The Girl at the Side of the Road

Hair straight and brown,

slight childhood body

stood at the window 

waiting 

for the train to appear, 

its forlorn whistle announcing 

the beginning of the show. 

Rumbling the earth, 

it chugged past, 

always in too much of a hurry. 

They couldn’t see me wave 

from my bedroom window ~ 

the engineer, 

the man in the caboose 

and all the passengers. 

On days when 

I stood on the sidewalk 

they would all wave back, 

maybe not the passengers 

busy reading their books or 

visiting with their friends.

Few trains carry passengers anymore

but I knew one day,

I would be on a train to hear 

the whistle from the inside and 

wave at the girl at the side of the road.

“A train will bring you back to the place you came from, 

but it will not return you home.”

~ Jedediah Berry, writer

Storm

Lightning

A flash

that knifes 

through cloud, 

rain and wind 

light to black

in a second 

while clouds hover, 

fat raindrops splash,

pooling into dark puddles.

“Only one thing that you can see and hear that is beautiful and 

frightening at the same time, and that is a thunder storm.”

~ R.K. Cowles, poet

"Just Because"

Why is it that 

I look around me as I walk? 

Do I like the colours 

or shapes that I see? 

Do I see a white rabbit or 

a dragon in the clouds?

Why do I see the poetry 

of life all around me?

My mother would say: 

“Just because” as if 

that would satisfy my 

questionings. I still ask as 

many questions, maybe more, 

than when I was learning 

my world. Almost eight decades 

have passed with all the learning of 

other things. Now I answer 

my own questions: “Just because.”

“Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why."
~ Kurt Vonnegut 

Books

Stacked haphazardly or 

lined up neatly in 

real bookshelves or 

shelves for any purpose

Stories of family sagas, 

stories of personal triumphs

Narrative of biography, 

memoir or autobiography 

Novels full of comedy, history or

dramatic, mysterious or mind bending

Instructions and self help for living life effectively

A Bible from a grandparent when I was 13, 

Slim volumes of poetry written by relatives.

children’s books, ancient and brand new

Cookbooks gathered lovingly on their own shelf

All overflowing to a shelf, a counter or the floor

No order by title or alphabet or author

constantly changing at the whim of 

‘what shall I read’, or ‘I read that 10 years ago’

~ I wonder how much I remember 

perhaps a new book will find it’s way 

into my shopping basket at the bookstore 

All of them my faithful companions that have 

taught and entertained with travel, tears and laughter.

“I think books are like people, in the sense that 

they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them.”

~ Emma Thompson

The Flower Bed

Gardens at Royal Saskatchewan Museum,
Regina ~ September 08, 2025

A flower bed ~ 

true marriage of nature 

and the human hand. 

Glorious colours and patterns 

planted carefully, welcome bees, 

butterflies (and cameras) 

to these bright and bold displays.

“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature.

To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul.”

~ Alfred Austin, English poet

(1835 - 1913)

An Easy Meal

November 28, 2006

Soup and sandwiches ~ comforting meals, 

rather like an old sweater. There is any old soup 

~ one from a recipe or a ‘Must Go’ soup from 

the refrigerator to fit the mood of the day. 

In summer I love a delicious cold soup 

~ this summer it was sweet potato soup 

made in March and from the freezer . 

The more high society soups are really 

no different. To make them special 

they must be served in the finest china 

with silver cutlery. Sandwiches are created 

from what’s available and for me, 

require buttered bread before 

salami or ham or tomatoes are 

nestled in with a crown of 

lettuce; a dill pickle skewered on top.

Soup and sandwiches ~ comforting meals, 

rather like an old sweater. It could be any old soup 

~ one from a recipe or a ‘Must Go’ soup from 

the refrigerator to fit the mood of the day. 

“I can make a couple of good sandwiches: tuna salad and 

chopped egg salad. And Greek bean soup.”

~ Leonard Cohen

Suspended

Nestling into the corner of the sofa 

just vacated by my kitty,

I have a good book to read, 

my big warm socks on my icy feet

and a fleece blanket to get cosy under. 

Time has hung suspended, 

and I still don’t know how 

to manage life in retirement ~ 

I’m willing to keep practicing 

~ until I get it right. 

“Retirement, a time to enjoy all the things 

you never had time to do when you worked.”

~ Catherine Pulsifer, author