Friday, June 29, 2012

A haiku a day...

Vendredi
As the lillies wilt,
their petals quietly fall,
I know how they feel.

Samedi
Here, amongst the green,
on thistle spikes, hornets hum
a dangerous dirge.

Dimanche
Refreshing ocean
cools my pale English skin, wave
after wave roars in.

Lundi
A daily ritual:
swinging creaky shutters shut
to silence night noise.

Mardi
The warm breeze whispers
unintelligible thoughts
as I wander home.

Mercredi
As we lick ice-cream,
across the square, over there
a man plays with fire.

Jeudi
Frightened, I drag a
chair outside, take up refuge
on the terrace, hide.

x

Saturday, June 23, 2012

A haiku a day....

Here are my little word snippets from the last week...

Vendredi 
Unbelievable 
sky, crazy backdrop to our
happy fountain splash.

Samedi
Dappled light, green grass,
the pop of corks, a tiny
corner of heaven.
 
Dimanche
Cool liquid amber,
refreshing in the hot sun,
after park picnics.
 
Lundi
Same song, months apart,
in parallel we listen,
as the lark ascends.
 
Mardi
I awake to rain
glad about the gloominess,
as my nightmares wane.
 
Mercredi
Sticky air cooks up
cranky moods, we stumble out,
into an oven.

Jeudi
Bagpipes bellow out
Scottish songs on this French night,
Fête de la musique.

x






Monday, June 18, 2012

A haiku a day...

Friday
We gather around
this table, share ourselves, eat,
become family.

Saturday
Happy tears burst out,
a moment of change and love,
bright happy morning.

Sunday
The giant sky looms,
bright over the open road,
which leads me somewhere.
 
Monday
Take me in your arms,
I'm home after many miles,
smiles, tears and journeys.

Tuesday
My inner vortex 
swirls still, as my head catches
up with my footsteps.

Wednesday
Back on a bike I
zoom along again, finding
the right momentum.

Thursday
In the perfect square,
I brush shoulders with Nancy,
my inspiration.

x

Friday, June 08, 2012

A haiku a day...

This week it seems I'm in the mood to write about the weather. Wet, thundery, stormy, cloudy, moody weather. Funny how a theme emerged in these syllabic snippets.... 
 
Friday
Sangria, flowers
a terrace chat in the heat,
As evening arrives.

Saturday
Finally thunder:
the drumming of a rainstorm
makes me want to dance.

Sunday
We poke our heads out
Kiss the raindrops, sniff zee fleurs,
Ridiculous rain.

Monday
Some moods can’t be fought,
embracing this dark cloud I
Leave my desk behind.

Tuesday
The river at dusk
cool, calm now before the storm,
(after the panic).

Wednesday
Cloud wisps kiss the hills
Grey sky, green horizon, me
watching the day fade.

Thursday
Waking up, the roof
is drumming sweet rhythms of 
a Devon rainstorm. 

x

Friday, June 01, 2012

A haiku a day...

Vendredi
I smile all along
my balmy evening bikeride,
pedalling happy.

Samedi
Measure, pin, snip snip,
press the peddle, the needle
whirs, dances, stitches.

Dimanche
White wisps on pale blue,
jet streams scar the perfect sky,
up where planes fly high.

Lundi
 Through open windows,
jasmine intoixicates me
on these long hot nights.

Mardi 
Daily ritual:
pedalling furiously
to find inner calm.
Mercredi 
It's too hot for jazz,
the melodies meander,
but I'm trapped inside.

Jeudi
Coffee, a notebook, 
one of those perfect mornings,
here in summertime.

x

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Soundtrack to my life

Some more songs that have been a sonic background to my life of late.

Ben Howard, Old pine
I listened to this album pretty regularly as we packed up our old lives and started our new ones here. It reminds me of first tram rides through unfamiliar streets, humid rain storms and walking around gazing up in wonder at the old sandstone buildings with a smile on my face.

Nina Simone, Lliac wine
A necessary song as soon as the lilacs in the park bloomed. I inhaled their heady scent whilst Nina sang about it. Nina Simone is just the greatest.

Kim Boekbinder, Girl on a bicycle
I've been hiring bikes quite regularly and zooming along the river. I almost always hum this song in my head when I ride along feeling happy and ridiculous as I pedal.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Home
Because home is wherever I'm with my love. And right now it's here and I couldn't be happier.

The Jimmy Chamberlain Complex, Loki Cat
I randomly started playing this song a lot as I worked and it crept into my head and got stuck there and will forever remind me of the first few weeks here when we only had what we could carry on the plane in our rucksacks and the flat was empty and yet full of possibilities and happy moments.

Coldplay, Every teardrop is a waterfall 
I've been listening to Coldplay a lot when I run along the river. I love the line in this song about being in the gap between the two trapeeze as that's where I was for a while before, during and after moving.

Smashing Pumpkins, Let me give the World to You
Pure joy in song form, filling my ears on my first trip back to the UK and then blasting out of our speakers when I returned as I twirled in our living room at 4 AM, spun round by my love.

The Grateful Dead, Box of Rain
My latest favourite source of inspiration. A song that reminds me not to be gloomy. Strangely enought I keep finding my direction around the corner where its waiting for me whenever I walk out of the flat (just like the song says I will).

What's your favourite song of late? Please share!
x


Monday, May 28, 2012

Squirrelling away II

A couple of weeks ago I had an encounter with a sneaky red squirrel in the Parc bordelais. He was much smaller than the grey squirrel I spied back in the snow in February. Red squirrels tend to have much less bushy tails than their grey counterparts. Just look at how pointy his ears are too! He clung on to the tree there motionless for over a minute before scurrying away into the treetops up above us to go about his day :)
x