Heather: A Gentle Benediction Elegiac Free Verse for Our Palliative Care Volunteer Heather – named for the white bloom* that threads protection through wild hills, good fortune’s quiet blossom, a wish released into the hush of a winter morning. She arrives at our abode gentle as petals, breathing colour into Anne’s world, her soothing laughter..
Anne: Laughing Heartily in the Darkness In the marrow of winter, when the world outside is a hush and grief gnaws the bones of night, somehow, laughter bubbles up, raw, defiant, unstoppable. We hold each other, trembling, as if clasping the last ember before the onset of eternal darkness. Your eyes, Anne, flicker with..
We send heartfelt Christmas greetings to all our friends and family who may be reading this little poem. A Special Christmas for Anne Images of Joy, Sorrow, and Gratitude This Christmas morning, the snow hushes the world, each flake a soft promise on our window ledge. Light spills across the kitchen, gold and fragile,..
Christmas for Anne in Slovakia As you know, many Canadians – and people the world over – celebrate Christmas today, on what we call “Christmas Eve.” https://flamingosschool.com/when-do-people-celebrate-christmas-in-various-countries-around-the-world/ For my wife Anne’s family December 25 was a mere afterthought, a day to recover from the previous day’s festivities. December 24 was THE day. Anne’s..
I was interviewed by Trina Boyko Content Writer for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. The title of her article: Caring for Anne: A husband’s journey through glioblastoma Here is how it opens: “From the moment Robert McBryde picks up the phone, there’s a flurry of activity in the background. As one person leaves, another..
Reflections on Christmas Sunday and Christmas Carol Season: A Loss of Innocence From an early age I have been obsessed with the Biblical narrative of the Fall from grace, with its vivid imagery of innocence lost in Eden. From the time that I turned 12 or so, the story has resonated deeply as..
Geno Lewis: Scoring a touchdown for compassion My precious wife Anne is stricken with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer. Kind neighbours have rallied to provide emergency support when she collapses or is otherwise indisposed or de-railed. One such kind soul is Geno Lewis, a star wide receiver for the Ottawa Redblacks, the city’s..
Between Hope and Heartbreak: Living as a Full-Time Carer by Sarah-Jayne Gratton This is a brilliant account of how it feels to be a caregiver. It describes many of my feelings and experiences as I look after my precious Anne, stricken with incurable brain cancer. I have included some excerpts below but please read the..
Anne: A Figgy Pudding at Christmastime A Metaphorical Tribute This year more than ever, Anne will be our figgy pudding, the centrepiece of the holiday table: warm, inviting, and filled with the richness that brings friends and family together. Like the pudding’s tapestry of fruits and spices, Anne is a harmony of kindness, wit, and..
What Does It Feel Like? My beloved Anne’s fate foretold in the journey of Sophie Kinsella Sophie Kinsella, who wrote the Confessions of a Shopaholic books, died of a glioblastoma on Wednesday at the age of 55. A kind reader of my postings alerted me to the fate that she shared with my beloved..