Through The Looking Glass

June 4, 2021.Reading time 1 minute.

Thank you to Indie Blu(e) Publishing for including my work in their latest anthology. Through the Looking Glass: Reflecting on Madness and Chaos Within gives voice to those otherwise silenced through stigma or marginalization. The anthology features stories, poem, and artwork. Through The Looking Glass is available through Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, and other major online book […]

Hidden Messages

August 10, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

“I’m not as smart as you. I’d probably be okay if I was smarter.” “That’s not true, June. You are very smart.” “Do you really think so?” My sister and I are doing dishes after supper. June suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. “You got 96% in your nursing program,” I remind her. “Intelligence is not your […]

Distraught? Pause

September 2, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

Yesterday, I was ready to give up – on everything. I was convinced that my husband’s distraction meant he didn’t love me and that our marriage was coming to an end. I panicked to think that we are planning to leave home and I will be cut off from family. I convinced myself that I […]

The Vortex

May 31, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

(Note: Much of my inspiration for writing comes from dreams, which I typically interpret in the form of poetry, but recently I have been challenging myself to write prose. A Bee’s Perspective is the poetic response to the dream behind this piece.) Even as the floorboards beneath her heave and crack with a thunderous roar, […]

Illness and Isolation

March 23, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Prolonged illness almost always equates to isolation. Initially, kindness reveals itself through visits from friends and coworkers, meals dropped off, and many offers to help in any way. Not yet adjusted to my rapidly changing situation, I was overwhelmed and somewhat embarrassed by such an outpouring, having always considered myself strong and independent. Perhaps, I […]

Depression On Board

March 20, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

Depression rides along with chronic illness, not as a cause, but as a response. The limitations of this disease (ME/CFS) are not easily defined, yet, if pushed, will result in undeniable consequences. You would think that after three years, I would know this, and yet, I continually fall into patterns of denial. We travelled 3,000 […]

Inner Children Need Care Too

October 25, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

“Pay attention to your inner child,” my therapist advised me when I first got sick. It seems that fear causes emotional regression and any needs suppressed over the years come barreling forward in irrational outbursts. Hard to deny that one from where I’m sitting. I’ve been dreaming about children lately – children in my care – […]

Why Are We Not Talking About the Real Issues?

July 28, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

I was sixteen and starry-eyed when the handsome, eighteen-year-old G asked me out. For two years I had secretly swooned over him but I never dreamed that he would notice me. I felt like the luckiest girl alive! When he told me that he was going to be the next drummer for The Who, I […]

Orange

I am orangefiery asa sunsetbright asan Autumnleaf –brilliant in the waninghours. (Art my own)

Tragedy (tanka)

Melancoly drags –one young lovelorn foot stuck inregret’s muddy path –ignores what is near, mistakeswhat if for what is. Tragic. (Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter. Image my own)

Cheer For Spring

Cheer growth –beneath a heavy cloud coverCanada goose passesoverhead, while Iwander Wander –behind a veil of rainy greylens poised to capture life –swallows swoop andrise up Rise up –over rushing waters, branch high,blackbirds huddle, demand my attention –focus Focus –reveals newness: buds breaking through,colours promising thatchilly winds disperse,cheer growth Cheer growth –behind a veil of […]