Red bell peppers…a vast field of dreams My wife awoke at 2:25 a.m. this morning With a preternatural shiver, Having dreamt of a vast field of red bell peppers, Unfurling as far as the eye could see, A million vermilion vegetables, So soothing in their still pepperiness, Absurd denizens of eternal pepperdom, Going nowhere, rooted..
Reaching 100 years old…Still here but yet so far away! My sister and I call her Aunty Bud, for reasons unknown. She “celebrated” her 100th birthday yesterday. My father’s sister, Doris “Bud” Branson, was born on August 11, 1924, at a time when William Lyon Mackenzie King was Prime Minister of Canada, and Babe Ruth..
Pet sitting and babysitting…we all have our stories… and our crosses to bear! For the next two weeks, I have been tasked with cat sitting while my son and daughter-in-law enjoy a vacation cruise. The cats’ names are Sassy and Mimi. Sassy is a furling dervish in a cat tuxedo, while Mimi is a purring..
Pet Influencers…Belatedly Learning How to Pet I am hopeless at marketing: technologically illiterate, too embarrassed to crank up the B.S. bazooka to fine mist, and too pressed for time to learn how to become a literary marketeer. I just learned that there is a marketing concept called Pet Influencers. https://afluencer.com/how-become-pet-influencer/ https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/6/18066056/dog-instagram-famous-pet-influencers https://afluencer.com/how-make-dog-influencer/ https://swaygroup.com/pet-influencer-marketing/..
Thin Ice The ice is cracking, Within the austere chill void, Our lives, perched to sink, Always on the thinnest ice, To vanish forever… our lot. 40 Enchanting Landscape Photos Showcasing The World’s Beauty Tanka poetry “Tanka poems follow a set of rules. They all have five lines and each line..
Strip Mall Medicine in Ottawa, Ontario, Part Two: The Plot Thickens Based on a John Grisham novel of the same name, Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic courtroom drama The Rainmaker recounts the trials and tribulations of fledgling lawyer Rudy Baker, played by Matt Damon, who is forced to take work as an ambulance chaser with..
This porcelain heart This porcelain heart May crack with the weight of time Or shatter through mishap But it will live in my heart Until stern death do us part. Tanka poems follow a set of rules. They all have five lines and each line follows a pattern: the first line has five syllables,..
The Hummingbird: A Tanka Poem For Leigh Bateman Hummingbirds flutter Hovering above the abyss. My wings are broken, Turbulence before collapse, Bright colours before the crash. This poem is dedicated to my good friend Leigh Bateman, a birder par excellence. The poem was inspired by the work of art you see posted as..
Spring 1969, London, Ontario. Grade 12, Oakridge High School A friend named Chris Turnbull had somehow inherited a car. Probably his parents handed over this dilapidated vehicle when he turned 18. His decrepit Dodge was something of a jalopy. But it was equipped with an 8-track cartridge player: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-track_cartridge You inserted a clunky music cartridge..
Ikebana Haiku Anne’s art, Ikebana,* Gives birth to Haiku poems, Tranquil, so pared down. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-haiku/ “A haiku is a type of Japanese poem that always uses the same number of syllables in a three-line format: the first line is five syllables the second line is seven syllables the third line is five syllables..