Thought Prints

I awake.  The clock's short hand is reaching toward 11.  Going to bed at 3:30 AM caused that late sleep.  Laying in the comfort of the bed, toes wiggling, slowly the day comes to me.  Thoughts, wishes, hopes, and memories.  Memories laced with joys and regrets.  Good choices, bad choices.  A life that is getting closer to the end.  Will it be this year?  Not likely.  Will I live well into my 90's?  Not my goal. So, having written all of this, I am looking within myself, my future, heck just today.  Really, this moment is all I have. in the distant haze there stands the mighty mountains glaciers retreating thought I was a mountain just sand by the sea petra domina ©

This summer of 2023 has been brutally hot many days.  The excessive heat has been the second highest in recorded history world wide.  Read more here .  The heat at Camp Mabry, the nearest official weather station to me, averaged the following: June 2023     -   97.9℉  36.6℃  (5 days above 100℉)        historical average - 89℉  31.6℃ July 2023      - 103.5℉  39.7℃  (6 days below 100℉)        historical average - 97℉  36.1℃ August 2023 - 104.9℉  40.5℃  (2 days below 100℉)        historical average - 96℉  35.5℃  prisoners  held captive by sun's blaze oil barons parched lips mouth prayers blessed fall © petra domina

Recently I drove 200 miles to my home town to attend the funeral of a friend.  A man who, along with his wife, rode the elevator with my husband, my hours-old son, and me to the maternity ward.  His birthday was that same day, the day of our only child's birth.   Once the funeral was over, hugs and memories shared with his two adult children, I drove out to a house about 7 miles away.  It was our house. Built to our plans and sold when that only child was two years old.  Not sold before it left a mark on our friends and their children.  Leaving that home for another state our friend drifted away as the currents of life pulled us apart. After the visit to our home, I drove back to the house where I spent my teen years.  During the drive an unusual thing happened to my conscience.  I was not driving a car down a road, I was parking the Falcon in my parents garage.  I was walking toward the oh so familiar screen door.  The smells in my...

oh the joy jasmine wafts on the breeze soul full That haiku was written in April, 2020.  In this year dominated by a worldwide pandemic the memory of the scent of jasmine brings comfort.  Doing what a mother does so well, nature nurturing. Anjali mudra breathing deeply peace Free write to spill out all the tangled thoughts.  Love, sadness, loss, fear, joy, excitement, dejection, failure, achievement all mixed in the whirlwind called life.  Diaphramic breathing brings prayerful calmness. worries written on parchment dissolve in flames Is the devil in the details or in the worry of things we cannot change?  Things that brush against our lives that leave stains on our thoughts, is that the devil?  Will I let go of the worries in the flames? sunrays in the arms of angels peace   

Three different types of rocks are on this blue orb.   Metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks are the types with the later being formed by the cooling of the liquid center of the earth. trickling waters smoothing the rock's edge languid eyes dreaming of creation rocks hold to eternity © petra domina

Carpe Diem #1808 LOVE acrostic challenge Dodoitsu is a form of Japanese poetry developed towards the end of the Edo Period. Often concerning love or work, and usually comical, Dodoitsu poems consist of four lines with the syllabic structure 7-7-7-5 and no rhyme or metre. An example of a Dodoitsu: One Night one night I searched for a star what I found was a full moon now my every day is full of shooting stars © Ben Gieske (2012) R ing on her finger says married O verjoyed with life ahead S urprised by a gift so large E dger not listed! © petra domina Thanks to our faithful teacher, Chèvrefeuille, for new and different challenges to improve and expand our writing skills.  Namaste.

Carpe Diem #1809 Wedding Bells Today's challenge is to write a choka.  Here is our host's explanation: "The choka can be of almost any length, because its form depends on alternating phrases (or lines) containing either seven of five sound units (onji). The end of the poem is signaled by two lines of seven sounds. So the form is five/seven, five/seven, five seven, .... , seven/seven." when my love is near the sight of him fills my heart my soul is engulfed with the love seen in his eyes my life is better because of his presence now rapture in his finger's touch © petra domina Thank to Chèvrefeuille for his dedication to haiku and this Kai!

