Missing Grandpa

Does this darkness have a name?

Who exactly should I blame?

For the sorrow and the pain

That will come to me again?

You’re song lingers in my heart;

As if we'll never be apart.

But when I look at the wooden door

I know that it won’t open anymore.

Sunrise whispers words so sweet,

Also hoping that we meet;

But it’s sunset by the sea

And you aren’t near me.

As I look at the horizon,

And I feel forever broken,

I know grandpa’s over seas –

He can’t hear my painful screams.

In my pocket lies your photo,

Your voice sounds just like an echo,

The books you read surround me –

And yet it’s you I want to see.

You’re holding out your hand so warm

And afraid of another storm,

I reach forward like a toddler –

It’s thin air; not your finger.

When it falls, my lonely tear,

I hold back my biggest fear:

That you’ll never smile again

And I’ll always live in pain.

Gentle eyes hidden behind glasses,

Look at the door that now closes.

For the last time I look back

Knowing now what I will lack.

I feel sunrise hugging earth,

While night gives its one last breath.

But it’s sunset by the sea

And you aren’t near me.

Haiku Monday: Rain

Boxer is the host this week, so everyone should go there and check all the "rainy" haikus that other bloggers shared.  http://boxeranonymous.blogspot.com/

These are my entries:

Ephemeral rain

Gifted by nature. It's our

Elixir of life.

Shy paws check waters

Forming ripples on the ground

Puppy in the rain.

                            ~  Click on the photo to see this puppy run ~


Rain goes here and there

Bringing rainbows everywhere

I am mesmerised. 

Haiku Monday Winner

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to praise each of you. All the haikus were absolutely beautiful. 
This week I found out exactly how tough it is to be host. I loved reading every haiku and seeing what incredible ideas everyone had, but choosing just one haiku was really hard. The visuals helped me lot too and now I am able to understand their importance much better.  
Three haikus out of 28 really got under my skin. 


Dianne wrote a very interesting haiku: 


Beauty of Springtime
New shoots and buds emerging                              
Colours Winter's grey.


Dianne managed to express the beauty of Spring and how this season brings color to the world, after Winter turned everything into a grey univers. It’s like having a canvas in front of you and all you have to do is to add color, turning it into a work of art. Unfortunately, no visuals accompanied this haiku but it impressed me anyway.


Next is Boxer: 


Resident jester
Mongrel, origin unknown
To us, perfection


If anyone wonders why I liked this haiku, I can explain it in one word: Dogs! They are the most loyal and cute animals in this world, in my opinion. The difference between dogs and other animals is that they love their owner and they are loyal to him until the end. They offer their love without asking for nothing in return. The only thing they want is maybe a bit of love in return. Every dog is perfect and special in its own way no matter what breed it is. 
A few years ago, the story of one dog really impressed me. Hachiko was an Akita dog and it belonged to a professor that used to travel a lot by train. The dog used to wait for him at the station every day. After a year, the professor died, but the dog kept on waiting for him at the station every day for 10 years. I think this proves how loyal dogs can be and this story made me appreciate dogs even more. 


Another haiku that made me wonder why I have to choose just one winner is the one Moi shared with us:


Fractured limestone peaks
once obscured by ocean’s depths
now commune with sun. 


I was drawn to this haiku because it shows a beautiful part of the world we live in that many don’t notice. The visual was outstanding and I could almost feel like I was there, seeing the greatness of the mountain and feeling the fresh air. It’s magical!


And now….The announcement everyone is expecting….This week’s Haiku Monday Winner is….


BOXER! 


Congratulations everyone and thanks again for playing this week!  :)

Haiku Monday

Hello Everyone!

I am your host for this week’s Haiku Monday. I am honored and I would like to thank everyone for the votes. I am excited to host this week and I hope many of you will accept the challenge. Everyone is welcome and I hope we will have some new players too.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith.

The Haiku Monday theme is “Beauty”.

The usual rules are applied. 5-7-5 /17 syllables format. You can submit as many entries as you like, but choose the two that you want judged. Kireji and Kigo are not necessary but you can use these elements if you like. You can also post visuals on your blog because they might serve as a tie breaker and they also make everything more fabulous and interesting. Deadline is at Midnight Pacific Time on Monday. The winner will be announced on Tuesday.

Good luck to everyone! I hope many of you will accept the challenge.

Haiku Monday: Treasure

This week the host is Chickory....http://chickory.blogspot.com/

Apparently my imagination ran away this week and I couldn't come up with some decent haikus. I have some ideas but apparently I can't find the right words. This is absolutely annoying: staying for hours with papers in front of me ready to write something and putting all those ideas into words...and in the end...blank.
Okay so here is what I came up with:

Touching Freedom

Forests hide footsteps
Rain dances with her beauty.
She touches freedom.

Cloud

Fluffy thing drifts by
From the kingdom of the sky.
Cloud sheep are the best!

Make it shine!

Syllables form words
Words then turn into stories
Stories make us shine.

The last one is about the importance of our life. We make our own story and these are one of the treasures that we hold. Just my opinion!

Haiku Monday: Nocturnal

This week Haiku Monday is hosted by Scout at http://preservingthesouth.blogspot.com/

And these are the haiku that I wrote for this theme:

The howling is heard
Wolves are calling out for those
Who truly love darkness.

