the Lone Coyote

The coyote runs, The same one who howled last night; Is a friend in sight? HAIKU MY HEART Haiku My Heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon". If you would like to participate, just post your Haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to: recuerda mi corazon

Honu, a Turtle Tale

~Photo by Byron Kay Honu pulled himself from the sea and wriggled through the warm sands. As he climbed up the beach, he ran into a friendly human who said, "Aloha!" and offered him a generous array of the island's designated greeting beverage, the Mai Tai, in its different forms.

~Photo by Hawaiian Oasis B&B Honu tried one and fell in love with it. He decreed the Mai Tai to be the premier cocktail to greet all guests to Hawaii. The tradition henceforth would be to present the cocktail, saying "E komo mai" (welcome). Basic Mai Tai Recipe - 1 oz Dark Rum - 1 oz Light Rum - 1 1/2 oz Triple Sec - 1/2 oz Orange Juice - 1 oz Pineapple Juice - Splash Grenadine Put all Mai Tai ingredients into a shaker with plenty of ice and shake briskly. Pour the cocktail drink into a tall glass. If you wish, you can garnish with cherries or orange slices. ~by Danielle Capps

Honu then was destined to meet the island's spiritual leader. They each felt a deep rapport for one another. She gave Hona the following mantra to chant at night: "Eia no ka makuahine. No lailia, ua hanau ka po." Essentially, Uranus is the night sky (chaos), and Earth (Gaia) represents day time (order).

Photo by Jessica Wilson The lush foliage, especially the delicately-scented ginger shown here, represents new life and the garb of luxuriant leis to be worn at weddings.

Honu asked the conch blower to blow firmly and emphatically to each of the four directions: North, a time of contemplation and rest; East, the time to wake up and enjoy spring; South, summertime and abundance; and West, time to harvest in autumn.

~Illustration from The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks The baby turtles are part of the cycle of life, too. They instinctively know they need to reach the ocean. Mahalo, Honu, for your example of honoring the earth and sea, turtle-kind and mankind. Ho'oponopono.

the glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome - discovered in Charleston, SC

Spending a week in Charleston, SC, gave me a glimpse into the treasure troves emulating European art and beauty, in turn antecedents to the antiquities borrowed from the ancient Romans and Greeks. The Aiken-Rhett house borrowed the Italianate idea of greeting guests on one’s piazza. It provides a music room with a square grand piano and a harp. One’s sensibility could also be piqued by the Art Gallery: objet’s d’art bought in Europe. This female sculpture is a Renaissance figure of the young, sensuous Mary Magdalene, her hand on a Bible.

Another Italian Renaissance man, Galileo, brought the astronomy of the spherical/elliptical galaxies into mainstream architecture. The Nathaniel Russell House, built in 1808, sports this elliptical three-story galaxy-staircase.

Although we think of stained glass as the discovery of Tiffany in New York, it actually appeared first in ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. The Wentworth Mansion with its elegant stained glass windows throughout exemplifies the glamour of the Gilded Age.

This unmarked gothic cathedral could have been Notre Dame de Paris herself, but actually the closest church in Charleston to which I could compare it was the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the historic district. Charleston holds a plethora of houses of worship, from the French Huguenot to the Scottish Presbyterian to the Gullah spiritual.

The gardens of Charleston are small yet intricate. There is often a little statue representing water. I remember seeing Poseidon carrying his trident. This photo shows a young boy being carried through the water on the back of a young girl. The photo that follows is a close-up of the fountain.

This young muscular Atlas carries the world on his shoulders.

And sweeps of trained foliage everywhere!

haiku my heart with faith, wisdom, and new birth

Gabriel brings faith,


The Magi ancient wisdom--


Miracle of birth.

The birth of my first grandchild to my son and his wife this week revealed how truly miraculous new life is and how how the grace of angels and spiritual savants are there to guide us in their many forms. Be still and listen...

Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

Mary--the trusting heart

The star led Mary


~Artwork by Marianne Stokes

To a place of hope and joy--



Evergreen renews.


Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

1Q84 is here!

My first introduction to Haruki Murakami (above) was at the bookstore, passing by his novel After Dark, spying a beautiful, sleeping Japanese girl on the cover. Remembering how sensuous and lush Memoirs of a Geisha was, I was interested in perusing this seemingly exotic and mysterious novel. After Dark turned out to be an excellent choice but of a different nature. Murakami's science fiction, dystopian novels evoke ancient myths, mystical connections, and cosmic disharmony. He leads us in very different directions only to reveal unity and order in his denouements.


1Q84, Murakami's anxiously-awaited 925-page tome, has finally appeared! I avidly turned the pages to find his signature quirky characters and alternative realities: he does not disappoint. The world quietly changes: time warps; two moons cross the night sky. Here are his apathetic protagonists ready to reveal an explanatory subcontext of some prior life-deflating experience. Deadpan Fuki-Era has just emerged from a commune in which she fed a blind goat who hatched evil Little People from its mouth. Manslayer Aomame is aloof even when killing or maiming men; is she avenging her abused friend? Detached Tengo becomes emotionally connected to these two women as he is caught in their webs.

