Showing posts with label stories around the city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stories around the city. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

false spring

 

your hands were warm,
as were your letters
against my cold touch

i did not know spring then -
nor the weight of long winter 

this i now know:
my heart leapt
at the sound of your voice,

that old memories rushed back
like gentle tides returning
to a forgotten shore,

that the air between us
still carried electricity
from long-ago words

who knows what might have been -
how a fragile bud,
a seed of a smile,
a light touch

might have opened slowly
into something larger
under the full glare
of sun, rain, and sky

my mind was timid then,
my resolve even more afraid.
when you are young,
naïve, and unsure of what might grow,
even hope can feel dangerous

so i let it pass -
that brief warmth,
that almost-season.

now i look back
on that time in my life
with fondness -

no regrets,
though a quiet garden
of what-ifs still lingers.

and if our paths cross again,
beyond a night of easy laughter
and borrowed friendship -

you know what?

the older me
is no longer afraid
to take that leap,
to startle the quiet air.

i will wait until then
for our spring to arrive -

not early,
not mistaken,

but true -

with wrinkles,
with louder laughter,
with songs
we are finally brave enough
to sing


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - False Spring.  Join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.  Thank you for the visits and comments.  Have a good day!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Bagpiper by Queen & University Streets




At corner of street, by old courthouse
he stands in his kilt, tartan pattern & knee high socks
blowing his bagpipe as crowds cross & crunch their shoes-

above smog & din of cars & traffic lights 
his face a yellowed paper, hair delicately frail,
he spins a solemn note, hailing from old country-

The rhythm is grass & rolling hills
where wind marches with trees
& sky brimming of blue spring blooms-

Here time is slow procession-
A young man backpacking with his toddler, comes close-
Another man dragging his suitcase, listens & drops

a dollar in his open black case-
Impromptu, bagpiper switches to modern pop strains
to catch more coins & tourists ambling by- 

All too soon, sun hides behind grey clouds
Everyone hurries to & fro, tick tock of subway crowd
ear-plugged, holding Starbucks coffee or free 

metro news  in their somewhere-to-go stride- 
But for the old man
piping his lungs with city dust & crumpled bills -

Two blocks across, I turn into my building
his music now rain drop, pulled under tides
bobbing half-mingled with my breath-

perhaps a sob for the land that long disappeared - 



Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Rhythm of the Road - During my lunch break yesterday, I saw this bagpipe player at the busy street corner.   He seems to be regular fixture plying the Toronto tourist-belt streets.

Photo credit:   here

Thursday, January 23, 2014

The runner


I.

Monday morning, he rises before dawn.
In faint light, he puts on his shoes & jogging outfit.  
No cellphone, no wallet, nothing to weigh
him down as he dashes out of the door into darkness.   

The early morning run is his temple.
Rain, sun, autumn or snow, it didn't matter.  
Nirvana calls.   
The wind tussles his hair to solitude. 
There's only the hiss & crunch of
his shoes hitting dirt as he picks up momentum.    

This time is his alone.
Not husband.  Not father to two girls.
Not teacher to school.  Not a sibling nor son.
Just a soul, soaring free like black birds
vanishing above trees.

II.

She wakes up to find he has not yet returned
from his morning run.   Her eyebrows furrow for a moment.
It's not like him to be late for school.  Or for any appointment.  

Same dependable man.   Same dependable teacher.
Unvarnished like silvery hair & glasses.  
Like a school clock, he is predictable for the last 20 years. 

Facing the mirror, she notices her wrinkles & grooves.
She smooths them away, like dust.  As if her hand is
a magic wand.    As if time healed
whatever was broken, lost or simply missed.  

For a split second, she sees a young girl 
hovering as blue 
butterfly
before an older woman reappears.  

She wonders what her husband saw 
this particular morning
in the silver 
reflection.


Notes:   This is based on true story of the missing 52 year old Ontario teacher who disappeared on Jan. 12, 2014 after his morning run. Until now the police don't have a clue to his disappearance as he left his wallet & clothes.   It has been suggested that "he wanted to walked away".

Posted for Poets United - Mirrors
and D'verse Poets Pub - Thanks for the visit ~ *Your critique is appreciated*

Picture credit:   here