Round The Stage

blonde curls in a tutu fly

round the stage as years flit by

dancing bunnies hop in tow

parents cheer and laud the show

summer days in the cottage sun

splashing kids having fun

jump rock leaps and pedal boat rides

roasting mallows under starry nights

intrepid skiers practice turns

with rosy cheeks from frostbite’s burn

the brother always takes the jumps

while the sister tries to stay off her rump

bundle them up for the big ski-doo

and to build a giant snowman too

or skating round the hockey rink

back in for cocoa with noses pink

school nights are for getting studies done

homework help from a teacher mum

dad will drive you to the game

get iced cream then back home again

years flit by kids grow up fast

but treasured times will forever last

family never goes away

but in collective memory stays

~e

Fifty Bells In Lac-Megantic

fifty bells in lac-megantic

one for every person lost

a rail disaster so tragic

toll out the names and the cost

seventy-two tankers wait

above the sleepy québec town

no crew aboard to watch the freight

silent wheels start rolling down

the darkened train speeds downhill

tankers filled with light crude oil

it runs off the rails at rue laval

fireballs rise and smoking, roil

lac-megantic is afire

a wall of flame roars through town

claiming lives in the growing pyre

’til the musi-café crumbles down

local people flee in terror

train cars strewn about like toys

the sleeping engineer in error

the heat the flames the smoke the noise

in the aftermath a province grieves

so many young among the dead

the railway defers; survivors seethe

oil pollutes the watershed

lac-megantic used to be

a scenic summer tourist town

before the tanker train rolled free

and fifty mournful bells tolled out

~e

In Springtime Days

thirty years of friendship born

in springtime days of yestermorn

sustained beyond the school bell's chime

when 'fore us spread a wealth of time

next steps were taken in halting form

from school to work our days transformed

your studies kept you fully engaged

i started work at minimum wage

life seemed new–some freedom won

and i recall some days of fun

trips with friends to a glassy lake

boogie board risking transom's wake

but time is always marching on

toward an ever breaking dawn

we laboured for our daily bread

our eyes ne'er turned but stared ahead

raging storms left mournful grief

loved ones lost in a time too brief

and families turned upside down

marked youth's end and fixed a frown

along the way we sought to capture

via shutter speed and small aperture

nature–focused into pixels sharp

and friendship into finest art

no truer friend have i met

in my travels and circles yet

faithfully disposed and loyal who

shares both laughter and pensive too

so keep this note for years to come

lest one of us grows increasingly dumb

or memory fades into murky mist

when we’ll need this laundry list

thirty years later and here we are

friends who’ve known life’s boons and scars

here’s a toast to thirty more

when we’ll forget what’s gone before!

~e

Vivid Threads of Memory

paved hills in golden twilight

sky brushed with sanguine clouds

a mother with her girl and boy

stroll through their little town

pausing for polite hellos

and neighbourly goodbyes

past the local playground

and its vacant spinning rides

at the cenotaph’s graven names

where the setting sunlight dies

rounding on the railway

in the vast falling night

a sudden train shoots past

the dark, lanced by headlight

bleeds like red wine splashed

vivid threads of memory

from childhood long outgrown

time’s slow balm for grieving

the only parent i’ve ever known

ten years on is left a shadow

where once was bright affinity

a life reduced to hallows

that bring flowers she esteemed

~e

In Dappled Sun

i laid down my head

in the hollow of your belly

to listen for the ocean

you stretched out your arms

like a cat in dappled sun

my breath stirred

pale hairs in your skin

my lips

followed you down

you shuddered

and drew breath

feet clenching

you whispered my name

and we were lost

in a moment

~e

My Reverie

Wondrous threads of memory

A visage caught in tender gaze

Her lovely face–my reverie

More beauteous with the passing days

Ah such days we stole but time’s the thief

He gives in turn and turning takes away

So granting us a love too brief

We loved and our loving he betrayed!

By means of loving we were made more whole

Each one fully present in the pairing

The poignant ache of parting took its toll

And in the end we were left despairing

But in fullness time mends broken hearts

Memory keeps the best; the rest departs

~e

Shakespearean Sonnet