On an Afternoon Walk - Bearded

A delicacy that gives a lie 

to the shade that is to come.

“True delicacy is not a fragile thing.”

~ James Broughton, poet

(1913 - 1999)

Imaginings

Her husband Ralph would think she was foolish. To stop in the midst of their run to look longingly at the house they would never have. Out of breath, he wiped his face and neck with the already saturated cloth he carried with him. “We’re going to take a different route, Nancy. You know that looking at that house isn’t going to help, honey.” He did feel sorry that he couldn’t buy her the house. It was old anyway and probably needed a lot of work. “But Ralph, just look at that bay window. Is it a beautiful dining room, with oak furniture, or a quiet sitting room. Can’t you just imagine the parties we could have; or the books I could read by that window? And when the vines are full and green, and in the fall beautiful red……..” Her voice drifted off on the breeze. “Come on, honey. Let’s keep on. Your mom and dad will be here and trying to find us.” Putting his arm around her, they started walking and in a few steps continued their jog home to their tiny apartment. 

“You go on up, I’ve got a call. Be up in a minute.” Nancy’s parents were at the door of the apartment house. “Mom! Dad! No hugs yet. I’m all sweaty. Come…….Ralph will be up in a minute.”

Her husband didn’t have an incoming call. He felt badly about his little white lie. “I don’t know how I’ll do this, I can’t see her crying any more.” He punched in the Real Estate number and set up a meeting. He didn’t want to say anything until he was sure. So much to consider. He’d need to talk with the bank and hope for the best. 

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”

~ Jules de Gaultier, philosopher

(1858 ~ 1942)

On the Bus ~ Cascades

languages strange to my ear

in laughter and conversation

the music of many voices

riding the bus.

“The limits of my language means the limits of my world.”

~ Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher

(1889 - 1951)

At Day's End

Strength flows and ripples 

over flat or jagged rocks,

rests and pools 

in clear water 

at days end.

“Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force.”

~ Lao Tzu

After the Rain

Photo from 2023 in the city

Thru' windows tall and wide,

I saw the clouds today,

bulky even after the rain,

muscling their way over the prairie, allowing the sun to shine as shades of gray passed.

“The sky is postcard dreamy now, the clouds less full of rain, 

the sun a little stronger every day.”

~ Kathleen Glasgow, Girl in Pieces

Author's note: Muse today inspired by clouds outside Memento Cafe at University of Regina.

On an Afternoon Walk ~ In Song

Winter or summer, fall or spring, this Song Tree tells me what season is upon us. In winter it grows a long white beard, in summer’s shade it is home for all manner of life, in the fall the wind cleans debris from its branches and hollows. Today it seemed to lean farther back on its old dry trunk to sing to the avenue of the leaf green tips ready to burst all around.

“There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, 

but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.”

~ Minnie Aumônier, (1865 - 1952)

*artist, costume designer, poet and writer

*from <thedailygardener.org>

At Sunset

 

At sunset

the ocean calms

as world turns

“Sunsets are loved because they vanish.”

~ Ray Bradbury

A Noticeable Life

Let us notice the world 

around us ~ the world of tables and sidewalks holding our daily lives and a path for our feet. 

Let us notice ~

birdhouses in a tree or a cloud that looks like a butterfly. 

To notice these mundane things is seeing the world as we each see it. 

To notice the stretch of our muscles, 

the feeling of ironed clothes against our skin 

to notice these feelings that are not spoken of 

tells us that we are alive and willing to care for ourselves.

To notice the red flesh of a grapefruit bursting with juice 

reaching our tastebuds before the juice dribbles down our chins. 

Let us notice when the tea has grown cold 

but is still delicious. 

Let us notice the slant of light that 

changes with the seasons from bright to dark to bright,

slowly changing shadow shapes on walls and spring puddles, 

the hint of green as buds make shy with the sun. 

Let us notice the little wiggle that eases discomfort

while we settle into a chair that is kind to body and soul. 

Let us notice all these things and more 

in a daily turn of a moment

know we are alive.

“Above all, I wish to see.”

~ Donna Goddard, Circles of Separation

Inspired by writings of Shelley Leedhall: Let Us

Kindness is Real

Kindness ~ 

no form or substance, caught only in a smile, touch, or helping hand

missing from photo albums 

or gilded frames, 

as ethereal as 

the scent of a sweet pea

reaches back to the child we were 

to calm young fears and trembles

Kindness carries soft light into the world.

“Whose heart am I dealing with?”

~ Rupaul, author of The House of Hidden Meanings

Authors note: 

quotation from Global Morning Show TV interview, April 18, 2024

 

A Work in Progress: Trust

Trust ~

hard to come by these days

voices over phones

black and white emails, 

social media words

faceless names 

only known

by someone else 

Only inside

is trust real

tied to intuition

gut feelings ~

stand still slowly

breath deeply

let go of panic

gently believe in yourself

know that you are safe

“Always remember you are braver than you believe, 

stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

 ~ Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh

Shape Shifting

Routine ~ rigid, flat and boxy

The only word I knew to use

Word search, play and puzzles

found a better word

Design - flexible and beautiful

fanning out in petals

rooted in belief of self

a work of creativity.

“When the image is new, the world is new.”

~ Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

On an Afternoon Walk ~ A Guilty Pleasure

The wind whipped up every tiny dust mote, leaves, dirt and anything not tied down. So after I walked from bus to store to bus, I decided I deserved a Teen Burger. I have lots of treats that I like: chocolate, coffee, and anything I can graze on. But since I was first introduced to Teen Burgers in the late ’60’s, they have been my extra special and guilty pleasure. 

I’ve eaten lots of burgers from Texas to Kelowna to Victoria and anywhere in between but none have matched a Teen Burger. Today, I had a choice between an A&W and wait at the bus stop. I chose to get out of the wind, sit down and eat one of the delicious dripping bites I love. I even had coke in an A&W mug instead of a paper cup! Fresh and cold out of the fridge. Took me back many years. At home, I keep my garlic in an A&W large mug, a reminder of many days gone by.

“Food for the body is not enough. There must be food for the soul.”

~ Dorothy Day

On an Afternoon Walk ~ Regina Architecture

Joists and joints strained and straining for a hundred years? Repairs, replacements, restructuring on the inside and the outside? Must have been to still be housing people. The brick work, the details - so very beautiful. Many such buildings are throughout the city. Some in better condition than others, some more beautifully detailed than others but all are city seniors from another era.

“Architecture should speak of its time and place, 

but yearn for timelessness,”

~ Frank Gehry, 

(Canadian born, American architect)

Touching

gentle piano music touches me 

flows through my fingers 

to play along with the invisible melody

to sway in time with the rhythm

 “The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.”

~ Ray Charles

At the Food Court

I saw reality today.

dressed in torn jeans or puffy jackets

in strollers with parents

people using walkers or canes

all ages and abilities

families and friends

the roll of cleaning carts 

books and iPhones

board games and visiting

an all around aroma and sizzle

of cooking foods of any cuisine

the wipe of micro rags on tables

woven through it all

the hum of humanity in the Food Court.

“One love, one heart, one destiny.”

~ Robert Marley

Waves and Water

Daily routine

 ~ a buoy

that has kept me afloat

~ a parasail and board

has kept me riding the waves

in the roiling seas of life.

“In the shapeliness of a life, habit plays its sovereign role.”

~ Mary Oliver, Long Life: Essays and Other Writings

Is It a Bird?

Looking to the skies, 

to the clouds 

where the imagination flies ~

I thought it was a bird, 

until the glint of sun on wings 

as it tipped into a turn.

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.”

~ Jean-Jacques Rousseau