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 […]

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. […]

Weaving Bits and Pieces

May 17, 2020.Reading time 1 minute.

Nuances of nostalgiajaggedsuccumbingcubesunsuspectingnourishmentmoving and openingI distractWe grappleunder constructionmeaning percolatesthis is lifethese bits and pieces of aresurrectiondragons and time machinesticket stubsscattered. Every week I challenge you with a focus, and every week you amaze. ‘Bits and pieces’ was the prompt this week, and the diverse responses, woven together, created this glimpse of life’s bits and pieces. […]

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.)

VJ’s Weekly Challenge #95: What a Child Knows

May 4, 2020.Reading time 3 minutes.

I am five. Chronologically, I am five. Inside, I feel as old as I’ll ever be. I am free of the burdens and distractions that surround me, and often, alone. I have a sense of something I can’t quite articulate – purpose, mingled with wisdom; trust, and a connection larger than me. I do not […]

Oh, For a Good Story

May 3, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Fishermen are notoriously good storytellers. Who can resist the suspense of the catch, and the disappointment of the one who got away? As a teacher, my favourite class was the one where we put the desks in a circle and told stories. After all, oral traditions are where stories begin. My grandchildren naturally prod for […]

At Home

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

A perch to greet the world a corner to keep my books(could use some sorting) A pot of home made soup on the stove(Chicken tortilla – our favourite) This is home. (For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: at home)

Imagine

If we could lift understandingto indigenous teachingsexpand our loveto earth, sky, and seaMake personal gain tabooand Ancients a weigh point If we could witness the mountainsslow floating across the skyand touch the dolphin’s soulanxiously swimmingwhere tuna are netted Would we cower at our insignificanceor move forward, learning to acceptthat all of life is deeply woveninto […]

Dear Child

I know a little girl,whose hair in ringletsfalls, unkempt from lackof brushing; who standswhen she should be sitting;who laughs with defiance whenchallenged, her dark eyes gleamingwith mischief; who holds her chin uphigh and stamps her feet, arms foldedin protest when she does not get her way. I see that little girl,have watched her play,with a […]

Re-de-fine-d

Ask me how I’m doingand I’ll say “fine”, notbecause I’m actually fine,but because “fine” is the onlysocially acceptable response. If I said that I have been lyinghere, for three hours now,willing my body to move,that would elicit unsolicitedadvice and tarnish my “fine”. I’d berate myself for breakingmy promise not to moan,knowing that complainingprovokes a compulsive […]