A Litter Lament 

Down in the laneway,

A ruckus arose,

A cackling and cawing,

A quarrel of crows,

Pushing and pulling

With feathers a-flap

Till the tie on the bag gave way with a snap!

Then, a squawk and a squabble,

Over what they would gobble,

Or some silly bauble

That someone discarded

Its worth unregarded

They would bring to their nest,

With all of the rest

Of the treasures they dug

With each hopeful tug;

 

Litterbird, Litterbird, fly away home,

Stop spoiling my work,

Leave my garbage alone!

Every two-winged, two-legged,

Four legged critter,

It just takes one thought

To decide not to litter;

Let's stop all the squabbling

That tears us apart,

Pick up our litter,

And polish our hearts.

A Coat Of Many Colours  

               

The world's population is growing by immense proportions, and it is easy to fall into a negative frame of mind as we wonder how we can ever handle the  stewardship of this home of ours, called Earth.  We can either look at this growth  with fear, focusing on man's negative effect on the planet,  or we can look at it in hope as we recognize the unique beauty and potential in each life. 

The homeless person on the street may not live up to our perceived notion of what a contributing member of society should be; his language and appearance may offend, but as we all know, appearances can be deceiving;  We may never be able to see the many beautiful coloured threads that have come unravelled in that person's life, but the gift of a smile and a kind word may provide the first stitch that will start his or her coat to mending;

Though God's creation is vast, each of us is a priceless thread in His great tapestry, and though blue is my favourite colour, if God used only blue threads, what a boring canvass that would be.

 If we let fear of losing what we perceive to be ours by divine or earned  right take precedence, and try to block all others from our door, it is like trying to keep the sky from changing colour;  we would be the losers in the end;

Past The Blue

It's my blue sky,

So pure and blue,

There's nothing else

That shines so true,

I hope it lasts forever!

A bit of red

Is creeping in,

Changing blue

To violet  hue;

But never mind,

I like it fine,

It really looks quite clever;

Some yellow hues

Have joined the red,

And turned to

Brilliant gold instead;

I didn't think I'd like it but

It really is outstanding!

And when it touches

My blue sky,

A green so bright

Lights up the sky

And makes a scene enchanting;

That sky that I

Perceived as blue,

Was so much more

Than my small view,

Its beauty has a depth so vast,

A sea forever changing;

Every life contributes

A thread of priceless hue,

Unraveled lives we chance may meet,

Without them we are not complete;

Each time we add them to our blue,

God says, "Yes, that's brilliant!"

Lament For Friendship

Life is always both unpredictable and precious, and friendship is to be cherished.  It saddens me to see and hear the damage to the very special friendship that we have held with our neighbours to the South.  Let us pray that respect and healing will gain the upper hand.

Lament For Friendship

 What a sad thing,

When friends fall out,

And lose togetherness,

Becoming less;

When our common goals and aspirations

Become frayed - torn at the edges,

When talk is for show,

Fleeting bravado,

That weakens our bonds,

Leaves us struggling to cope,

Grasping at hope;

Why plant seeds of doubt,

What's this fear all about?

And what thanks do we send

To our struggling earth  mother,

As we feign to defend

Each from the other;

What do we gain

By inflicting pain;

In the glare of  'beware!',

How do we repair?

'Neath the weight of our words,

Our hearts long for peace,

For hurts to be healed,

For struggle to cease;

Then, let our falling out be ended,

And hands of friendship be extended;  

Around this world, our common home,

Let's build a wall of toleration,

Made up of every tribe and nation's

Hands joined together in respect and love;

That would be a wall

That we could all get behind.

A bag of Le Geyt Premium Bird Seed  -

 A banquet in my hand; Formulated by Elizabeth Le Geyt in 2012 in celebration of her 40 years of writing her bird column in the Ottawa Citizen, It was a fitting take-away gift handed out at her memorial service last week.  Elizabeth was an amazing lady, who embodied passion and wisdom in an active love for the environment.  Over her generous lifetime of 103 years, she shared these seeds eagerly, with her children and grandchildren, her  readers and fellow bird enthusiasts, and with her neighbours;

I knew Elizabeth originally as our next-door neighbour and friend on Martin Lane.  I loved her voice, her musical British accent - it brought every conversation to a more intense level of attention.  In those early years, I also learned to admire her in other ways; I recognized that her sophisticated British accent encased a brave and generous individual, a mother like my own,  and that her heart was subject to the same emotional ups and downs, as she raised her family of five boys.

