Waterlily Ways

Something about waterlilies suggests romance, perhaps because they seem so relaxed, just floating on the water.

sunrise

waterlily

waiing for him

to reveal

his intentions

waterlilies--

each step

toward him

like walking

on water

sitting

by the waterlilies

I smile

as if I

were a waterlily too

Lotus Love

Another haiku poet who I ran into at the Haiku North America Conference was Jessica Tremblay, a former Qubecer who now lives in Vancouver. Jessica is known for her haiku comic strip Vieil Etang, which you can look at on her website at http://vieiletang.site.voila.fr/. She also writes a blog called Tess in the West (tess-in-the-west.xanga.com).

I mentioned to Jessica about my own blog and she said that what she loved most about the Montreal Botanical Garden were the lotuses. She asked me to send her some photos, but I didn't get to the garden until early September and by then the lotuses were at the end of their bloom. But I did manage to get some photos and write a few poems.

So, this is for you, Jessica! Hopefully we will meet in the garden in person one day--either here or in one of the many gardens in Vancouver.

I'll start with a photo I took earlier in the summer.



lotus leaves
large
as umbrellas
I know where to come
on a rainy day



my mother
both strong
and beautiful
lotus flowers
on tall sturdy stems

my pen tumbles

into the lotus pond

no way

to take back

my words

patches of water

shining

in the lotus garden

in my life too

small pockets of light

I meditate

on a lotus flower--

the softness

of petals

protecting the seed

those unusual seed pods

of the lotus--

older women

have such

interesting faces

Homestay Weekend at the MBG

This August, as I have done for the past few years, I hosted two students during McGill University's "Homestay Weekend," which is part of their summer Intensive English Program for Asian Students. It is always a pleasure to spend a few days with these enthusiastic young students. This year I welcomed Saya Takasugi and Rie Kobayashi from Japan. Naturally I took them for an outing to the Montreal Botanical Garden. Here they are posing at the entrance to the Japanese Garden.



On a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon (for once there was no rain in the forecast) we sat in the outdoor pavilion and chatted about haiku. Both Saya and Rie were knowledgeable about haiku and had studied it in primary school. For the Japanese, the "kigo" or "season word or phrase" is the starting point of the poem. This is different from our Western tradition which begins with a moment or feeling. However, I decided today to try the Japanese approach.

Together we came up with a list of season words typical of mid-August in Montreal. Our list included: baby koi, first red leaves on the rhododendron, cicada screech, white hosta flowers, ripening berries, rhododendrons' waxy leaves,, horse tail, lotus flowers and iris pods. Once we had our list, we then each went our own way in the garden to write haiku based on any of these kigo. After half an hour, we met again in the pavilion to share what we had written.

It's difficult for us in the West to understand the tremendous respect that the Japanese have for haiku. Both Saya and Rie felt that their poems were not worthy to be considered true haiku. Personally I thought their poems were very good, but they were very shy and asked me not to include their haiku on my blog.

I am not as humble as they are, so here are the haiku I wrote.

*


cool breeze
the round full heads
of snowball hydrangea

*


lotus flowers--
the plain girl smiles
for the camera

*


lazy Saturday
even the bee asleep
in the hosta

*


And here is one final haiku dedicated to my two lovely homestays:

*


Japanese hydrangea
two girls from Tokyo
apply lip gloss

Deborah Kolodji at the Garden

happiness
is a bouquet
I cannot pick
just admire this bed
of fragrant pinks



In early August I attended the Haiku North America Conference, which takes place every two years and which this year was held at the National Library in Ottawa. It brought together nearly 100 haiku poets from around the world for five activity-packed days. It was a great opportunity to meet poets who I have known only through their work.

One such poet is Deborah P. Kolodji, who gave a fascinating presentation on sci-fi haiku, something I had never heard of before, but which has quite an interesting history. Deborah is President of the Science Fiction Poetry Association, editor of Tiny Stars, a sci-fi poetry magazine, and is also one of the organizers of the Southern California Haiku Study Group located in Pasadena.

