in my poem, but you can feel that it is about discovering the light/energy that lays inside each one of us. I used the form Choka, a new one for me, it contains 9 lines: 5-7-5-7-5-7-5-7-7 and doesn’t need to rhyme.

I hope you enjoy it!

WQWWC :: Heat

Categories Photography, Writing11 Comments on WQWWC :: Heat
soul fire

This week’s theme for WQWWC is “heat”. I decided to go a little bit sideways and post about the heat from the soul, my inside heat that needs to come out in the form of creativity. Not sure if the word heat is the best, “fire” is more appropriate. For many years I’m using paintings and collages as a vessel for expression. Poetry is another form to let out what is in my mind. And of course, I couldn’t forget to mention the journaling practice that is a constant form of expression for me.

Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.

Rumi
passion garden

Abstraction is my favourite kind of expression, both for my painting and my poetry. Recently I had my poems featured in a poetry book, I’m quite pleased with myself, you can check it here.

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.

Ferdinand Foch
moments of reflection

I always write about my feelings before starting any piece of art. I need to check what my soul needs at that moment, what is the fire, the energy igniting my creativity at that moment that I need to put out in the world. 

Energy is the key to creativity. Energy is the key to life.

William Shatner

The poem below is one of my favourites when I need to express my feelings through art. 

In the heat of heat
The heat is so hot
My body takes control
In the heat of heat
The heat gets so hot
My passion overloads
James Harris III

WQWWC is a challenge that I’ve recently joined, I’m loving to be part of it! Marsha is the host and the prompts are great. Check it out if you want to see nice posts or joining the challenge.

My first poetry publication

Categories Poetry, Writing42 Comments on My first poetry publication

I’m happy to share with you that two of my poems have been published! I’ve never thought that one day my poetry would be good enough to be in a book. And it is almost unbelievable that they were published in a book that teaches how to write syllabic poetry!

The form of published poems is Haiga, Japanese syllabic poetry that combines a written Haiku or Senryu with an image. Both written form and image should stand independently, and they should be able to transmit emotion to the reader.

If you are following me on my blog or Instagram you already know that photography is my passion, a way to express my feelings in the same way I use words to scribble details of a moment. So, Haiga is an opportunity to combine my photography and poetry together in one piece of art.

Word Craft Prose & Poetry by Colleen M. Chesebro is an educational book for poetry lovers and writers. It’s loaded with information about the poetry forms, the history of them and wonderful examples to help you compose your own poems. It has awesome poems from a variety of poets, it is perfect to have it by the bedside at hand for some bedtime poetry, or as I do, I keep mine together with my journal to consult it when I want to try a new poetry form.

I’ve known Colleen’s work for many years through her poetry challenge, Tanka Tuesday. It was by joining her weekly challenge that I’ve learnt to appreciate syllabic poetry and to write them. Some of the forms are still a mystery to me, but I’m sure that with this guide book I’ll master them at no time.

It is awarding to have my poems sharing the same space with many talented poets in this book. T

I’d like to thank Colleen, for believing in my poetry and always encouraging me to keep up with the writing.

Here are my two original poems and the link for the blog post where they first appeared.

Thank you for reading and to follow my poetry adventures!

E.

WQWWC :: Summer

Categories Photography10 Comments on WQWWC :: Summer

 “It was June, and the world smelled of roses. The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside.”

Maud Hart Lovelace, Betsy-Tacy and Tib

Here, in Canada, we have 9 months of cold weather, so the 3 months of summer are a dream to come true. It is time for gardening and enjoying the outdoors. I like to wake up earlier than usual, generally the birds songs do the job of take me off the bed. I run/walk by the river and parks in my neighborhood, always with my phone to take pictures of the beauty around me.

” Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.” 

John Lubbock

Eating healthier is another summer thing for me. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and cutting down on the fat and sugar.

Processed with VSCO with kp8 preset

 “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.”

Beach time is a must too, I go south for a few days to enjoy the ocean, but not last year and not sure if it will be possible this year, we are still in lockdown.

