Tag Archive | Poetry

Changing times

May19

We can play it safe and follow the status quo
Or we can live based on principle and stand out

The courage to question the norm
When the norm seems unfair
The courage to stand for friendship and justice
The courage to defend a fellow man or woman
This kind of courage is admirable anywhere

What’s unfair is unfair
No matter how much the truth is twisted and turned
In the age of instant communication
It’s harder to convince people of whatever one wants
Those old ways don’t work anymore
Soon, what’s been hidden will come to fore

May we have the courage to stand
For what’s true and fair
May we break our silence when we see injustice

There was a time propaganda would work
But now everyone is looking for proof

To all those who stand for truth
I salute you, I honour you!
May 16th, 2016

The masks we wear

May15

The more similar we are on the outside
To who we are inside
The freer we will feel

The masks we sometimes wear
Get heavy
And we may feel like we are dragging
Our feet

The problem is that we can get so used to
The masks we wear
That we can forget who we are underneath

I’m learning to throw away the mask of pretense
I feel lighter
More authentic

I won’t be afraid of showing my truth
The real me
Those who love me will stay anyway

Pretending takes a lot of energy
It’s tiring
It’s stressful
I understand why people wear a masks
Because I have worn them
But I also know how refreshing it feels
To feel the wind on my face

 
April 6th, 2016

Bedtime

May11

Sometimes Nicholas rests/falls asleep
On the comfortable leather couch in the living room
Just before he’s supposed to go to bed
He looks so comfy cozy

I remind him it’s time to go upstairs
‘But it’s so nice here’ he says
With his eyes closed and mumbling his words

Ten minutes later I call him again
Reluctantly, he gets up half heartedly and walks upstairs

Then instead of going to brush his teeth
He heads to our bedroom
And falls face first, in the middle of the bed
He says our bed is the most comfortable bed
I think the fact that he can postpone brushing his teeth helps

“Just a little longer” he says
When I ask him to get up
And I feel so bad because he looks so relaxed

Eventually he gets up
There is only so long one can postpone going to bed
But I know I’ll miss this routine
When he won’t do it any longer

Reminds me of the time he was little
And would ask me each night
What to dream about
May 11th, 2016

A new race of men

May8

There is a new group of people in the world
Who are born in one country and grow up in another
And perhaps move from that country too
To study or work somewhere else
What should they call themselves?
How should they define themselves?

I know a gentleman from Lebanese roots
Who group up in Nicaragua
He came to Montreal to study and stayed
Now, he speaks English with a Spanish accent
His wife is French Canadian
So the mix of cultures and languages goes on

We were at a dinner with two other couples
For none of whom English was the mother tongue
But that’s how we communicated all night
What we have in common, living in Montreal

My children have Dutch and Persian heritage
But have grown up in Canada
They are not identifiable as Persian or Dutch
But appreciate where their parents come from

I asked a Japanese man who lives in the United States
When he moved there
He said he’s third generation Japanese American
Ooops! What a mistake

Cases like this will only increase
As we continue to live our lives
Already, where are you from
Is not an easy answer for some

How wonderful that we’ll have to get to know people
By focusing on their qualities not their birth place
The gentleman with an Arabic name and a Spanish accent
Was the inspiration for this poem

May 8th, 2016

To be an immigrant

May2

 
Imagine having a thousand ideas
But being unable to express them
At least not eloquently

Imagine looking for words and stammering
Each time you want to communicate with someone

Imagine having to start your life over again
But with new rules and different road signs

Imagine having a career but
Having to put it on hold or abandon it for a while

This is how immigrants feel
They feel fortunate to live in freedom
But there is a price to pay
After all, nothing is free in life

Imagine being stuck between
The culture of your parents and your friends

Imagine living under a lot of new rules
Some of them not so obvious

Imagine competing with those for whom
Your new language is their mother tongue

Imagine seeing your friends do things
That you are not allowed

There are the challenges of children and teens
Who immigrate

Most of these issues gradually get resolved
Going through these challenges is an education in itself

But let’s give immigrants the respect they deserve
They literally start their lives all over again
May 1st, 2016

Circle and square

Apr12

Sometimes when we are facing interpersonal problems
We forget that most likely
We are part of the solution
That learning to thinks and act differently
Can change the dynamics of the situation

We tend to want to tell others how to live
To make things easier for us or remove our hurt and pain
We don’t realise that sometimes
It’s us who has to change
We have no control over other people’s actions
But we can determine our own response and attitude

In trying to fit a square peg through a smaller circle
We can complain that the circle is too small
Or we can shave off the edges of the square
April 11th, 2016

What I tell my kids

Apr7

Did you have fun?
We sometimes ask our kids when they come home
The subtle message being life is supposed to be fun

I’m not trying to be a downer
And say life is always hard
But I feel our children should know
That life is often hard

We don’t learn much when everything goes our way
Not that there is anything wrong with that
But life is so much more than idyllic days when all goes well
And in all the hardship and heartache there are lessons to be learned

So, I tell my kids
Life is full of ups and downs
And they should not be surprised when
Difficulties come along
I tell them that they can learn from challenges and grow
Life is fun, but in reality, it’s often hard!

April 8th, 2016

Serenity

Apr5

What brings us joy and serenity
Is a sense of purpose and meaning
Waves of happiness and sadness come and go
But underneath, the ocean is calm

Pleasure is like bursts of bright light
Serenity a soft light that always shines

Our response is what gives a situation meaning
A positive response to a harsh situation
Comes from wisdom
April 4th, 2016

Our insecurities

Apr3

It seems that we all have insecurities
We think others can do things better than us
If we only knew what went on in other people’s minds…
They surely have some of the same thoughts

Most people put on a happy, confident front
They want to be accepted and loved
But most people doubt themselves

I think the best we can do is
Give something our all
If it’s accepted, great
If not, at least we have tried
April 3rd, 2016