This morning,
an adventurous black ant
climbed my countertop
to descend into a flowered bowl
and sip the sweet nectar of peach juice
left there by my child.
Would that I were so bold—
to ascend the table of a giant
and drink from the sweet cup of life!
A few rainy Sunday thoughts in a poem!
Who would think that a poster could change someone’s life? Aren’t posters simply antiquated in today’s multimedia world? Not at all! You never know how someone will be affected by what they see…and how a simple poster can be the catalyst for all sorts of adventures.
Just over a year ago, when I moved to Delta, I happened to see a poster for a local poetry contest at the coffee shop near my house. I was so excited and decided to submit a poem. Since submissions were cheaper for members, I decided to join the Delta Literary Arts Society .
I didn’t win the poetry contest, but I won the lottery of literary friends and opportunities. I met Angela Rebrec, the president of the DLAS, at an InkwellTold event of local authors being interviewed. We got along well and since that time I’ve gotten increasingly involved in various DLAS events. Besides attending more InkwellTolds, I have:
~read my poetry at the local monthly open mic at the North Delta Centre for the Arts, where we also host our annual writing festival
~attended last year’s poetry festival, where I took lovely poetry workshops by Jude Neale and Taslim Jaffer, and got amazingly helpful free editing advice by Tara Avery. The poem she helped me edit, “Kootenay Glacier Crush,” was featured on Jonathon Roger’s podcast, The Habit, and is now one is the poems in DLAS’s new poetry anthology, Composed. It will be for sale as a fundraiser at our literary festival next weekend, to help us continue to offer free events in our community.
~been a guest at one and done my own poetry reading with Angela Rebrec and Kedrick James. It was so fun—they are both amazing.
~hosted an InkwellTold and interviewed two local authors, Taslim Jaffer and Natalie Virginia Lang
~started leading a free, monthly writer’s circle at the George Mackie Library.
So much fun from one poster!! Here’s a poster with the breakdown of events this coming Saturday, April 20th:
You can register for any of the workshops online at Eventbrite. I’ll be teaching a children’s poetry workshop at noon. Hope to see you there!
For those who want to just drop in and wander around, there will be live music, poetry readings, food trucks, literary art installations, and various vendors such as local bookstores and authors with their work for sale.
I hope to see you there! Let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like me to save you a copy of Composed, our new local poetry anthology!
Oh joy,
hopping around the corner
like a bunny,
waiting for me to follow you—
I see your winking whiskers
and twinkling eyes—
you just wanna play with me,
don’t you?
✨
To frolic and romp about
in noisy hoots and hollers,
and collapse in a heap of hay,
laughing with straw in my hair
and stars in my eyes….
✨
It’s not really about catching you, is it?
✨
A bunny held squirms
and kicks you in the gut.
✨
Joy is a wild thing,
slippery as the sunrise over the horizon,
as the sunset behind a hill—
ever leaving, yet ever winking
from behind the moon—
calling me to run forward again,
and despite my tears, to laugh!
✨
✨
It’s unusually cold tonight;
the wind has blown away the clouds
to reveal a crisp star-scape
glittering down on a thin layer of snow.
❄️
The cedars on the back yard
wave and dance to the tune
of our wooden wind-chimes
as they point up at the sky.
🌲
Inside, I cradle our sleeping baby—
her fever burns so hot,
I dream of a woman
who keeps falling into fire.
🔥
She carries molten lava
in a metal box, glowing golden-red,
and she keeps falling into the magma
yet somehow staying alive.
🔥
I dream this terrible dream,
until it wakes me up in a sweat
with only the burning baby
beside me in bed, but not you.
🛏
You are working down in California,
where the weather’s simply lukewarm—
no wind-whipped snow
making the ground clench it’s jaws.
🌊
Instead, wind whips the waves
along the sand-covered beach;
I wonder if the palm trees
outside your hotel are dancing.
🌴
Happy New Year, everyone! Perhaps many people are planning their fantastic bucket lists for 2024, but I’m not quite there yet. Let me first share some of the crazy little adventures I had in 2023, including various things I never planned to check off my to-do list!
1. Fishing a school of fishy crackers out of the toilet when the toddler dumped them there, or rather, to be more accurate, flushing them!
2. Getting pulled over by the police in a cab when rushing my daughter from the orthodontist back to Highschool, on the way to my younger children’s elementary school Christmas pageant. My poor cabbie looked like Santa with a giant beard, and I, sitting there all flushed with a “lunch on the go” Freshslice pizza box on my lap, begged the officer to take pity on him, as I had been telling him about my mad-dash day and probably distracting him from slowing down in the school zone…thank goodness he got off with just a warning! I missed my 5 year old singing “Winter Time is Here” but caught the other 3 kids’ acts…then went to the evening show to see it all again, on time this time. Phew!
3. Playing the part of a giant sassy crow in a Christmas play called “Suki’s Reindeer Wish” with my local literary arts guild.