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday #11 family tombstone Five years ago this very morning my mother died.  I had spent the night with her at the new nursing home we had just moved her to the previous day.  She was not happy.  Due to loss of eyesight in one eye, falling and breaking a wrist in less than 5 weeks she developed delirium.  She was still enough of herself that as we were getting her ready for bed she made one statement.  "I am gonna get up and walk right out of this place by morning."  Around 7 AM I left to get a cup of coffee and stretch my legs.  When I returned her life force was gone.  adding father’s name to the family tombstone with room for my own © Nicholas Virgilio saints gather to greet arrivals she ran to Dad's arms © petra domina

Carpe Diem #1804 New Beginnings ... candlelight instantly flaming candles fill the sky a new year instantly warm lips meet melting the cold flaming candles fill the sky smoke fills the air stars obscured a new year corks pop as flutes clink a sea of people © petra domina To anyone who stops by for a read the following was the challenge for today's work: "Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers, Yes ... another episode of our wonderful Kai, because I was late with our Monday episode, "snowdrops". Today I love to challenge you two times. I love to challenge you to create a "fusion-ku" with two given haiku and to create a Troiku with your new "fusion-ku". I have chosen two haiku by Jane Reichhold extracted from her online Saijiki "A Dictionary of Haiku", section New Year. Here are the two haiku to work with: a new year rising from wild seas a few stars filling the glass with candlelight champ...

Carpe Diem #1799 New Beginnings ... a huge wave (Crossroads feature) "Today I have chosen two haiku written by her ( Jane Reichhold)  and I love to challenge you to create a "fusion-ku" and with that "fusion-ku" a Troiku ... (more on Troiku above in the menu). Here are the two haiku by Jane to work with: a huge wave thundering across the beach my birthday sky-clad the new-born comes wrapped in previous lives © Jane Reichhold (extracted from the online Saijiki "A Dictionary Of Haiku", section "New Year")" pain filled wave the future is now crowned as grandma smiles pain filled wave engulfing all who stand near just breathe the future is now crowned in the pink, chubby fist mom's finger as grandma smiles dreaming of future adventures seeing the past in that face © petra domina As I read the challenge and the two haiku I thought of my husband's birth.  He is in his 80th year.  ...

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday (9) I ate a persimmon Today's challenge is to take a haiku, add two lines of 7 syllables each to make a Tan Renga. When I ate a persimmon The bell rung The Horyuji temple © Shiki O bāchan gathers the fruits Cookies for tomorrow's tea © petra domina Hope you will stop by Carpe Diem Haiku Kai to join in the fun of all forms of Japanese poetry.

Carpe Diem #1797 New Beginnings ... First Snow I grew up in an area that was too far south to get snow 99% of the winters.  I would hardly freeze.  Then I met a man who grew up in the hills of Missouri.  Within a few years of our marriage we moved to his home town.  Our first winter there were six weeks where the temperature never reached 32℉, 0℃.  It snowed.  We did not have a sleigh so I used a paint roller pan to pull my two year old son around our yard.  I loved the snow.  Especially the early morning quiet of a snowfall. morning breaks winter's bleakness hidden first snow © petra domina Such a great place to enjoy haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry.  Be sure to visit Chèvrefeuille's Carpe Diem Haiku Kai to see what you can learn about this unique form of poetry.

Carpe Diem 1795 New Beginnings ... Rainbow What a wonder to my mind is a rainbow.  Imagine for a moment you are the Creator of all things.  You decide to paint the sky as a promise.  You look around and all you have is water, soil, air, a bunch of planets and a star.  A star so bright that it warms the soils and turns the water into a vapor. The vapor rises.  The vapor then gets cooler and begins to form droplets.  Clouds are formed from the droplets.  Now you make the droplets get bigger and become so heavy they begin to fall back to earth.  That star is at just the perfect angle to shine on the falling drops.  Almost by magic the droplets split the light from the star into all the colors of your imagination.  An arced painting appears in the air.  Imagine. wondrous colors spread across the heavens Creator's vow © petra domina © petra domina 2019 Japanese poetry especially the haiku is such a great wa...

