I am Grateful
A poem
I AM GRATEFUL
I am grateful for my mistakes,
anxieties and fears
they give rise to my courage,
for those I hold dear
I am grateful for having
been broken, in pain
so hope can rebuild,
dissolve all the blame
I am grateful to be alive;
my next breath fills my lungs
I am grateful to feel old
and also feel young
I am grateful in every . . .
Poems to be alone together
Image: Pxhere
One thing my family is doing more of during isolation is reading together. My boys dusted off some old standbys—the Harry Potter series.
As my younger son read The Philosopher's Stone, my older son read The Half-Blood Prince. I stared at them. When did they get so old?
I was moved to write some poems . . .
Posted in: bedtimebrothersharry potterpoetry
Just another Saturday in isolation
Image: Sarah C, Creative Commons
SHE MAKES MUFFINS and pancakes, boys read at kitchen table. Cat suns herself by patio door. Mush, mush, she mixes ingredients in stainless steel mixing bowl, green plastic mixing bowl to her right. She reads recipe on top of microwave. Grabs some things out of fridge, crunch crunch, cracks eggs. . . .
This, too, shall pass
A poem
Image: Florencia Lewis, Creative Commons License
THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS
living in constant fear
anxiety
an invisible enemy
microscopic
galvanizing
virus lurks
every crevice
nook and cranny
economic havoc
dominates
news cycle
other concerns
trivial
there is no other
news
this is it
the new normal
until
the old normal
reasserts
enjoy the fresh air
(if . . .
Posted in: coronaviruscovid-19perseverancepoetry
A man yelled racial and homophobic slurs at the LRT station. This is what I did
Image: Kurt Löwenstein Educational Center International Team from Germany / CC BY
I was heading down the last flight of stairs at the Lyon LRT station in Ottawa. A man stormed around the corner from the fare gates. He wore a leather jacket from a local university and one of those hard hats they give to first-year students.
. . .
Posted in: homophobialrtottawaracism
The Othering
A poem
Image: Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Company Limited [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
THE OTHERING
Good versus evil
it's just people killin' people
who knows why
a bigger piece of the pie
gather your tribe
offer a bribe
rally your nation
fire the imagination
demonize the other
lock up your brother
silence your sister
doesn't . . .
Posted in: poetry
How lucky I am to be married to my wife
There was a cool breeze that day one May on the Thirsty Moose patio. Traffic whizzed by every now and then. My wife and kids had gone to the bathroom. I sat at the table with my mother-in-law.
She reminded me how lucky I am to be married to her daughter.
Yes, I am very fortunate. Thank you for raising such a wonderful person.
. . .Posted in: gratitude
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