The second haiku refers to some fantasy creatures of the night - vampires. I chose them because I think they can be included in this theme and also because my country is where the legend of Dracula was born. The region called Transylvania is the one that inspired Bram Stoker to write his book. 

Drops of red blood fall

As their sharp fangs sink deeper...

Darkness hides victims.

Inside a snow globe

         Tick Tock…and the seconds melted to dust…
She walked slowly, dragging her feet through the white sand. Her shiny brown eyes were watching the sunset beyond the horizon. The sky was a swirl of pink, orange and blue, being very similar to a waltz between two lovers. Eva watched in awe until everything turned into Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.
“Every living thing in the galaxy has a single shining star inside of it.” Thought Eva, “but which one is my star? Are there any more beyond the glass that surrounds my world?”
Unknown to her, Eva was a special girl. She was the girl that would fight for her dreams until they became reality. But she would only find this out later. For now, her world was simply gray. She felt like a stain that not even the biggest eraser in the world could clean. Her biggest wish was to color the world and herself and break the glass wall that stood between her and freedom.
Time slips so quickly….
She was surrounded by darkness. The sun she once loved had disappeared. That second was the kind of moment that told her that she should forget about dreams and come back to the real world. But Eva could not do that. She was surrounded by silky ropes that could not be untied, thus keeping her captive in her imaginary world…in the world of dreams…in a world that would never be real. 
“Nobody dares to be truly sad, nobody dares to be truly happy. We find ourselves in a strange world of life and death…half life…half death. By our choices we decide towards which half we are going.”
Suddenly, Eva heard noises that became louder. She knew what was to come: her world would be shaken and snowflakes will fall while a pair of eyes will watch the scene. A few seconds later she started dancing through the white sand and in the rain of snowflakes, wishing for her dream to come true… “Freedom…how nice it sounds!” But she then met the stunning green eyes that watched her.
“You like seeing birds trapped in cages, don’t you? How cruel can you get?“ thought Eva.
After a few more shakes, sounds started to subside.
“It’s so strange how all sounds simply turn on and off, on and off, like that game of ‘Musical Chairs’; a game where I am always out; a game where I am always…just…ME.
Time has a way of pulling people apart…
There was a time, long ago, when Eva was truly happy. It was the time when she had a friend. The first owner of the snow globe, which is Eva’s world, was a little girl called Amy. Eva fell in love with Amy’s blue eyes, and with her smile. Amy would always talk to Eva through the glass wall and when she shook the globe, Eva felt like a princess lulled by gentle waves.
But one day, Amy decided to move to a new house and forgot about Eva.
“You appeared, but disappeared just as fast. Just like a demon. And even if you disappeared, the illusion that you were here stays. I don’t regret the fact that I met you, Amy! Past things will always stay in the past, and the future heals through present. At least, I hope so. I still hope. I am sure you are not a demon.” These are the words that Eva wanted to tell to Amy. But she never got the chance.
Blinded by tears, sobbing in darkness, feeling herself empty on the inside, she became am empty shell and closed herself from any other feelings. “Pain fades away with the flow of time.” But Eva wasn’t looking for a cure. She just wanted to be happy again. 
One day, Lucy, whom was now the snow globe’s owner, came and shook Eva’s world. She had tears in her eyes. Eva felt a bit upset and decided to dance in the snow. She didn’t know how much time she spent dancing but when she looked up at the girl, she was astonished to see her smiling. Just because Lucy watched her, she became happier. Then, the girl placed the globe on her nightstand in front of a little mirror. Eva looked at herself surrounded by the glass walls and saw something written on the snow globe's support: “I offer you this hoping that it will make you as happy as it made me. Amy.”
Eva was stunned. She understood everything the wrong way. Her world wasn’t gray at all. On the contrary, she was the one holding all the colors and she had to color the lives of others. The glass walls were protecting her from the bad things that could stop her from sending colors out, and not trapping her inside. 
“Humans are weak. But weakness is not a bad thing. Due to their insecurities they use things like my snow globe in order to form ties and stay strong. If I believe in tomorrow and step forth, I will live a strong life and that means that I will be able to smile! I had given up on people because I thought that they only bring sadness. But I am actually the light, and the glass is the prism, and together we form the colors. I used to treat my life as something insignificant and I forgot about the things I love. I made a great mistake. The painful memories are the ones that become the seeds of tomorrow and make us strong. Until now I thought I was the princess locked up in a tower and I was waiting for the prince. But actually, the world outside the glass wall is the princess and I am the knight in shining armor. I promise to always bring happiness whenever my world shakes. And thank you Amy for being my friend and bringing out my true value. Feelings aren’t visible to the eyes, but you, Amy, made them visible through the gifts you made. Thank you!
With these words, Eva tied a ribbon in her hair and smiled. She wanted to change who she was and show her confidence to the world. She found the magic that the snow globe possessed. “ I want to show the world a different me!”
From that day on, Eva kept dancing and playing with the snowflakes whenever her world shook. Owners of the snow globe kept changing. Blue eyes turned to green than to gray and brown and back to blue. But the one thing that stayed the same was Eva’s smile. The snow globe is still bringing happiness and painting the world. I know it because it has a special place on my nightstand and I watch its beauty every night until I fall asleep.
Tick Tock…and seconds melted to dust…