Carpe Diem #1794 New Beginnings ... new born In our 1999 Jeep Wrangler Hubby, Janer and I were bouncing along the country lane one early spring day.  Top down, enjoying every bit of nature along the way.  Just on the other side of a barbed wire fence we heard a sound.  The momma cow dropped a new baby. tender grass shoots embracing the new born calf tongue's caress © petra domina One of the most inviting and helpful haiku and Japanese Poetry sites on the web is Chèvrefeuille's Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .  Come join the fun and write a few lines yourself!

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Wednesday (8) New Year's Morning New Year's morning the first day begins in the same dream © Jane Reichhold (1937-2016) awakened to reality by rockets red glare © petra domina Enjoy haiku or other forms of Japanese poetry?  Would you like to learn more about the art of haiku?  Maybe you just want to read some nice poetry.  Come on over the Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .

Carpe Diem #1793 New Beginnings ... first day of spring Living in Central Texas our winters are very mild.  Sure we have a few days below the freezing point but most days are warm or warmish.  Today on the 6th day of January we stopped for frozen custard. Customers were in their shorts playing corn hole.  It surely felt of spring. custard melts kites filling the blue sky this first day of spring sticky little fingers  point to the swallows above © petra domina Learn about the art of Japanese poetry or just enjoy the work of these participants on   Carpe Diem Haiku Kai .

Carpe Diem Tan Renga Wednesday (4) crystal dewdrops (hineri / with a twist) distant lightning reflect on storm clouds rainy night delight                             (petra domina) pink morning glory in full bloom covered with crystal dewdrops                         © Chèvrefeuille If you enjoy haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry be sure to visit: CARPE DIEM HAIKU KAI

Carpe Diem #1754 "An Act Of Devotion" ... the pilgrimage ends It was to be the last night before we left for a new pilgrimage.  We would return in two weeks to get his mom to live in a new memory care unit close to our new home.  It was not to follow our humanly plans.  Mom just wanted to go "find Daddy", her name for her husband.  Her son, my husband, had cared for both parents, even retiring early in order to give better care.  His one last act of devotion was to tell his Mom, "It's ok to go on now and go find Daddy."  Her last words were of love.  Then the pain drugs took over her mind.  The next morning as soon as she was moved to the same floor where "Daddy" had passed, she left this world.  We will always believe Daddy had come for her and she had found him. arms of devotion caressing the giver of life last embrace © petra domina

Carpe Diem Weekend Meditation #104 Photo-shopping Haiku "Camellia" (Yosa Buson) Illustrated version of Basho's "Narrow Road Into The Deep North" with haiga by Buson Here is the haiku to "photo-shop": tama-suri-no zayu ni hiraku tsubaki kana Unfolding at the hand of the glass polisher: a camellia! © Buson (1716-1784) Any one who visited my different blogs may be aware that I worked in and around computer graphics for decades.  Once I retired I took on the project of scanning my mother's many photos.  I began using photoshop to repair the damages to photos.  Missing parts, speckles, mildew damage, etc. were removed, added or repaired.  Thirteen years has seen an improvement in my use of the photoshop tools.  Sometimes nothing more than straighten the photo is all that is needed.  Can I improve or slightly adjust Buson's haiku?  We shall see. Unfolding in the hand of the glass polisher: a camellia! Buson & petra domina ...

Carpe Diem #1753 Trail of Saints, Krakow, Poland A modest nun of the Convent of the Sisters of Our  Lady of Mercy, Helena Kowalska (1905–38) source: https://sacrum.visitmalopolska.pl/-/sw-siostra-faustyna-53 Service, commitment, a smile, a cup of food or water.  Rendered in Love with only thoughts of others' needs.  Too tall a task to be taken by most humans.  There are those who give totally, fully, all of self till self disappears and only the seed of love remains. A seed that will grow with the light if goodness. earthly angels hushed footprints of old nudge pilgrims © petra domina Click here for challenge post.