4. Getting a Christmas poem published in an anthology of Christmas poetry called Harmonic Verse by Local Gems Press. https://www.localgemspoetrypress.com/harmonic-verse-preorders.html
5. Dressing as a pirate and narrating spooky stories for a Halloween show called “Killer Verse” with the same wild and wacky arts crew…
…and discovering that my toddler had painted the table with Nutella while I was at dress rehearsal. He later repeated said visual art performance with yogurt.
6. Drinking white wine while drinking in the beauty of my dear friend Jude Neale’s (https://judeneale.ca/) poetry at her book launch for her gorgeous new book of poetry, accompanied by the paintings of Nicholas Jennings, called Water Forgets Its Own Name.
7. Being given a surprise trip to Saskatoon by my husband, to spend 5 days with my soaking in life with my bestie, and having amazing Mexican food downtown there.
Well, that’s enough adventures for one night! I hope you all survived the madness of December, had a very Merry Christmas, and are enjoying some relaxing vacation time before the business of school starts up again. Happy New Year!
Hi Everyone,
I’m excited to share with you the publication of a book that I wrote a chapter for, called Never-ending Love: Sharing Stories, Prayers and Comfort for Miscarriage and Infant Loss
My chapter is called “Flurries of Stardust.” I wrote about how grief fuelled my poetry, and how writing helped me heal my heart after my Josephine’s stillbirth. My best friend Monique Leblanc and her husband Ryan wrote with honesty and grace about how their faith helped them through the experience of losing their son half way through pregnancy. We contributed to our first book, Love Rebel:Reclaiming Motherhood together years ago, shortly after losing our babies.
Now our words are together between the covers again! Here’s an excerpt the back of Never-ending Love:
“In this long-awaited resource, a range of voices offer their perspective on how faith can be a source of support, hope and healing for those grieving the loss of a child before, during or soon after birth.
Words of experience and wisdom from various perspectives – several women, a married couple, a medical doctor, a pastor, a theologian, a team of liturgists offering rituals to mark the loss, and approaches parishes and dioceses can take – are complemented by prayers and resources for working with grieving couples.
St. Paul tells us that “Love never ends” (1 Corinthians 13:8). As a Christian community, we can help couples express and remember their never-ending love for their beloved child, who will always have a cherished place in their hearts and their lives.”
Never-ending Love will be a helpful companion for families who have lost babies, as well as friends and pastors who’d like tools, ideas, and prayers to support them better. Here is the link:
As it will be Josephine’s ninth anniversary this Saturday, September 30th, I’m happy to have this book to offer in her memory.
Amidst all the nerves and butterflies,
the anxious flutterings
of your mind and heart,
there is one truth that surrounds you
like the atmosphere.
Like the earth,
let yourself be embraced by it,
the truth that you are
utterly and totally loved—
as you are today,
as you will be tomorrow—
now and forever.
You were blessed into existence
by the dream of our Father God’s heart.
He foresaw you all swaddled
in white and lace at your baptism,
and he sees you already,
tomorrow,
swathed in white beauty once again,
as you enter his house as a bride—
not to love perfectly,
despite your human brokenness,
but to rejoice in being beloved
and to share that joy forever
by delighting in your new spouse.
Now and forever—
as you will be tomorrow,
as you are today—
let the truth that you are
utterly and totally loved
embrace you
like the earth.
Like the atmosphere,
may that one truth surround you,
amidst the anxious flutterings
of your mind and heart,
calming all the nerves and butterflies,
so you can rest gently in joyful hope.
Amidst the usual evening business,
there was a moment of golden light,
when all the chaos of messy meals—
my baby climbing out of her high chair,
little chubby limbs besmeared with mango
and requiring yet another bath,
as the phone rang and the water boiled,
and the seven-year-old pontificated
on the merits of trampolines
vs slip and slides for summer safety—
all this ceased to grab my attention,
which was caught by the light of a far-off star,
speeding across millions of miles of space
to gaze at me on my porch this evening,
a glowing orange ball
peeking through the dark fir trees.
I paused to gaze back.
My daughter sped around the porch
on her running bike,
her tongue running fast as her feet
to describe her tricks in real time
—but I had stepped out,
and was steeped in golden light—
“I am here, all along; I am here,”
spoke the universe calmly,
all its diverse particles coming together
to deliver me this caress of beauty
from the halls of eternity.
We’ve moved to the suburbs;
evening walks are filled
with the silhouettes of tall trees
against the darkening sky,
their simple elegance poignant enough
to make me want to paint them.
As we walk along the winding sidewalks
and down the forest-lined road,
we are surrounded by the smell
of summer blackberries
bountiful enough to make me 12 again—
a grinning girl in cut-off jeans
licking her berry-stained fingers
and rejoicing in being
at home in this world.
Just East Of Crazy Land 