This device of bored people in humdrum existences evokes the existential writers, Camus, Sartre, Beckett. Were their characters lacking in feeling or meaning? Were they able to connect on some level? There are studies of autistic people who seemingly don't respond to others' emotions (empathize), but upon psychological analysis very deep and real reactions to others became apparent. Their feelings were expressed differently, and their resonsiveness to the feelings of others was hidden. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is a great window into this particular world. An autistic child creatively solves the crime through reason and empathy with the other characters.

1Q84 is a dystopian novel reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. The citizens are not allowed to think for themselves, and Big Brother is always watching to make sure they don't. As Murakami says in 1Q84: "They are making mindless robots. They take the circuits out of people's brains that make it possible for them to think for themselves. Their world is like the one that George Orwell depicted in his novel."

Often expressing ideas through dichotomies, perhaps Murakami is addressing the state of our culture vis-a-vis the year 1Q84.

As I mentioned earlier, the first dystopian novel I read by the avant-garde Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami was After Dark. It begins with the mythological tale of sibling rivalry between two sisters; jealousy is not evoked, but the hurtful point of view of the parents creates a diasma between the two. The plain-but-smart sister is drawn into a love hotel named "Alphaville" to help translate Chinese into Japanese.

In naming the hotel "Alphaville," Murakami gives us our first glimpse into Murakami's world of irony and subtle wit. Alphaville was Voltaire's invention for an alien planet in Micromegas and the subsequent Godard film which created a social dystopia (opposite of utopia): a tyrannical, absolute rule something like life in Berlin before the Wall came down.

The contrasts in this novel between good and evil, beautiful and plain, night and day, etc., show us life in its duality; we begin to reason in polarities, and a discerning way of thinking emerges.

After Dark is a mystery that culminates in the transformation of character and the expansion of our own wisdom.





I next read Kafka on the Shore: some of Murakami's broader strokes were becoming familiar to me. The protagonist and antagonist first contrast and then mesh in a mystery which keeps one turning the pages. This novel involves the other-worldly spirit of a Japanese curator who collected tanka poetry (nod to his home). Murasaki--who spent some of his early adult years delving into a huge range of literature and music--draws on them richly to create connections and understanding. There is a man who can communicate with cats in their own language. Kafka can literally walk into a village from a prior time. The science fiction really works more as imagery or symbolism: this is a world we can somehow accept.

To all my friends in the blogosphere community

Virginia Woolf once said that “in order to write, a woman should have 5,000 euros per year and a room with a lock on the door.” Does this still ring true today? I wonder! For varied reasons, the actual and metaphorical space for writing my blog has eluded me for some time. I sincerely apologize for the lapse in postings. While my intention is to post weekly, sometimes life has plans of its own. Yet, my pen calls me back, reminding me to share my voice and perspective with kindred spirits.

~from Writers’ Houses by Francesca Premoli-Droulers~

So, I have returned from a time-out, eager to share with you books, music, and photographs I am enjoying, as well as haiku that speak to me: those I have penned myself and those others have written, particularly in our haiku circle, “recuerdo mi corazon” or haiku my heart.”

~haiku my heart-

In this spirit, I have decided to mate my two existing blogs—http://margaretpanpipes.blogspot.com and http://whattheowltoldme.blogspot.com--to see what can be born if I bring together a mix of soul nourishing and sometimes provocative media: a mix that touches, mirrors, and at times transforms me. Perhaps you will find something here that speaks to you, or maybe you have something to share with us. One follower has called my blog her “literary getaway.”

If you have been a follower of one or both of my blogs, I thank you. I invite you to delve with me in this newly endeavor. In the spirit of “haiku my heart,” I invite you to engage our supportive community. Together, may we grow and enjoy la vie de toutes les couleurs!

haiku my heart - source of renewal

Day of the Dead shrine~



Fallen tree bows to young cubs.



Source of renewal~


"Fallen tree bows to young cubs" is my photo of the illustration "Follow the Leader" by Philip R. Goodwin.


Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

haiku my heart ~ eve of destruction

Blue sky and koi pond



Change to gold chrysanthemums--



Eve of destruction~


Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

haiku my heart - ebb and flow

Ebb tide quiets life







Only to send it flowing



Back, fish in the net.


Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

haiku my heart - five-petal blue rose

The cosmic circle,
Mary's sacred space,
Holds the pure blue rose.






Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.

haiku my heart - Treasure!

The shimmering path




Beckons to find a treasure--




Columbine whimsy!


photo of Californian columbine taken by Jessica Wilson


Haiku my heart is the vision of Rebecca Brooks at "recuerda mi corazon." If you would like to participate, just post your haiku on Fridays with an accompanying photo on your blog and link back to recuerda mi corazon.