Tag Archive | Poetry

My tea cup

Jan10

12C377D2-4BFB-48F1-A93B-6AF134386476

My tea cup is white

And the word tea is written on it

Just in case I forget what it’s for

It has a rounded bottom which is pleasant to hold

Especially to warm my fingers on days that are cold

Many times when I pick up this tea cup

I’m transported to my youth in Vancouver

I taught English and this cup was the one

That sat on my desk during those years

I taught immigrants

I taught international students

And all the while my tea cup kept me company

Ready for when it was needed

This tea cup is around thirty years old

It has been with me in the various countries and cities

I have lived in

It has witnessed many things

It is one of the constants in all the changes in my life

Let’s have some tea!

January 10th, 2022

Freedom to choose

Jan3

IMG_3847

Why does mandatory head covering bother me so?

It’s because it’s something that is dictated by men to women

Why should men be able to control what women do and what they wear?

Why can they set the rules?

Optional head covering when it’s a woman’s choice I have no issues with

It’s when it’s being forced that it bothers me

Even if this were a religious mandate 

There should be freedom of choice to follow it

And what about those from other religions?

Hair is the adornment of women and men’s heads

Beauty is something to be celebrated

This idea of being aroused by women’s hair their body shape

No longer flies today

We live in a world that has changed

Ideas have changed

And trying to enforce old ways will not be easily tolerated

Women will fight against it

Women will prevail

It would be great if men did their share

To ensure the freedom of choice for women as well

Continue reading →

We can always go back

Jan2

5F1B79DC-0670-4CF5-A248-2A3865260379

So, here we are in the middle of another lockdown

2022 is here and so is Covid still

Any hopes of it being over are a thing of the past

Thousands of flights are being canceled because

The personnel are sick and need to quarantine for days

Hospitals are trying to cope

Kids are back to studying online for a while

This virus is more stubborn that we thought

But we are stubborn too

We are not acknowledging our inherent oneness 

And dependence on each other

There are people who won’t get vaccinated

They will probably suffer most if they get sick

Countries are still looking out for themselves first

All kinds of false information is being passed around

Some governments are putting the lives of their people

In danger for political reasons

And in the middle of all this

Natalie helped me make my hair curly today

It’s its more natural state

I’m not super fond of it though

But it was worth a try

As to the world

Maybe we can give international cooperation a try

Try to follow scientific advice 

Think of others as well as ourselves

And if we don’t like it we can always go back

It is worth a try

January 2nd, 2022

As I get older

Dec28

 

