From the journal… In the Public Gardens on a bench by the dahlias. Lunch is wrapped in a cloth napkin in my bag, tucked in among crosswords, a novel, and assorted writing implements. This journal was in there, but is now flopped open on my thigh. Somewhere I am remembering that the column width of…
Tag: gratitude
The There and The Then and the What Will Be… a Poem
The There and the Then and the What Will Be There were things that I could have donebefore leaving:The sink which hadn’t seemedall that bad; the community of goodsgathered in the fridgewho since my goingand returning once again,have overstayed their welcome;desktop mountain rangeswith would-be landslidesarranged to topplewith the slightest addition.However, standing as I amin a…
Who Do you Say…
I have answered this question many times in my life…Who do you say that I am? And while there are a few elements in common over the years, I am equally grateful to know that there is no limit…that there remains the impossibility of containing; that more remains than I can possibly hope for or…
A Flat White and a Poem, Please
For No 9 Coffee Bar…And Those on the Stools I made the discoverythat there were stools rightthere, tucked into the side,right behind the espresso machine.Out of the way and somehowdeep in the heart of it all.Gritty and full of inner machinationsand steady service. My own heart, too, is like that.A few stools for thosegathered close—a…
Progressive Events
While I have never participated in such a thing, I understand the idea of progressive meals among a group of friends…one house for appetizers, one for the main meal, one for dessert, another for coffee, etc. It’s cumulative in many ways… The meal, for sure, and also the experiences, the number of people, the laughter,…
It’s all Here (From the Journal…)
Was just speaking with someone yesterday about how I don’t necessarily need to go anywhere to have ‘adventure’ present itself. Opening the door is sometimes all the invitation necessary. It also does depend on how you interpret ‘adventure,’ I suppose. For me, I guess I’d say it has something to do with wonder, curiosity, story,…
Until Quiet: A Poem
Until Quiet With you at the tip of my pen, I wroteuntil words found their branches, tucked infeathers, and nesting lightly, breathed inthe incense of lilac and pine,rose, earth, and cedar; until stillness,revealing its canopy, drew me intoall of its dimensions, offered meits hand to enter the depths of its colour-stained span of mystery; until…
Wednesday Peace
Ms. Tippett: In 2006, I sat across from [Elie Wiesel] in a hotel room that my producers had turned into a makeshift studio and I asked him to tell me what happened after he lost his faith forever, as he wrote, at Auschwitz. He answered: “What happened afterwards is in the book. I went on praying.” Ms….
On Prayer
Homily @Saint Andrew’s 18 February, 2024 OPEN: I had a recent conversation with a friend who was going to attend a conference on Artificial Intelligence. She had been asked to open the conference with a prayer and decided she’d ask ChatGPT to write it. I was so curious about the result! I asked her to…
On One of Fifty-Four Thanksgivings: a Poem
I had occasion recently to reflect on a list of 54 Thanksgivings that I had written as a way to honour my birthday. Items from the full spread of decades made the list…Things that were good from the get-go (Being taught common-sense and trusted to exercise it)…and things now seen in retrospect (Learning, growth, and strength…
Consider the Lilies 