The Conductor

Orchestration of a life takes 

today, tomorrow and everyday 

with silent rays of bright sun, 

drift and clamour of storm clouds, 

dark of night pinpricked by the stars 

while seasons conduct 

the come and go of spring flowers 

trees decked out in green summer wear 

give way to the flamboyance of fall

fields of grain divided by country roads, 

snow and ice, wind and rain, 

heavy fur under coats for animals and 

heavy parkas and boots for soft bodies 

joys uplifting souls while sorrows bring

counterpoints to the orchestration of life.

“Conductors don’t suffer, they are part of the performance.”

~ Michael Tippett, composer

(1905 ~ 1998)

The Surprise of Tomorrow

Van Gogh
The Immersive Experience in Regina 2023

Maps are drawings, 

 sketches that show the way 

  around the corner, 

   out of the city, 

     over the prairies 

    to the mountains and 

into the surprise of tomorrow 

 as each step and minute

  passes under our feet.

“I learned what every dreaming child needs to know, 

that no horizon is so far you cannot get above it or beyond it.”

~ Beryl Markham, author

(1902 ~ 1986)

Follow the Thunder

Out on the balcony where 

I could know the power of the storm, 

  smell the moist, soft rain, 

    feel cool air on my arms 

  hear thunder’s deep voice 

as it wandered away

I felt safe with my book 

 revelling in flashes of lightning 

seeing dripping trees hold their breath

 hearing the slush of traffic

 watching the tough, bulky clouds

as they followed the thunder.

“If I accept the sunshine and warmth, then 

I must also accept the thunder and lightning.”

~ Khalil Gibran