There is a picture frame

Hanging on the wall

And it’s empty

There’s nothing in it

So it can be potential

Or it can be loss

It depends on the one looking

Or maybe the day

Or maybe the hour

Perhaps it’s even a choice

Maybe we see what we want to see

Maybe the frame is art enough

All on its own

Eyes are wide open

Staring into the darkness

Lost in a black sea

Look,

I open my eyes to see

And the world exists

Because of me

I stand

In the open air

And exhale to become

Part of the world we share

I’m having coffee

Sitting in my Leafs jersey

At the back of the restaurant;

They haven’t won a cup

In my lifetime – I’m 57.

There’s something about faith

When it continues so stubborn

That it looks like insanity

That people come to admire

A fellow fan congratulated me

For flying the colours

This is where we’re at

I don’t know if we’ll ever win again…

But maybe… maybe this is our year.

I like to drive

The long grey ribbon road

Like a giant snake

Across whose back

I make my way

Watching the prairie

Flash past in bronze

And sunrise orange

To Winnipeg

The ancient gathering place

And back again

As the day winds down

To Morden

Pinancewaywining

The place along the way

That holds my heart

Far from the haunted deadlands

Where I was born

And the wind carries my breath

Away and around the world

Once we rented a cabin

Next to the shores of Lake Winnipeg

And it was beautifully appointed

Set in the woods with firepit

With a hot tub on the deck

Who could ask for more

But all we were thinking of

Was our little stone house

Away and away in our town

Sure we had fun,  the cottage was great

But it wasn’t ours

That place we transformed together

It kept calling to us

Like a prairie siren made from rock

The bones of the earth that sheltered us

There was nothing like coming home.

sometimes i would stand in one place
and spin and spin and spin and spin
just so i could become dizzy and fall down
filling the air with golden notes of laughter;
these were the heaviest of responsibilities
when you are an untouched five year old,
i could stretch out upon the welcoming earth
and watch the sky continue to turn overhead
like i had the power to move the universe;
and even now i could still do these things

but i don’t

the world is not so light anymore
that i could take it in both hands
to move it magically at will
and i fear
that if i end up on the ground now
i might never rise again

There is a joy in the morning

That rises as mist in the summer

Over the newly green fields

It is the light slanting across the sky

So strong as if one could climb it

And escape to the boundless

We inhale to take in the day

And set our sights on some new peak

Quiet is the best way forward

Make no noise in the forest

It is easier to hide in silence

When you cannot be seen

When you cannot be heard

The shadows become your friend

Where you can do

Whatever you want

With the confidence that comes

With invisibility

With anonymity

And when the hunter comes calling

Simply say all is well, all is well

She called me heinz today

Because, you know, 57

And it’s the kind of thing

That means more than it should;

I have attachment issues

But I’m grateful for her jokes

Her terrible dad jokes

They really are the best

Especially today