Most mornings are a cereal bowl Of kryptonite that withers my fragile will Rots my confidence like a spring snowbank — I’m whipped by salted words, hot with prepubescence, So I retreat into Clark Kent clothes and awkwardness And scream into the testing with a stomp and a fist down But on the quiet of…
Earthly Habits
my Father always toiled at the earth above the rocks he kept our yard a solitude of quiet and play a kinder garten circled by the elm hedge and shaded by the twin aspen it was always home and always work. my Father always toiled at our garden on the verge of my perception I…
Shoot the Birds
For my father, always as a child, the morning hour had gold in its mouth — and so roused of my bed, hot coffee in his thermos and hot chocolate in mine, he’d drive me up Black Mountain, tell me as we flew the nest, “Keep your eagle eyes peeled for the grouse” speckled in…
How …?
How? how do I learn where does patience come from when “It’s not fair” for the fiftieth time after a special-made breakfast made under the moonlight after a day of rushing and time is always tight because I was late for work — again — after we say “Sorry — the money is spent” on…
What did the Grouse Hear?
What did the grouse hear as the Father talked to his Son — what did it hear in the reassuring speech, practiced over a glass of rye, in the repetition of “I will always love you”? Walking among the thin ground cover, random and haphazard, the mottled markings passed on from grouse to grouse as…
A Hammer
It was gift from my father “It’s yours” it’s weight — all his life in toil — beaten and chipped like the burden he carried on his shoulders now bent with bursitis. “Take this” his shouts when he swung framing 2x4s into tight places “Take this hammer” to build your life — it was not…
Generations
Staring into faces I stand in the dark Of my parents’ room At the black and white Photos silently Paper tombstones line Thick dust silhouettes Names only spoken In stories of others Stories once taken Immigration there Just married right here Anniversaries Graduations once Off to war once more Suits ties shiny shoes Dresses Sunday…
Redemption
In you there is a Future for all Hope because love brings a confidence That want is enough for possible To see is enough to imagine. In you there is a Spirit that grows Born of light, it shines an innocence Spreads its wings over heavy shadows Chases the complex from simple love. In you…
My Canadian Food Hero
Valerie Lugonja began the Canadian Food Experience Project on June 7, 2013. Each month, participants share their collective stories across the vastness of our Canadian landscape through our regional food experiences. As I personally think Canadians do have a food identity, the hope of the project is that we will bring clarity to our Canadian…