VJ’s Weekly Challenge: Threes

January 25, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

InsurrectionInaugurationExhalation A beginning, a middle, an end (of sorts). This week, let’s see how succinctly we can sum up a situation using only three words. Or, if you need more, make it three times three: Snow squalls blindroads lack definitionhearth provides contentment. Or, if you are more inclined towards images than words, tell a story […]

Shelly’s Invisible Treasure Box

October 4, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Known in class as the Quiet One, Shelly is given to wandering away from her desk for no reason. Mostly, she is good natured and easy to get along with, and as her teacher, I can tell you she is quite bright. What most don’t know is that she is a collector, somewhat reminiscent of […]

Passing The Time

May 20, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Pursuing feathered inspiration takes me to quiet rural settings. At home, I pour over images, and “picturate” as my husband calls it – altering the photos to create something new. I spend time daily, crafting poetry, inspired by images, or dreams, or prompts. Often I combine the poems with the artistic photos: I’m also spending […]

Like Fire

October 18, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

My essence is flamewords, like petals, reaching high –transformative fire. (For Cee’s Flower of the Day. Don’t know what these beauties are, but am inspired by their flow.)

Creativity Remains a Blessing

August 1, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

The child embraces creativity without limits. I have memories of tucking between my bed and the wall, hidden from view, surrounded by materials for drawing, writing, and colouring. I kept the chaos at bay with my creative endeavours. Life happened, and the pencils and crayons disappeared. Journals remained, but only for private. Mundanity and routine […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #50: Acceptance

May 27, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

“The doctor was adamant that it’s cancer, and I’ve researched it. If it is, it’s not good.” Weeks of repressed fear gush forward, and I find myself crying, mid restaurant, my husband seated across from me. “We just don’t know yet.” he responds softly, taking my hand. “We’ll deal it with one step at a […]

So Many Questions

March 17, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Questions are piling up over here, with very few answers. Isn’t that life? And maybe that is the point: we are meant to reflect, to ponder, to search, to explore. As a teacher, the emphasis was on inquisition: teaching children to think beyond the obvious, find the tools to research deeper. In this ever-increasing digital […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #37: Story

February 25, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

My very first blog post on this site is entitled “Relevance of Story“. It was inspired by the work of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie whose Ted Talk: The Danger of a Single Story, challenged me to think differently about how, as a teacher, I approached my craft. Her words are also a recipe for living compassionately. Each time we open a blog post and read, we are touching a part of someone’s story. Every time […]

Wild Card Moments

February 24, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

Age, I’m determining, does not define me. Each new decade presents a different attitude and energy in regards to life, and sixty is but a new approach. Naturally, the onset of a debilitating illness and all the losses I incurred, made me feel old and redundant, but I’m happy to say, I emerging from that […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #36: Wild Card

February 18, 2019.Reading time 1 minute.

This week, I am giving you a carte blanche…well, sort of… there’s a catch. Go back over the last week’s worth of posts or so, and notice any words or phrases that repeat themselves. I’m talking adjectives, or verbs, maybe nouns. For example, when I look over my posts leading up to writing this one, […]

Sisterly Love

It’s just a moth, I offeredthat blue moon nightrattling windowschafing nerves We’d chosen exile –sister and I – refuge from family demons, not ours to claim Innocence borrowsresponsibility – I boreit like a badge;she shattered Could not discriminatedarkness from her owninner light – soughtto end the fury I’ll carry us both,I murmured, too youngto recognize […]

Tongue Lashing

Countless, the timesI’ve spoken out of place –words spilling unfiltered –grading myself harshlyin the aftermath – Yet a pauciloquent tonguewould leave me drowningthoughts stirringin a stagnant pool –perhaps I’ll strivefor moderation. (Image my own)

Cautionary Tale

Tell my woes to Rivershe listens graciouslyan empathic mirror Not so the Jackdawwhose arrogant clatteringderides self-pity Slaps me consciousfor I am victim, yes, andif not careful, abuser. (Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknuton.Image my own)