Sharing a Thought

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I shared this on my Facebook page, but thought it might also be of interest to you, my readers here on my blog…

Facebook asks what’s on my mind – here goes… I am so tired of labels. When did it become necessary to label ourselves and others based on age, sexual orientation, and even diet! All these things, and more, each make up only one aspect of who we are. Why would we want to pigeonhole ourselves as just one aspect? We are all so much more.

I have always believed that when you generalize, you’re generally wrong. I know young people who are wise and wonderful, and I know ‘Boomers’ who are immature and childish. The real danger is in seeing the label, not the human being. It’s easier to condemn, chide, discriminate against, or ridicule a ‘group’ than an individual.

Labeling people is not only rude, inaccurate, and disrespectful, it is dangerous. It invites us to become callous, to brush people aside before we even get to know them and that deprives us of many joyous opportunities to become acquainted with so many interesting, wise, funny, delightful souls.

Please don’t label me and I promise I won’t label you.

Linda Studley

Changes

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Change is inevitable.
But perhaps a shift in expectations
may allow me a little control over that change.

Control is an illusion.
But perhaps a shift in perception
may allow me to see past that illusion.

Perception is subjective.
But perhaps that bias
may allow me to see what I really need

to face the changes.

Tremble

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Gazing through a ring

of aspen at cloud barges

sailing on a periwinkle sea.

Trembling branches reach out,

swaying, saying ‘hello’

or ‘goodbye’.

And I wonder.

Are the clouds sailing past us?

Or are we sailing past them?

I only know that I will never fear

to tremble again.

For after the trembling, and the

reaching out,

perspectives change.

Mother’s Day 2024

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I am a mother, a grandmother, and a great grandmother. But on Mother’s Day this year I think back to my own mother. A child of the twenties (great depression), a young girl through the thirties (dirty thirties), and a young woman during the forties ( World War 2 – the battle of Britain), she did not have everything handed to her on a silver platter. She was brave, smart, resourceful, and had a strong, and sometimes quirky, sense of humour. Adventurous, she left England as a War Bride to follow her Canadian husband to a whole new world.

She was loving and instilled a strong sense of right and wrong in her children. She also sang with them and laughed with them and made them feel treasured.

I was one of the lucky ones. Although my family in Canada was small, it was incredibly loving and close. My grandmother lived with us until she passed away when I was about 14. Although sterner, there was never any doubt that she adored her grandchildren without reservation. And she made the best chocolate cake ever.

Once, as a young teen, I remember some friends talking about going away to summer camp and I asked my mum and dad why I never went to summer camp.  They seemed a bit mystified by my question and then Mum said “Why would we send you away? We want to spend the summer with you.”  And we did, camping, gardening, swimming, fishing, eating chocolate cake.

I am sorry for people who did not have a childhood like mine. I wish they could have had more love and kindness in their formative years. If I could I’d share my good familial fortune with them all. But all I can do is try to pass on the kindness, compassion, and strength of my mother’s example.

Happy Mother’s Day. If you don’t have one, you can share mine. She would have been 100 this year.

I Had a Dream About Raspberries

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Plump, garnet clusters peeping slyly

from beneath crisp, crenulated leaves.

Not the leaf green of spring aspens

or the soft green of hidden moss.

Raspberry leaves are a rich, dark green

with pale burgundy underbellies.

A perfect foil for the tempting fruit

bobbing seductively in the summer breeze.

Who needs apples when there are raspberries.

Next Book One Step Closer!

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Just finished the design of the book cover – I’ll share a sneak peek with you here! My second book of poetry is titled ”Sweet Clover Year and other poems”. The book is complete and just needs a last edit and proof before it goes into print. 

When I Think of Scotland

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When I think of Scotland
I feel like a cut flower out of water,
a bird sighing for the egg,
a fish searching for that special inlet.

When I think of Scotland
There’s a fierceness in my heart
that longs to speak a language I don’t understand.
There’s a prickling in my finger tips
to touch the stones of crumbling castles.
There’s a thrilling in my soul
In a memory of pipes echoing through mist.

When I think of Scotland
There’s a sadness and a joy and a longing
To live my life in two places at once.

Retrospective

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What is it you treasure?
You’ll know when it’s gone.
To see leaves on trees,
to hear the oriole’s song.

To sit on the ground
with nary a thought
of how you’ll get up again
or not…

To feel the strength
within your fingers
as you press the strings
and the music lingers.

And why do so many
things fall to the ground
and I make that noise
when I bend down.

And I thank all Gods
that I took the time
to do things I loved
when in my prime.

For even if I can’t
do them now
I can look back
and remember how

I made music with friends
I danced and wrote songs,
I painted, not caring if
I did it wrong.

What is it you treasure?
Enjoy it today.
Make memories now.
Don’t wait, no, don’t wait.

Flat Glass

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Computer screen
Windshield
Camera lens
Glasses
Mirrors.
The world comes to me through
a pane of flat glass.

If what I see through my television screen
isn’t real,
is anything?
I will take off my glasses and walk outside  
and look.
That will be real.
Fuzzy,
but real.