Her love of nature in all its forms (except perhaps for bird-chasing cats!) was infectious, and we learned so much just being around her on walks down Kelly lane or playing about in their yard.  She was also an avid reader, encouraging us children to read as well - She generously shared her library of children's adventure books  with our family of seven children, who didn't have money for books in those days. 

Fast forward to 2014, and she and her son Michael co-authored a book themselves , "Bird Lady -  a lifelong love affair with birds".  The book title says it all - her life really was an inspiring love story, an adventure - one that she is, I'm sure, continuing to experience.   

A planter passed this way one day,

And scattered seeds about,

The birds flew in with shouts of glee,

To check the banquet out.

Some they ate, and some they dropped,

Upon the welcoming earth;

Plants grew up, their seeds  formed well,

Eager for rebirth.

Those tiny birds can tell us much;

To share,  for who knows when,

The planter will return,

To gather seeds to spread again.

The Chocolate Chips of Life

The Chocolate Chips of Life!

I'm sweeping up after everyone has gone home -  and thanking God for every crumb - crumbs of every size and flavour - they remind me that life and love has happened here.  I reflected with love on the tiny hands that had dropped those crumbs,  on the amazing gift of those lives big and small - all dropping wonderful crumbs from God's big cookie!   

 The sous chef that filled the order for those cookies did a pretty good job, I must say, paying special attention to the instruction at  the bottom of the page - to sample just a few of them to make sure they were made properly and had the correct amount of chocolate chips!  And what of the chocolate chips?  Everyone needs vitamins and nutrients in their cookies - if possible - but a treat is a treat is a treat, and is created to give us a break and a much needed happy lift.

As we sanitize and clean up our homes, our world, let us stop for a 'think moment' and acknowledge every crumb, every grain of sand or dried leaf that travelled through our door as a result of our going out and contributing to life, to every spider trying to do his or her job (and asking for no finder's fee as it collects pesky flies) - remember Charlotte's web!

What crumbs am I dropping?  Well, my recycle box is currently filled with bits of paper containing small gems of ideas that I wrote and then discarded .  As I pulled this particular crumb back out of the box, I realized that it just needed a little more mixing, and that hopefully it would fall into the hands of others who might 'need' it a bit more.   So, let's not be too hasty in throwing away our idea crumbs - you never know which one might contain the chocolate chip!

Pull On Those Boots!

Pull on Those Boots!

I ran into a lovely friend at a Café the other day who has been having serious health issues.  She told me that she has made a conscious decision to look on the bright and happy side of life - no matter what pain or disability she is suffering at any given moment,  to look around her and find beauty ;  to encounter happiness in whatever form, in her present surroundings and to do something that made her happy - right now.  She would no longer stress about the things that were out of her control, longing to be able to do larger things that were goals for a future time when her health improved, but she would build up her life from this exact moment on - in happiness.

How inspiring!   I got back home and headed out for a walk to meditate on all of the things going on in my own life, and I experienced one such moment - a child moment!   I was filled with a sense of peace and wonder as I let myself notice an intricate fallen leaf on the ground, a tiny yellow flower struggling through the long grass, a bird singing its song over the blustering of  the wind, the sound of the water lapping against the rocks and spraying the shoreline, the pair of mallard ducks bobbing over the waves, unperturbed by the frigid water temperature, and I breathed in the indescribable smells of the river - the smells of life and the scent  of memories;  so much happening around me, partners of adversity and peace moving with grace around this great dance hall, constantly learning new steps.  

 A little poem in my "How To Grow A Puddle" book popped into my head; It's a reminder of what we miss when we look too far or too high in our search for beauty and wonder on life's walk:

           Big Boot And Little Boot

            Big Boot

            And Little Boot,

            Walking hand in hand,

            Down the lane together,

            Found a wonderland!

            Every pebble

            Was a treasure,

            Every tiny flower and weed

            Was worth a closer look;

            Yes!  It’s beautiful, indeed!

            Bigger boots

            See larger

            And more complicated views,

            Than what lies beneath our noses,

            And underneath our shoes!

Just for this day, one moment at a time, I will check for the treasures under and around my 'boots',  smile often,  and count my blessings!