Wilting

August 14, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The prime of summer never lasts, especially with the heat of August. We are in the midst of moving and I feel like the lily, losing its pizzaz. I am also resonating with the lost glory of the bloom below:

An Example of Systemic Racism

August 12, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

A friend texted me the following article on Sunday morning. She is the woman featured in the write up. We have known each other since our children were young, hers just stair steps behind mine. We raised our kids as single moms, without help from our former spouses. She was the first one to go […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #108: taste

August 10, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Cornish pasties, the ones my father used to make when I was a child, were the one thing I craved while carrying my first child. Something in the taste of ground beef, sliced potato, and onion, wrapped in a flaky crust and seasoned just right, called to me. Except my father had long since misplaced […]

Best Listener

August 9, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

The art of listening, best taught by the family pooch –ears attuned to nuances, carefully weed throughhuman gibberish for words that resonate:treat, dinner, walk, cuddles… Those eyes challenge, invite compassionconvey a depth beyond understandingand when tone turns impatient,little paws retreat, as if words are blows. If only I could learn to listen,hear the workings of […]

Birds of Prey

August 8, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Bald Eagle having a dip (For Bird Weekly challenge: birds of prey. Featured image is a Red-Tailed hawk escaping my lens.)

Our August

August 5, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Augustine was the name chosenshould this new arrival be a girlbut as her mother labouredshe knew, with certaintythere would be no “ine” She is August, born in Mayesteemed and venerablea name fit for a leader –I can attest to her abilityto run the show – definitely rules my heart. (For Eugi’s Causerie Weekly Prompt: August.)

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #107: listen

August 3, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Birdwatching for me is a meditative practice. It involves immersing myself in nature and finding a quiet place from which I can observe. I begin with a prayer of acknowledgment and gratitude. I ready my camera and then I listen. Each bird has its own song and variations. It helps me determine where I want […]

To Touch or Not to Touch

August 2, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

She was quite eccentric, and visibly older than most of the students attending our program. I’d had five years between first and second year, so I guess she was drawn to my maturity. We both wanted to be teachers. After graduation, she went on to her Bachelor of Education, and I gave birth to my […]

Be My Guest

August 1, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

(Featured image: Chickadee. For Bird Weekly challenge: at the feeder.)

Of Winter

July 29, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Where does the river gowhen snow, blindingclaims the flow? Houses nestled in wooded grovesshudder at the exposure of leafless daysbrace against the chills of early eves. How quickly we rejoice at first thaw, eager to embracechange – emotion often premature. (For Lens-artists Photo Challenge: Winter)

Present Distance

I’ve lived the fog of distance –life’s highway a series of hillsdestination without promise Have learned that acceptance gains perspective,that climates change, and hope sustains,and that in the stillness dreams renew. Now I travel quieter paths, appreciatespace, have surrendered to a slower pace –certain that this too will change. (image my own)

Floral Balm

Of Trauma Born

Goodbyes tarnishfaith, like ashesscattered My heart grows dismissal,craves a balm of connectionseeks quiet harbour Remind me what it feels like to be safebreath nurturing life,love a rhythmic flow In meditationI reach for peaceimagine salvation But this wayward chaosunrestrainedcements me in doubt Tainted intentionsI lift up to the Universea tempest without hope My soul incubates malicea […]