When Deborah mentioned that she would be visiting Montreal after the conference, I invited her to join me in the garden and she enthusiastically agreed. She called me when she got to Montreal and we arranged to meet on the platform at Pie IX Metro. Unfortunately, things didn't work out the way we planned. When I got to Pie IX, Deborah was nowhere in sight. I waited for awhile, but train after train went past and still no Deborah.

so many things
could have conspired
to keep her from coming--
loneliness
is never planned (AL)

At the same time, Deborah was searching in the garden for me and penned this haiku:

summer roses
I ask the bronze lion
where you are (DK)

I finally decided to leave the metro and head for the garden. I hoped I might run into her on the way but no such luck. I passed the Peace Garden, with the beautiful bed of pinks, which you can see in the photo above. Then I wandered around the exhibition garden, hoping to catch a glimpse of Deborah's long brown hair and smiling face.

not even a moon
tonight
in the garden
you too
remain out of sight (AL)

In the meantime, Deborah was in another part of the garden.

lost in a garden
where the signs are in French
a butterfly follows me
across the zigzag
bridge (DK)


As I was writing this tanka,

under a gray
somber sky
I waited for you
but all that came
were a few drops of rain

Deborah was writing this haiku inspired by the Olympic Stadium:

stadium quiet
across the street
I listen for dragonflies

After about 45 minutes in the garden with no sight of Deborah, I was ready to give up and go home. But on my way to the front gates, I suddenly heard my name and there was Deborah rushing toward me. All's well that ends well, and the good thing is we both had plenty of time on our own to write some poems.

dusk falling
in a moon garden
I find my way
illuminated
by flowers (AL)

almost dusk
the garden fragrant
with possibility (DK)

We walked to the Chinese garden and sat in the gazebo near the Bridge of Dreams. I took the following photo of Deborah with her camera and she took one of me.







We had a wonderful, relaxing chat as darkness fell. Deborah told me about her own haiku group, which meets in the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. Perhaps one day I'll make it to California and be able to visit their group.



we bask
in lantern glow
summer evening (DK)

As it was now getting quite late, we left the garden and caught the metro back to my place for home made pizza. After all that walking around the garden looking for each other, we found we had worked up quite an appetite.

Deborah has a blog of her own called "Poetry Scrapbook and Random Musings"
(dkolodji.livejournal.com). Her website is http://www.kolodji.com/.

Last of the Lilies

I decide to go to the garden today after dinner. Usually I go early in the morning to catch the first light but today I am in the mood for something different.

I enter through the gates that lead onto the main exhibition garden. It borders the Botanical Gardens restaurant and there is a jazz band playing on the terrasse.

**

jazz band

on the terrasse

I admire

trumpet

lilies

This summer I decided to join eharmony and one of the men I'm corresponding with has an unusual hobby.

a rumba beat

drifts across the garden--

remembering

that air force captain

who's mad about tap dancing

I guess tap dancing is his way of grounding himself.

After a decade of focussing solely on my son, I'm ready to think about a relationship again.

alone on a bench

by the lilies

I watch couples

young and old

passing by

Of course, when you aren't part of a couple it's easy to idealize what having a relationship is all about.

such perfection

these Asiatic lilies

could be plastic--

the way happiness looks

from the outside

I sit by the lilies

in the summer dusk

still wondering

why success of any sort

eludes me

It's good to spend time in a garden, because even if you're alone it's hard not to be carried away by the beauty all around you. Lilies are especially lovely and I'd forgotten how profusely fragrant they are.

shifting priorities--

the scent of these

lilies

much more

than I imagined

These are the last of this year's lilies, so I'm appreciating them while I can.

**

two boys and a girl

taking photos

by the reflecting pool--

youth is a lily

fragrant and bright

*

a young girl

balances on the edge

of the reflecting pool--

that was once me

unafraid of taking risks

**

(This post was originally written on July 26th, 2009).

The Flowery Brook

I told my friend Channah that I would meet her in the Flowery Brook, but because it looked like rain we decided to meet in our usual place, the Green Shade Pavilion at the Chinese Garden

I arrived early and sat down at the little stone table in the shelter of the open air pavilion. This is the same place where last year a group of haiku poets led by Rick Schnell from Vermont came to Montreal and we met for a day of readings and good conversation. The echoes of so many poets and their haiku must still linger, because I was inspired to write a few of my own as I waited for Channah.

longing--
a little sparrow
in search of food


*

Darwin--
before meeting him
just a city in Australia


*

mid-summer
rain and more rain
his smile is the sun

*

like Eve
I give in too easily
to suggestion

Since it was now 8a.m. and Channah had not arrived, I decided to head off on my own.

in the gazebo
I leave her a note: meet me
in the flowery brook


It had started to rain heavily by now, but even so I couldn't help admiring the lilies' vibrant colours.