Hope you enjoyed to hear my summer highlights and please share yours in the comments, I’d love to hear it!

Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty

WQWWC – Summer

Tanka Tuesday :: Dwindle

Categories Photography, Poetry21 Comments on Tanka Tuesday :: Dwindle 
daybreak
veiled gloom of light
infuses my being
in spite of the semidarkness
the rusty and the stain dwindle
when my soul craves to shine
uncertainty
regret

I’m waking up early than usual these days and walking by the river has been a kind of meditation to me, nobody is around, the sun is rising, the water is calm and clear. Sometimes I can see the fish swimming nearby the fence. I’m always attracted by the changes I see on my way. They make me reflect on certain areas of my life and water is constantly changing, so this spot in the photo is one of my favourite places to regroup my thoughts.

The words for this week are dawn and twilight, synonyms only, I’ve chosen daybreak and semidarkness. The form is a Butterfly Cinquain.

WQWWC :: Destiny

Categories Photography, Writing23 Comments on WQWWC :: Destiny

Do you believe in destiny? I’m not sure I do. I think I’m more a kind of free will person, but sometimes I’d like to believe in destiny, to believe that my path was designed long ago, and nothing would change the here and now. I’d be free of guilty, and I’d stop thinking about the what if…

The freedom of choice is wonderful, I’m thankful for living in a country where I’m free to go and come back to where I want, not so much now with the pandemic 🙂 but many women in the world don’t have this physical freedom. Here, I’m not talking about the physical/space stuff, I’m talking about the stuff that is in my mind, the freedom to be content in the moment, to know that the here and now is the best for me, no matter what happened, this path is the right, it is the one written in the stars.

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

Buddha

“Does the walker choose the path, or the path the walker?”

Garth Nix, Sabriel

The topic for this week WQWWC is Writer’s choice, I’ve chosen Destiny! Let me know in the comments what are your thoughts about it.

Have a great weekend!

Tanka Tuesday :: Mindfulness

Categories Photography, Poetry23 Comments on Tanka Tuesday :: Mindfulness 
the Earth is turning
mindfulness is the answer
finding the purpose

my favorite corner in the backyard. it’s unbelievable that the summer solstice is almost here. i’m trying to be mindful and to set a few priorities before the summer starts. i want to enjoy the summer doing meaningful things for me, and not to let the daily business spoils it.

happy new month to you!

tanka tuesday

WQWWC :: Hope

Categories Photography, Poetry, Writing26 Comments on WQWWC :: Hope

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Joining Marsha’s Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writer’s Challenge. The theme this week is HOPE.

Well, this word always brings me back to one of my favorite poems of Emily Dickinson. Hope is the thing with feathers …

Here is my version of Hope! I hope you enjoy 😉 

Expectation
Desire
Believing in the magic
The impossible turning into possible 
The only tool to keep us going
When nothing else makes sense
A wish
A silent prayer
The soul talking to the mind

Tanka Tuesday :: Berries’ Journey

Categories Photography, Poetry30 Comments on Tanka Tuesday :: Berries’ Journey

Tanka Tuesday this week is a theme prompt about journey/travels:

“When one considers this wide-ranging theme, there are many possible subjects to keep in mind. A journey can consist of just about anything. One could be moving physically traveling from place to place, or be transforming in some significant way. The journey might be somewhere specific that can actually be listed on a map, or somewhere less tangible, such as the afterlife.” READ MORE ON POEMANALYSIS.COM

This theme brings me many memories, so many journeys I’ve taken, both physically and in my mind, journeys of adventure and journeys of growth, journeys of despair and journeys of joy. But I decided to go light and to be joyful, just simple. I’m writing the berries’ journey from a tiny seed planted on the ground, harvested, being on display at the market, coming home with me, and turning out a delicious and healthy breakfast. Form: Haiga

Once a tiny seed
Showing off at the market
Yummy for breakfast

Hope you enjoy it!

E.