Tag Archives: water

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Water View

waterview (personal photo)

I have been enjoying taking photos each day as I move throughout my day. Recently I visited Vancouver Island and so you will be seeing some beach photos. This photo I took looking at the water directly below me. I was searching tide pools for anemones; maybe it’s the wrong time of year…
I was surprised when I looked at the photo to see that it looked more like a picture you might see that was taken from an airplane not one of the water.

an alien
looking for sea life
finds earth’s mirror

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Fond du Lac, Saskatchewan

We paddled 175km over nine days in northern Saskatchewan, sharing food, laughter, mosquitoes, and tons of fun with friends to inspire the following poem 🙂

I wait on a beach in Northern Saskatchewan
for aurora borealis to arrive.
My friends, modern nomads, tuck in
to yellow, blue, orange and green domes.
Sandstone hills and evergreen trees rise
above marshy grass.
Beneath a still surface
river current slides north toward Arctic,
mirror images of its shoreline
reaching for heaven.
Night hawks shoot skyward
torpedo down
wings bugling a haunting tune.
Therma-rests rustle
mosquitoes attack my ears
the world settles into a bedtime routine.
I think about waking up the others
with bear bangers on the beach.

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La Spezia and Cinque Terre

La Spezia is a lovely port city we used as a base to explore the historic Cinque Terre villages. We have been experiencing temperatures in the 30’s C so we chose to visit the villages by water rather than hiking. We literally got a “taste” of each as we motored from one to the next and had a beer, then gelato, then lunch, etc. Great fun😄

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Take Time

Take time to listen
messages are there
what is it you have asked for
requested through prayer

If you don’t listen
how will you know the reply
rushing along through your days
won’t provide answers; tell you why

Rustle of leaves
breezy applause
nature acknowledging
she approves your cause

Geese honking
vee formation across sky
possibly directing
what you ought to try

Sighting playful squirrels
scampering, on the run
when was the last time
you let go, just had fun

Rippling water
continuous flow
changing patterns remind us
we too move rapidly but also need to move slow

Take time for silence
a gentle part of your day
take time to listen
answers are coming your way

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My Baba with the Babushka

My Baba with Babushka

Comforting aroma of fresh bread
beaten, kneaded, punched down
frustration of monotonous existence
Sticky dough serves as punching bag for emotions
allayer of mood

Metallic tang of well water
dipped from pail on counter
smacks of earthiness and strength
necessary to draw it forth
to sustain others
How many pails have you hauled in your lifetime?
Buckets balanced in each hand
scales of impartiality measuring judgment in your mind?
Sloshing, spilling despite effort to save each precious drop
Water for washing, drinking, cooking
lever pulled and pushed
pumped up and down
brought back and forth
dogs nip at heels
white geese with orange beaks
honk indignantly as you cross their path
oblivious to your resentment with this plodding, repetitious task

Sweat on brow
hard working hands
calloused, hardened from toil in
garden and field
yet soft and welcoming
ready to lift and embrace
a teary tot or boisterous child

Mother Goose apron
fashioned from flour and potato sacks
full of seeds
or hand picked eggs
fresh from chicken coop nest
warm to touch
fodder for family meals
base of nutrition

Surrounded by relatives
Baba quietly goes about her business
stirring pots and pans
on wood burning stove
As she listens to conversations
raucous children
scurry about like
field mice underfoot
dart here and there
rustle her skirts
swishing movement
as little hands grab food
off the table
before dashing back outside
wooden door swinging in their wake

She patches clothes
sews patterns
in a mud chinked room
lit by kerosene lamp
electricity a luxury that she did not enjoy
until late in her life;
labours long after dark
heavy breathing, soft snores of family
nocturnal accompaniments
for this tiresome composition she is
performing

Ukrainian accent held in check
broken English strange on the tip
of her Slavic tongue
hair held in check
by her dark babushka
sombre color
an echo of her
dispirited mood
stray locks of hair
attempting freedom
are pushed back
with weary hands

Her family grows
one by one leaving her behind
to pump water
and knead bread

Returning with their own families on weekends
a growing brood gathers
continue to drink metallic water
continue to eat fresh baked bread
flour dust clouds
hide
Storm gathering behind Baba’s eyes

While the world progresses around her
her environment remains bleak and unevolved
pump and hold
pump and hold
pump
and
hold

Dimly lit
slowly fading
until one day

She leaves

She walks away
Her shift is done

She enters a home
for seniors
for those unable to care for themselves
for those unwilling to care for others

Some say she snapped
call her crazy
cuckoo-nana

She grew tired
this beautiful “Aunt Jemima” Baba of mine
Tired of serving others
Tired of the well
Tired of the back and forth, up and down,
punching and kneading

It was time for her to be served
and that’s how it was
until she passed away
No more time on her primitive farm
Her sentence had been served

 

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Raindrops

raindrops

Raindrops fall gently
nourishing thirsty earth
life giving water

Swollen rivers flow
swiftly through the neighborhood
alarming the people

This precious liquid,
necessary renewal,
no longer admired

Destruction disguised
a benign interloper
warily watched

Nature’s fury shows
humans cannot outwit drops
steadily falling

Life giving water
becomes the reapers hand
exacting its due

Circle of life come
full as we watch lustrous pearls
of rain gently fall

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Earth Day

Rainbow Delight(The water rushes out of the shower head and cascades over my sleepy body. I indulge in a few more minutes of closing my eyes before I have to snap to attention and fully wake up. The coffee pot gurgles with the push of a button as water mixes with the ground beans to produce the daily stimulant. I look out the window at the river flowing swiftly through the city, reminded of how fortunate we are to have such an abundance of a resource; so easily taken for granted. My car splashes through puddles laying on the roadway and I make a mental note that I have to wash it again – more water.
Today seems appropriate that water is on my mind. Earth day. A day to celebrate the bounty of our world, to be grateful for where we live and to reflect on those who suffer drought and shortage of food. Water is available to us at the flip of a lever or tap. Others have to walk miles to wait in line for a chance to fill containers to lug back home. And the water they receive may not be clean…)

Earth day
birthday
happy celebrate your worth day

Earth, fire, water and air
we are grateful for the resources
that always seem to be there

The earth at its finest
when rich dark loam
provides a place to grow food
both far away and at home

The air we breathe
allows our bodies to function
it is so taken for granted
people feel no compunction (polluting it)

Fire is the center
the molten core
it holds earth’s secrets
which scientists and oilmen search for

And then there is water
sweet and cool
quenching, satisfying
aqua blue

Water for bathing
cooking too
it’s at our fingertips
easily available to me and you

It’s trapped in glaciers
and snow covered mountain tops
tumbling down waterfalls
skipping over rocks

Our world is beautiful
and so we must be aware
that the bounty we have
may not always be there

We have to be good stewards
we have to share
we have to handle our precious planet
with greater love and care