img_5386

When you look for your glasses

And find them on your nose

When you put the salad topping 

Next to your dog’s food in the cupboard

When names escape your mind

Like sand through your fingers

When your knees hurt from time to time

You know you are no longer 25

But that’s when you need to have compassion for yourself

Your body and memory may not be in their prime

But your heart is most likely more tender

Your rough edges have been smoothed in the rapids of life

You have more perspective and patience

Yes, the wrinkles have appeared and are there to stay

But wrinkles speak of challenges and lessons learned

Of laughter and joy

So be gentle with yourself 

And think of what you have rather than

What you may have lost

December 28th, 2021

The touch

Dec27

F0AEDB67-CD2B-4AD6-9930-BC8E36757E74
The warmth of a touch

The love it communicates

The care it shows

The gentleness it conveys

The attachment it demonstrates

The warmth of a touch

Consoling

Energizing

Life giving

Irreplaceable

The warmth of a touch

So much tenderness

So much ardour

So healing

So blissful

The warmth of a touch

Magical

Otherworldly

December 27th, 2021

Back again

Nov3

C60537EF-1CD3-40B8-8ADE-BDD135F9E223

I’m at one of my favourite places, the coffee shop

Where I read and write and have time to myself

The place where I recharge my batteries

Things are not the same as before

We still wear masks

We still sanitize 

And now we show our covid passports

But we can have coffee with friends now

The conversation is lively at the tables next to me

Whereas a few months ago I may be one of the two people staying for coffee

Everyone seemed to take coffee to go

I don’t come to the coffee shop as often as before though

Albert has been working from home, and we have our morning coffee together

I try to write at home

But there are always distractions

The coffee shop allows me to focus 

And stay in my own world as long as I need

No one interrupts me

The door bell does not ring

No one asks me questions and derail the train of my thought

I need this solitude to write

I’m grateful for another visit to the coffee shop 

November 3rd, 2021

Continue reading →

Fall is here

Sep30

img_5386

Fall is here

the carefree days of wearing sandals and dresses are gone

The scarves can come out

The verdure of the trees a waining

The magical colors of fall arrive

We will be indoors more

But we should not close our hearts

To kindness

To gentleness

To generosity

To love

Each season has its own beauty and prepares us for the one to come

Seasons change

Life goes on

And life is beautiful

If we try to bring some sunshine into someone else’s life

September 30th, 2021

How much longer

Sep6

CD60D486-EED9-48F1-80D1-8B1BE356654E

Stay two meters away from each other

Don’t visit people at their homes in big numbers

Don’t fill up the coffee shops

Only so many people allowed

Sounds anti-social, doesn’t it?

But it’s our reality now and we can’t let our guard down yet

The variants are rampant

Areas that are doing well suddenly flare up

Where you can fly to and not fly to keeps changing

Some countries, you can visit only in groups

The sanitizer bottle is omnipresent

Masks still adorn our faces

How much longer?

That’s a good question

It depends a little on how much 

Responsibility we will take in combating this disease

Some people still deny its existence

They refuse to wear masks and socially distance

Vaccines are out of the question for them

And on the other hand

There are countries that are having a challenge

Vaccinating a population that wants to be vaccinated

It’s a messy and dangerous situation 

The hospitals are filled to capacity

The medical staff work long hours and are tired

So politicians try to give people incentives to get vaccinated

Money, lotteries, gifts, whatever they can think of

It’s a strange, strange world we live in

One we could not have imagined two years ago

September 6th, 2021

A year and a half

Sep1

9BBB6ABE-ADE8-4D79-97F9-DA7C8A3020F9

We’ve had an unusual year and a half

All the distancing

All the worrying

All the isolation

All the confusion

All the triumphs and failures

All of us pulling together most times

But some being more lucky in their access to what they need

Our world is not operating as a whole yet

We are still segmented into countries and tribes

Otherwise we would probably be in a different place now

Will we learn our lesson?

I’m not sure

Our nationalism has a strong hold on us

In a world that operates as a whole

We insist on only looking out only for ourselves

There is mistrust

There is lack of compassion

There is lack of unity

What is for sure it that now to solve our problems 

We need to work together 

Today’s world works as a unit

And the sooner we figure that out the better 

September 1st, 2021

Contradictions

Aug27


Beyond the wall of windows in my mother’s apartment

Is a kaleidoscope of colour, natural beauty and activity

The green of the grass

The blue of the ocean

And the white of the sailboats on the water

The grey of the high rises

And the red bricks of the walking path    

People exercising

People walking their dogs

People going to work

People driving by 

It’s a beehive of activity

And Vancouver’s beauty shines 

In the sunshine of the morning 

Everything seems to sparkle

But not everyone is happy in this city by the ocean

The sight of the homeless and drug addicted

On Main Street breaks my heart

A man whose clothes hang loose on his thin limbs

Talks to another person, a desperate look on his face

A tent is set up on the side walk

Creating a temporary place for respite

A man crosses the street on a red pedestrian light

Pushing a shopping cart containing all his belongings 

One can’t look at the lights to drive across intersections

Some people with blank stares cross at any time 

Oblivious of what’s going on around them

The ugliness of poverty and despondency

Coexists with the beauty of nature and the opulence

Of the high rises tastefully designed

I try to focus on the beauty 

But not forget that many people

Are in need in this city of contradictions

August 24th, 2021