Ode to the country house
With its vista’s so true
The wide open spaces
Of its southwesterly view
Clean and uncluttered
Without a pretence
Holds on to its nature
Within its silence
Tracks of the wild
Tread over the grounds
Munching and stomping
With such thundering sounds
Paradise in the country
So far from the fray
A place that holds dreams
That get lived every day
Each day the sun rises
Out from the edges of the earth pushing upwards
Battles the night sky for victory
Some battles are won
Some battles are lost
But each day the sun rises again
More powerful than a night of stars
The sun pushes ever onward
For its rightful place in the sky
Seen or unseen it remains there
Gleams through pink and grey horizons
Revealing the blinding blue in all its glory
The sun retreats only for the moon
But all the moon is
Is a reflection of the sun through the darkness
Sunflower, Sunflower
Gaze up to the sky
Your face seems transfixed
By the birds as they fly
Sunflower, Sunflower
Face any day
Standing so tall
You show us the way
Though rain and snow tumble
On your petals and blooms
Keep that smile on your face
Even when darkness looms
Turn away from the blackness
But rest safe at night
Tucked away from the shadows
To await the light
The night breeze through my window
Casts me back
To that place in the Rockies
Where we stood and took in the majestic beauty
I close my eyes and am transported
To that waterfall that fell with the ferocity
Of the wild creatures that roam this land
In my mind’s eye
My hand slips into the cold waters of Lake Louise
As I canoe through my remembrance of that place
How I long to be cradled in the arms of the Rockies
Mountains towering over and beyond me
Overwhelming yet comforting and compelling
I am standing on the shores of awe
In this
The world beyond my dreams
Mom tells the stories
Of her own Mother’s unchained animal rage
Those wounds – still open
Drip the blood of fifty years of pain
I can’t imagine her dilemma
To love the woman who gave her life
Or hate the woman that stole her youth
Mom’s ranting feels more like the echoes
Inside an empty cage
Her mother can’t take back
The misery she caused
And perhaps wouldn’t if she could
But my Mom can forgive her now
Let her rage be dead
Because in the end
We are all touched by those around us
With love or hate
It’s better to forgive and move forward
Then stand still and let the animal engulf you
His spirit it now lingers
On the crisp air of this place
Like the way his ball would hang
That slight smile on his face
The green seems to have faded
Somehow lost it’s edge
The traps are that much deeper
Less useful is this wedge
I can still feel him here
This place he felt at home
His memory surrounds me
But I am teeing up alone
When I lose sight of my ball
As it climbs within the sky
I swear that I can see him
For his spirit it now flies
I don’t exist
Except in molecules and blood cells
Life saving, not life changing
I don’t exist
To be nailed to the cross you think I will carry
I don’t exist in the memory you have
When we sat together under the sink in the cupboard
Mom snapped the shot with its blinding flash
But all I saw was the glow from the light around you
I worshiped you then
Wanted to be like you and have what you have
Long after you left my Christmas presents unopened out of sight
And now
Now as you lay dying
Even though I don’t exist
I am told to stand up for you
To lay down for you
To save you and to shut up about it
We are blood
But yours is poison
I have the light now
I know that this is one gift you can’t leave unopened
Even though
I don’t exist
Up the deep, sloping driveway
To the quiet green cottage on the hill
The chopped firewood in the garage
Where the jack rabbit hides
Calls to my memory
The hands that stacked it there
Years before
The wood shop still covered
In sawdust and shavings
I can feel him here with me
Papa
This house he built
Modest and rustic – is the place of my dreams
The rain barrel leans in earnest
Looking skyward – ever hopeful
As I will when my time is over
I will gaze skyward and be transported
To this place in time
Where the gentle hands and familiar faces
Of my youth
Will greet me
And welcome me back
Who is this woman
Who gave me life
Who watched me grow
In the distant memory of my youth
Who is this woman
Who taught me strength
Who taught me courage
In the early stages of my understanding
Who is this woman
Who let me go
Who knew my heart
In a time before I knew myself
Who is this woman
Who now cowers and hides
Who is fearful
In the twilight of her years
Who is this creature
Afraid and distant
She is not the woman
I once knew
I don’t know your world
I only see its consequence
I step over the broken glass
In the bus shelter of your dissidence
Walk past the spray paint
On the walls of your boredom
Rebellion was less destructive in my youth
But maybe it wasn’t
Part of me is angered
Part of me envious
You will never get back this freedom
And you will learn as years pass
That what you destroy now
You will end up trying to rebuild later
But the damage will remain done
Long after you put the spray can down
bluefalling 