Heart Full, No Words

June 7, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“I sleep all night with my eyes closed!” This from our four-year-old granddaughter in response to the question of whether or not she could sleep at our house. We’ve expanded our bubble. It came in response to our oldest daughter’s concerns about her child: “She’s not interested in doing anything, won’t eat, can’t sleep, and […]

Lonely Places

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

Once offering solacea place to contemplate Now an ominous reminderof solitude imposed. (For Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: benches)

Farewell to May

June 3, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

A single yellow bloom. Last photo for May, 2020. Unedited. Bushboy’s challenge. Hope June brings some resolution.

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #98: no words

June 1, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

From my place of privilege, I sit and watch George Floyd beg for breath, call out for his mama, and know that I can never truly understand the plight of another, and that I, by virtue of my whiteness, am part of the problem. I have no words adequate enough to express what I am […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #97: risk-reward

May 25, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Ric is taking advantage of warm weather and stripping the deck. I am inside, fighting an insomnia induced hangover, trying to complete tasks with two ranting dogs underfoot. They want to be outside; I want to be in bed. Ric just wants to get the job done. In the background, Andrew Cuomo is telling people […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #96: circling

May 18, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I reach out to Mother only to discover she is missing; she has gone in search of me.The dream unsettles me. I capture the essence by writing it down, then set the words aside, not knowing where to begin. The sorrow lingers. I remember the moment I knew I’d been displaced in my mother’s life. […]

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #95: bits and pieces

May 11, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

“What’s happening with your camera?” I asked Ric on our last outing. He has a new one, and left the old one for repair, possibly passing it on to me. “It’s lost in the pandemic.” “Oh,… yeah.” Processing the backload of photos, I come across pics of my mom from our last visit, before her […]

A Mother’s Education

May 10, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

By the time she was three, my first daughter, an early talker, had shared that people have colours around them, that I would eventually have three children, and not to worry about those who died, for they come back like she did. “She’s freaking me out,” I told a cousin of mine. “I don’t know […]

Too Wet To Play

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

(For Lens-Artists Challenge: All wet.)

Expressions

May 6, 2020.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Countenance displays trutha smiling pant conveys contentment A ready smile invites a visitspreads a familial warmth A furrowed brow suggests concerna child’s uncertainty during lockdown. Words can offer intentbut expression speaks so much more. (For Cee’s Black & White Photo challenge: Heads or facial features.)

End the Fray

This breach –this ever-widening gapfear inducedpits usagainst themas if humanitycan be dividedsalvationa selective process. We need a balmto soothe societalwounds, a tonicto calm the angstuntil clarityquells the uproarand kindnessreplaces this sin. (Poem originally appeared June 2019. Image my own)

Why We Write (tanka)

Memo to Self

Awakened by a crash just past midnight, I quickly realized my husband was not in bed and had fallen again. It’s the second time in two weeks. He couldn’t get back up. Paramedics arrived within minutes. Three strapping men had him on his feet again in no time. He was jostled but okay. I laid […]