When I finally looked up, I saw Channah rushing toward me on the path.

in our excitement
to view the lilies
we share
the same umbrella
and both get wet



oh, to be a duck
she exclaims
as we stand
admiring lilies
in the downpour

*
wandering
through the lilies
so easy
to give in
to excess



my ink spreading
in the rain
the colours
of lilies
stain my eyelids



After our brief, wet visit to the garden, Channah and I parted until the next time. On the metro home, I noticed a poster about the Montreal Planetarium and learned that this is the International Year of Astronomy.



International
Year of Astronomy--
paying more attention
to stargazer
lilies





Later in the week I received this email:



Angela,

Here is the haiku I wrote in the gardens.

Hot summer showers
Caught in woven strands of webs
One raindrop quivers

How truly healing this was for me... In the wholeness of rain... we are all still one drop that quivers, fragile, unique and beautiful.

All the best,
Channah

(This blog post was originally written in July, 2009)

J.J. Locke and "The Lover's Bench"

I recently met my friend J.J. Locke early one morning in the garden. I was surprised to learn that Jack, who hails from Calgary but has lived in Montreal for a number of years, had never been to the Botanical Garden before. As I took him on a quick tour, he was astonished at the size of the garden and the unique beauty of the many theme gardens. A baker by profession, he revealed that he also occasionally works at installing koi ponds. He was impressed by the pond in the Japanese garden and we stopped to admire its spectacular koi.

With the overcast sky threatening an imminent downpour, we decided to head over to the exhibition garden, where if necessary we could find shelter in one several large pergolas.

Of particular interest in the exhibition garden is Lea Vivot’s controversial bronze entitled “The Lover's Bench.” I remember the sculpture when it was on Sherbrooke Street near McGill University. I prefer it here in the garden tucked away under the trees at the head of the small pool and fountain. Here is a playful photo of Jack posing with the three lovers depicted in the sculpture.

I met Jack when he first came to Montreal. He was living at the time in my own neighbourhood of Verdun. Jack is a real organizer and established a memorable poetry reading series at a former Verdun cafe called “Van Gogh’s Ear.” He has since founded The Foundation for Public Poetry and last September organized the highly successful Montreal Public Poetry Festival. This year he is putting together a collection of poems in honour of Leonard Cohen’s 75th birthday. Jack is hoping to raise money through book sales and a Gala to finance a Writer-in-Residence Programme at Westmount High, Cohen’s former school.

But today we were both concentrating on the garden, which after so much rain this summer was lush and green. We each picked a spot—fortunately the rain held off—and settled down to write. At the end of our writing session, Jack presented me with the following villanelle composed on the spot.

As a poetry form, the villanelle has been around for at least three hundred years. With its frequent refrains and complex rhyming, it has its origins in native songs. The name itself derives from the Italian villa, or country house, where noblemen went to relax and get closer to nature, making this a form of poetry ideally suited to writing about a garden.

Here is Jack’s poem—probably the first ever villanelle inspired by the Montreal Botanical Garden.

Pondering My Future At Jardin Botanique

For K.E.S.

Pondering my future at Jardin Botanique
The rain impacts in a craterous way
Surrounded by flowers, yet, only one I seek.

The grey above cannot bring about bleak
Nor can my departure from earning pay
Pondering my future at Jardin Botanique

I see her eyes reflect from stones in creek
I see her eyes in every lily day
Surrounded by flowers, yet, only one I seek.

When peace of parks and poetry become chic
The message of birds we'll learn to obey
Pondering my future at Jardin Botanique

As proud leaves drop I hear them speak
Returning to you pushes my pain away
Surrounded by flowers, yet, only one I seek.

I sense your scent when I press cheek to cheek
I sense you worry when I'm away
Pondering my future at Jardin Botanique
Surrounded by flowers, yet, only one I seek.

J.J. Locke

While Jack worked on his villanelle, I wrote a few tanka in one of the pergolas. If tanka can be considered "a quick check on the state of the heart," then here's what I'm thinking about at the moment.

in the garden
at the height of summer
if I could choose
only one
which flower would I pick?

*

Adam alone
in paradise
rain on the climbing vines
even before
he dreamt of Eve

*

told
I lack subtlety
still
there’s nothing shy
about this crimson begonia

*

along the stone wall
a clematis’s
lush flowering
the need for love

overwhelms me

*

the clematis’s leaves
are beautiful too
but this bee
like a man
goes straight for the flower