The Ancestral Rocking Chair

The rocking chair

sat empty across the kitchen.

First, my dad, in khaki pants and shirt, sat down.

He passed over in 1995,

but is never far from my thoughts.

On this morning he just arrived and 

although I could see no solid form,

his spirit sat in the rocking chair. 

His words drawled t’wards me.

“See. I told you. It’s alright.”

And then he left, replaced by my mother, 

in a green cotton house dress she had sewn.

Although she left this world abruptly in 1971, 
she comes to me often.

Her words echoed and hung suspended.

“Your father’s right.”

And then she was gone, leaving 

the Rocking Chair empty,

waiting for other ancestors to take their place.

“Some people are your relatives but 
others are your ancestors, and you choose 
the ones you want to have as ancestors. 
You create yourself out of those values."

~ Ralph Ellison

Walking in Ross Bay Cemetery in Two Short Chapters

Walking in Ross Bay Cemetery in Two Short Chapters

Chapter I

Dimming Victoria sunshine strewn

beneath spreading boughs and gray skies.

Damp, softened furrows of red and golden orange

roll and stretch down winding paths

single splashes of damp sunshine

lie lightly on granite markers and monuments

blessing those that have gone before.

Chapter II

It is still 

save for an antlered young buck 

picking his way quietly between granite marked graves.

Testing and tasting he wanders

until at last a low hanging branch

offers a late fall snack.

Reaching with soft snout

he stretches 

to nibble from the tip 

of the life offering branch.

"A healthful hunger for a great idea

is the beauty and blessedness of life."

- Jean Ingelow

The Power of Things

Things fix us to the past, 

clouding today’s judgment

marring the future 

before it arrives in a second.

"Things won are done,

joy's soul lies in the doing."

~ William Shakespeare

Family Extension Day

A bit of a ramble about this day at home ~ an extension of a great weekend in Vancouver

with my sons in Jason’s home. (Both a couple of years older than in this picture)

I have just spent nearly a week with my one or both of my sons, tempering anything untoward as being quite meaningless.

For today - no scheduled activities with one unexpected gift!

Bright sunshine when the weather man said rain.

(At this writing he has been redeemed - it is attempting to rain)

So, profound thoughts are put to rest for today.

An early morning for writing, then

dusting and vacuuming.

A wandering walk at the dog park at Dallas Road with Jeff and Dyogi, a lovely segue from morning to afternoon.

Afternoon’s energies spent 

cooking

preparing

baking

barbecuing

Cooking

Quinoa salad following Jason’s lead earlier in the week.

Preparing

Lunches for my next for four day shifts at work.

(Quinoa salad takes center stage.)

Baking

Two lovely loaves of whole wheat, flax meal and oatmeal bread

rest on the counter for a birthday dinner on Friday.

Barbequeing

Jeff barbequed a couple of delicious steaks to round out the afternoon.

Mmmmmm good.

Were there mishaps?

A couple of minor ones that did little to interrupt the day’s gentle flow.

“He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”

 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Expectations

Expectations loomed, 

blackened timbers of history and memory

Weak spaces seem obvious

Certain that weakness remains

Unable to believe in the strength that I used

Certain that strength that I had, will no longer suffice

Testing each step carefully today

I will know the truth

“There is a proper balance between 

not asking enough of oneself and 

asking or expecting too much.”

~ May Sarton

Communication vs Conversation

Two way roads

many exits and entrances

long thoroughfares

blind alleys

sound barriers

Navigation around

detours

road blocks

street lights
road signs

twists and turns

sharp corners

Hearing

what is being said

who is saying it

emotion expressed without words

Bridging differences in 

language

literacy

understanding

opinion

Communication and conversation

learned within family

expanded in school

developed in community

ever growing in depth

taught by everyone.

"To listen closely and reply well is

the highest perfection we are able

to attain in the art of conversation.

   - Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Moving with the Weather - The End

In all this talk about

Mother Earth, how humanity

tears her down in the name of

building her up, another issue rears it’s ugly head ~
Cabin Fever.

In the severest of weather events when whole families are uprooted from home,

depend on the kindness of friends, family and strangers,

live only with what was available at a moments notice ~

cabin fever becomes a much more serious issue

requiring imagination and finesse

despite exhaustion

mentally

emotionally

physically

In the summer of 2003,

she arrived at the fruit stand and frantically said,

“I’ve been out of my house for two weeks,

I’ve lost everything, I need to can.”

A forest fire had forced her family from home

They were staying with her sister and family.

Her children were in school.

She had no idea when they would have a home of their own.

With at least 40 lbs of pears in the trunk of her car, 
she drove away to do her yearly canning.

Doing what was normal.

A respite from the horror of losing everything.

If it’s but a rainy day, I often think of her,

a nameless woman trying to find peace amid chaos.

And so, weeding the garden between rain drops

is doable on such a day.

(I actually did do just that, a few days ago;

found great spot under the “spreading [walnut] tree”

to avoid most of the cloud splashes.)

What else can I create in my 'cabin' without feeling trapped and frustrated?

Of course, there's always creating a clean refrigerator,

which has been put off far too long.

Better yet, I can rest inside my home.

I can do things in my home that

have been neglected far too long.

like books and movies I like to read and watch

Or the writing from a slush pile to develop and

then there’s sketching, drawing or painting.

So many choices when home is your own.

The End.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in 

moments of comfort and convenience, but where 

he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.