A few haiku

Mayan sunrise
ocean like his irises
she misses him

The Mayan coast
sun and sea abound
i only think of you

The hot Mayan sun
makes my skin red, then brown
there...a green lizard

The Mayan ruins
a culture and  people gone
too many vendors

Chichen Itza
the pyramids 365 steps
roped off

Chcichen Itza
are the Mayan Gods now
i feel no power

Mayan fire dancers
bring back another time
i get chicken skin

A photo of Mayan warriors
with modern smiles

Mayan hotel beach
on the sand
several coaties
so sweet to look at
but they are scooted away

CHICHEN ITZA MAYAN HOLIDAY

My Mother and Sister and i went to the Mayan Rivierra in October.

We stayed at a 5 star, allinclusive property on the coast.  The architecture was proto Mayan with any statues lining the path form our suite to the central hotels complex.

I worried about eating and drinking tooo much, fat as i am already.
Though my oncologists say they want me a bit over-weight rather than too thin.  So, i eat and eat and eat and oh my drank so many nice fruit concoctions.  Even had Tegila and Mescal.  My Mother loved Sex-on-The Beach, she had it every day.  She also grew fond of brady Alexanders.  I much prefer sparkling wines.

The trio to Chcichen Itza was an all day trip.  I was amazed on getting there that the place was full of vendors selling all manner of things.  It took away from the power and majesty of the place.

But to see the buildings and the 365 step pyramid was a joy!

HONOLULU AUGUST, 2011

it has been ten years since i was last in Honolulu, so i was much pleased to finally be there again.  I have had a few times of illness and that prevented my going.  Well, i have a major illness now, but it is not stoping me.  I have cancer with two tumours, one on my liver and the other in the pelvis.  I fell just fine and have no side effects from the chemo.  I know i am very lucky.  I do not know what the prognosis is, but every moment, day is a gift that i plan on enjoying.  Travel is high on my list.

My hotel had a wonderful view from the lanai and i enjoyed having a glass of wine watching the famous Honolulu City Lights, the song made famous by the Beamer Brothers years ago.

I visisted my favourite grand old hotels:  The Royal Hawaiian, The Moana and The New Otani, where under the wonderful hau tree R.L. Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.

I have an old friend Sam who now owns 2 small restaurants, one in Waikiki and the newest one on Kapaluha.  Wonderful plate lunch style.  The best is the garlic shrimp.  Sam and I are working on creating kava based energy drinks.

Well, i had a wonderful week and wrote a few haiku out on my lanai.

Three small lizards
run and stop and stare
Waikiki Summer day

Clouds hang low
over the beach
i wait for a storm

Thoughts of her lover
intrude her holiday
tropical downpour

Waikiki beach
waves crash on to the shore
green on blue

Hawaiian music

PETER LANGEMANN IS 50 YEARS OLD TODAY

Today is Peter's 50th birthday.  He is the first of my Blue Irises.  HIs were the same shade of a sunny morning on the South Pacific at Waikiki beach, the exact match.

Today i wonder how his physical self has fared these last 20 years, since we last met.  He had a full head of dark blond hair touched with the Hawaiian sun and skin a pure golden tone.  Yes, his own self was also a bit toned.  I imagine his face has a few lines and mainly those Irish laugh lines.  He may be in London, i really have not kept in touch.  In my memory this morning i see us having  Belgium waffles with Macadamian nuts and coconut sauce and rich dark Kona under the tree where once R.L. Stevenson wrote Kidnapped.  The Red Cardinals swift from tree to tree and we had a perverse chuckle when one of the birds left a dropping behind in a glass of a very obnoxious quest.  So i have my blue iris memories and here are some haiku and tanka for his special day.  Especially the first haiku that i wrote for him, many years ago.

Grey sea and sky
she dreams of
blue irises

Blue irises
turn violet
in the deep night

The sea reflected
in your eyes of azure
with an Irish twinkle

On your green
mist filled island
i sit on mine
filled with rain forests
thoughts fly to you

On a rainy day in Vancouver
you took off my wet shoes
and placed them infront
of the fireplace
our eyes glazed

Swimming in the fog
the pool At Whistler
thinking i had lost you
under the millions of stars
your eyes brighter

The soft night air
of Honolulu that night
dancing under the stars

On the balcony
having morning Kona
shy of my camera

Days of cold and frost
surrounded by days of snow
still lost in your eyes

Happy Birthday to you!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Many of us no longer have a living Father.

