Written for Heeding Haiku With HA: Summer Kigo by MindLoveMisery’s Menagerie… Summer is indeed burning brightly over the northern hemisphere and I am so much looking forward to joining them next month for a couple of weeks. However, south of the equator, at the bottom of the world Winter is making herself very well known. So here is my tanka from:
The OtherSide
On the other side
billowing clouds block the sun
wind chimes dance fiercely
shaded from Summers beauty
we’ll find our way back again.
Inspired by Pooky’s Poems where today’s challenge involved writing a poem to the rhythm of a song you enjoy. I chose Des’ree ‘You Gotta Be’ because this song has been stuck in my head since the first day I heard it back in 1994; when I was a nine year old English village girl getting up to mischief in her ‘Little Mermaid’ roller-skates. I kept the chorus because I feel as though it’s always been my life lesson.
This is who you are today
brown eyes on a summer day
stepping our from behind Grandpa’s knee
Your friends, they will grow with you
fly with you to Timbuktu
live, laugh, dance, this planet
young birds flying free.
You gotta be…
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
All I know, All I know, love with save the day.
Listen to want Des’ree said
seal the words inside your head
cherish every chapter cherish every line
some will teach you how to be
but all you need is family
my oh my, yea, eh eh
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
All I know, All I know, love with save the day.
I know you’re only nine, but life is beginning
story’s start – moments of time and space
the years keep on turning
they won’t stop; they will find you
one day you will wake up to another face
whoa-oh-oh
You gotta be bad, You gotta be bold, You gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, You gotta be tough, You gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, You gotta be calm, You gotta together
All I know, All I know, love with save the day.
Listen to want Des’ree said
seal the words inside your head
cherish every chapter cherish every line
some will teach you how to be
but all you need is family
my oh my, yea, eh eh
Although, technically it’s Autumn here Summer did revisit us for ANZAC Day. I wrote this whilst sitting along the banks of the Yarra River. Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald do a great cover of this song – SummerTime.
“Summer time… and the livin’ is easy… fish are jumpin’… and the cotton is high…”
the saxophonists notes follow her along the river
as she looks down on the black swans floating
from the steps of a faux Parisian cafe
on a beautiful faux summer day.
“… Oh, your daddy’s rich… and your mamma’s good lookin’… so hush, little baby… don’t you cry…”
a little girl reaches and clasps her grandfather’s hand
his medals glistening in the sun; a weary veteran
nods slowly and carefully to the whispers in his ears
comfortably surrounded by his future.
“… One of these mornings… you’re going to rise up singing… then you’ll spread your wings… and take to the sky…”
the banks of the river burst with soul
a young student girl charms us with an upturned wok
a young veteran strums his aged guitar
while a young flautist hums her way into the urban orchestra.
“… But until that morning… there’s nothing can harm you… with your daddy and mummy standing by…”
on the grass a group of primary children
create chalk drawings of sunshine
and city views – they love their country
sparkling pride in their young little eyes.
“… Summertime… and the livin’ is easy…”
zombie-fied life forms
melt amid the dead brown leaves
in summer twilight
she lets out a final breath
we will miss her warmth and love.
sunday afternoon
coffee, cake, and live music
trees dance in the wind
a dear friend stops and says ‘hello’
shared moments in our story.
smooth cream of cheesecake
nestled upon a biscuit
a hint of lemon
is like bite-size happiness
a taste of innocent love
black crow on the roof
watches the sea of people
on an autumn day
she sits and drinks her coffee
her eyes searching for her prey
come home, summer love
red balloons and chocolate
smiling through the glass
yesterday plays in my mind
like a movie lost in time.
Hypnotised under a blue southern sky;
I hear, the twitter of birds from the roof,
And rustle of trees in a summer breeze.
Listening, musing, reflecting, the day through.
Soon, I hear, the soft purr of an engine
As a mate, comes home, consumed with folly;
Who, happy and drunk, bellows from the street:
“If only I could win the lottery”
As his laughter fades into his town house
My mind echoes on his conversation.
Images of last night’s doco weighs in
Playing with my thoughts, my meditation.
Today is about the lucky country;
Like a billabong of long time ago
Every nation has been to this great land
Our strong diversity – is all we know.
We are a nation of freedom and choice,
Although it hasn’t always been the case
But we are growing, with education;
And patience, and respect to each other’s place.
We get to breathe the sun and the sea.
We get to dance under the Southern Cross.
We get to laugh and sing to our hearts content.
We never have to be alone, sorry or lost.
Still the helicopter tears through the blue
Like a reminder that all is not fair,
It roars from the mountains to the city
Looking for hope, faith, someone to care.
So, the question of lottery? Is this.
We exist. We dance to our own beat
Knowing tomorrow will come, safe and sound.
We got the jackpot – on humanity!
a creator dreams
her words crafted by beauty
on a summer day
splendour falls from the sky
as if her muse were watching.
Charlie Ann Alford 
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