Family caregivers: A cry for help The Canadian government is being petitioned to provide support for family caregivers, for the reasons and according to the terms and conditions outlined below. Being a family caregiver can be a 24/7 job. The task is daunting, sometimes undoable. In addition to providing benefits and compensation, governments..
Attending a Séance, London, Ontario, January 1969 When I was 16 years old in Grade 12 at Oakridge High School in London, Ontario, I first experienced puppy love, with all the attendant tail-wagging and barking. The year was 1969. The object of my baying and howling was a Grade 11 student named Cathy Reed, who..
Nightmare of Letting Go (In response to the Mary Oliver quote below) Shadows will linger where your laughter used to thrive, Night’s edges have begun to sharpen with the ache of impending absence. I will reach for you and grasp only emptiness; Our space, so much colder, will have betrayed my trembling hope. Memories will..
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..
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..
Laughing Through the Shadows Morning breaks, gentle, uncertain, and I reach for laughter—old jokes, tacky songs, borrowed lines, anything to bring the light back to your eyes. Your smile, the way it sparks even now, is worth every battle, every stumble. Coffee spills across the counter, we shimmy in the kitchen, I deliberately croon..
My Cup Runneth Over: A Home Care Vignette* A sticky moment of sadness, laughter, and vitamin E oil It began with hope and a small bottle of vitamin E oil, clutched in the determined hands of our personal support worker. Her voice was resolute as she brashly explained her plan for Anne’s hair, which had..
Echoes of Yesterday: A Poignant Reunion with an Old Friend* We sat in the silver hush of late morning, old friend’s hands circling ours with steady warmth. His words were gentle—knitting silence to sorrow, eyes meeting Anne’s with the hush of knowing. We spoke of small kindnesses, old laughter, winter’s return. He held hope..
Every Outing is a Date A Wry Vignette About Anne and Me In high school, I was the ugly duckling. I was the only kid who managed to look both invisible and conspicuous at the same time, sporting a truly unfortunate haircut and acne that seemed to have a personal vendetta against me. Dates, for..
Palliative Care Hair A free verse poem celebrating Anne’s first visit to the hairdresser since the onset of her disease Today, Anne’s scalp blooms again— silver tufts bristle through the thaw of winter, as if the dawn has stroked the frost from barren fields. The salon chair rises to cradle her— throne of gentle..