Safety in Celebration

Canada is celebrating today.
Under velvet dark skies, fireworks bloom across the land.
Right now, even children, up past their bedtimes, are in awe of the coloured stars.
Instantly, cheers go up with each starburst.
One child, tired and full of hotdogs and candy floss, curls up under her big sister’s blanket.
She knew she was safe with her family on the wide open lawn with her community.
Interest in the sparkling sky, running and playing with her cousins floated softly in her dreams
There would be much chatter in the morning with her cousins, but for now she slept.
Youthful curiousity in her country would bloom and grow as bright as the night’s starbursts.

“Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.”

~ Samuel Johnson, Works of Samuel Johnson

A Small Kindness

Going walk about is always a joy!

An easy stroll through parks and city streets

Aware of children playing, fantastic flower displays

Draping trees, sparkling water and white clouds in the sky

And suddenly there is a little surprise at my feet.

A small kindness to families of our four-legged friends ~ and families.

Set aside from the door of a doggie day care,

Peter the poop pail quietly awaits the warmth of canine donations.

“The most genuine acts of kindness are done 

without fanfare and when no one is looking.”

~ Jason Pollock

Back to Basics ~ 1

Getting back to basics means
a long walk on a summer’s day,
smiling at young boys practicing baseball,
coach leading the team through the basics,
team mates calling out plays to each other

Getting back to basics means
stopping and smiling to watch
while a very young man - three or four years old - 
stands at water’s edge watching the ducks
hands in his pockets, his fedora on straight.

Getting back to basics means
watching turtles and ducks sunning themselves
lined up on a log on Goodacre Lake
while flowering water lilies spread their beauty,
herons nest high in the trees with their babies

Getting back to basics means
stopping for iced macchiato and writing,
walking along the David Foster Harbour Parkway
passing by Fisherman’s Wharf to the Inner Harbour
stopping for lunch at the Steamship Grill and Taphouse

Getting back to basics means
renewed awareness of what there has been
everything that could have been
and all that is right in front of your eyes, ears and nose.
ruffling any flatness of mood in the summer breeze.

“If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six sharpening my axe.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

At A Loss for Words

Staring at the page
At a loss for words
Wondering what words will come forth
Fingers patiently hover over keys
Waiting for inspiring impulses
Aware only of the plastic presence below
Waiting…..and waiting….and waiting…..

“Because all the words in the world won’t do much

 good if they’re just rattling around in your head.”

~ Kristin Levine, The Lions of Little Rock

New Babies

New babies are amazing

Tiny fingers and toes soft and reaching
Nose buds wrinkled and sensing smells
Eyes scrunched shut against sudden brilliant lights
Ears flat and hearing acutely for the first time.
A first cry, no matter how tiny, breaks everyone's heart
(well, at least mine)
New babies ~ becoming aware of life outside a watery world
Precious new personalities welcomed into the waiting family outside.

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.”

~ Don Herald

A Little Conversation

A little conversation helps.

Dialogue delves deep 
Disagreements don’t really change
Unless there is understanding

A little conversation helps.
Talking and listening can find solutions
Solutions get sorted and shared
when there is awareness 

A little conversation helps.
Visiting and chatting lightens any day
Finding humour in what seems humourless
when there is respect.

“Let us make a special effort to stop communicating 

with each other, so we can have some conversation.”

~ Mark Twain