On this June 19 we in North America celebrate the day with the ritual of tie giving.  Poor old Dad.  My Father has been gone these many years, but today i look at his photo.  Such a handsome Hungarian nobleman.  Noble in the good sense of the word.
I wrote a few haiku and tanka this morning.

Counting the many
shades of grey in the ocean
and in his hair

Memories of
eating cherry strudel
in a grand old hotel

The hearty aroma
of goulash coming
from the old kitchen

His daily dose
of raw garlic
for longevity and health
ala, it did not work at all
so much for folk remedies

The pop of
the champagne bottle
at midnight
to celebrate
his wedding anniversay
each New Year's eve

Off to the cobbler
for a new pair of
riding boots

Sunday morning
the sound of csardas
from the living room

Long ago
the seranade of fiddlers
under my Mother's window
romance the old
Hungarian way

Sunday ritual
his English suit
and Italian shoes

Sunday afternoon

It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon.

I took this shot from my window. Yes, it is wonderful to live here on Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada

It inspires me daily, moment by moment.

The distant snow capped mountains are on the mainland. The major city is Vancouver. Whistler, the ski resort is a short drive from Vancouver and was the site of the Winter Olympics .

I try hard not to think of my cancer. My upcoming PET Scan will confirm any other cancers in my entire body. On July 11 i meet with my oncologist in Victoria for the verdict and treatment plan. Possible surgery on my liver and then chemo or both. I better run out and get a couple of wigs, perhaps one red and one blond.

A few haiku and tanka

the lady with cancer
chooses her wigs
one red, the other blond

in the harbour
sleek white yachts
next to fishing boats

church services
down on the bay
chalice gleam in the sun

sea planes roar
wakes her up every morning
a good alarm clock

he is on the laptop
in the livingroom
she is on her pc in the den
she emails him
to bring a cup of tea


A nice haiku by Timothy Fairweather

I see the tidelines in your eyes
they are unknowable and the beauty
is beyond understanding

LIVING WITH CANCER

I had colon cancer last year in 2010 and was sure that that it was cured, but now have cancer of the liver.

Life is much more precious these days.  As usual my thoughts go to Hawaii and will of course go as soon as my treatment allows.  My trip to Paris has been on hold too.  So if all goes well i will go to Paris for my birthday in Novemeber and end up in Hawaii to celebrate with my good friend Sam in Honolulu.  He is a fellow sag and we share the same likes and have fun together.  He owns, Sam's Kitchen, a great little restaurant in Waikiki.

My second book called:  Blue Irises is in progress.  It will be translated into French and Japanese by Serge Tome for the French and Japanese by Hidenori Hiruta.

I have been writing some cancer related haiku as follows

scent of sea weed
drifts into the cemetary
i walk alone

In the cemetary
around her headstone
first snowdrops

a slow walk
to the cemetary
memories of blue irises

visit to the cancer clinic
a bald woman walks by
with a smile

in the old church
she lights a candle
for her lover

walking in the rain
she wipes away tears
then smiles

she chooses a wig
perhaps she will
now be a blond

insomnia
she drags her kimono
from roon to room

now living with cancer
she puts family and friends
at ease telling lies

in her mind comes
scent of plumeria
thoughts of Hawaii
and brings back 
past pleasures

Earthquake in Japan March 11, 2011

What can i see about such a cosmic event.  I have friends in Japan and most of them are safe and i am very grateful.  My daughter-in-law's family are in the south and are fine.  I have wrtitten a few haiku, a small effort to show my feelings about this event.

The dragon stretches
and the earth moves
earthquake

A smal child
calls and searches
for her Mother

Another dark night
the shelter gives soup
to the wide eyed people

In Canada
a Mother wonders if her
daugher is safe

The many lost souls
adrift out to sea
where life began

Two workers
hide under the desk
as the building sways