Lost and Found

July 23, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Fallen limbs and pathless woodsno obstacle for a wild childleft to her own devices,searching for a self. Only with age, and sproutingcurves, did I learn to be afraidof shadows, that the woodsequated with wolves and lurking And that abandoned placeshouse evil – held captive therejust this side of adolescence – lost all that innocence gifts […]

V.J. Weekly Challenge #58: Just When I Thought…

July 22, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Just when I thought I knew where we were headed, life threw another curveball. It happened simply enough. Ric experienced a brief period of blindness in one eye. “Just the bottom half of the eye,” he’d tell the doctor later. “And some weakness in my left arm.” The family doctor recommended a trip to Urgent […]

Sacred Witness

July 21, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

Illness affords me time,and time begs observation. Used to think that if I prayed enough,was enlightened enough, I could call uponthe presence of a divine spirit to intervene,change the course of suffering. Now, I know that we are not called uponto alter God’s plans, control not withinour mortal hands, but we are commanded to observe, […]

Such a Romantic!

July 19, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

For Proscenium’s Friday Follies.

Shades of Pink

July 16, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Protested pink, as a child,associated, as it was, with all things weak –or so I perceived. A new generation redefinesthe contours of pink –adds edges and functiona statement of empowerment Now, I adopt the shade,insert pink in place of blue,transform expression –celebrate pink’s invention. (Inspired by Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week challenge: shades of […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #57: Presence

July 15, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“Isolation threatens to consume me,” I tell my therapist in a recent visit. “I’m not willing to disappear into the woodwork again.” The doctors say my illness is relapsing; it’s how they explain the onslaught of infections. I’ve just finished another round of even stronger antibiotics. While my immune system fights invasion, I am staving […]

Shadows Speak

July 14, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Shadows stalk our conversations, Mother and I. It’s not so much what is said, but what hovers between the lines spoken. Fear stalks her – death so close – and I sidestep darkness. It’s an illusion, of course, this thought that we can think ourselves well, or avoid pain by focusing only on the light. […]

Five or More

July 13, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Fifth, as in wheel, an uncomfortable count,more than two, definitely a crowd… A table for two, or even for four, but five?well that seems to be a viewing gallery… For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Five + items.

Like My Kitchen

July 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

#profri

Tickseed

July 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Unjustly labelled –disposition not a pest –Tickseed’s a delight. (For Cee’s Flower of the Day.)

Back Seat Only

I can’t remember a timewhen elegance chose meto sit in the front seatride along in style She’d be clad in whiteand I’m ever too messycan’t control myselfmight tarnish the upholstery She’d want to go shoppingrings and jewels flashinglike Pretty Womanafter the haul I’m second-handtypically slink in and outgrabbing what I need and goinglest anyone see […]

Having a Why

(This is found poem, previously posted on OneWoman’s Quest II)

Over It!

One day it’s so mild that I don’t bother with a coat, the next we wake up to snow on the ground. The plants pushing up through the soil seem a little more patient than me – as if they are humouring nature’s fickleness. I’m ready for clear change. A pair of finches just flew […]