Tag Archives: poetry

What does it mean to be happy?

Reading Why be Happy? by J. Winterson

Reading Why be Happy When You Could be Normal? by J. Winterson, Toronto

What does it mean to be happy?

Is it to be content with life’s offerings,

However bittersweet?

Happiness is often equated with bliss,

I am melancholy at best

Certainly not blissful,

But I am grateful for small pleasures

And furry creatures,

I try hard despite the failures,

I smile most of the time -

It must be the quest for happiness

That counts?

The taking of opportunities

As they arise?

Saying goodbye if need be?

Believing there is such a thing as bliss?

Somewhere, out there, inside of us,

For all of us?

A final refuge for those

With the dearest of intentions

A paradise for the sweetest of fools

Snowstorm

Snow

Returning to my city in winter

Frozen over with nowhere to go

That is, if you drive, and I don’t

Walking the streets I feel safer

In the evenings when all is quiet

And I only hear your footsteps

Behind me because all is behind

Me, within the snow and ice,

A kept secret under a dark sky

Off-road

Chilliwack

Chilliwack

A strip mall in paradise

All I want to do is walk beside the mountains

I long for quiet streets, not wide open pavement

Near factory outlets and brand name bargains

An abandoned highway with trucks rushing by

Feeling safe only in the driver’s seat, behind the

Wheel, heading west, off-road, towards the river

 

Where to?

Minter Gardens

Minter Gardens

Minter Gardens

Minter Gardens

Each path in this garden will lead to the same destination

The exit – the entry point to the wonder and the splendour

And I feel as if I have chosen a route that suits me best

Although I know that time here alone is better shared than

Stolen I keep walking regardless, thinking that one day

I will reach the shores of where you are standing

Scenic

Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake

Cultus Lake

 

I have taken many photos

I have traveled many thoughts

I have smiled before the camera

The camera has smiled for me

On a number of occasions

I have blinked and missed the

Moment remembering how I felt

I felt the mystery and the shadow

I felt calm before the storm

But little did I know that I would be

Wandering in valleys over bridges

Across highways alongside lakes

And through the parkways trying

To find my way home

 

Toy spiders

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

I used to be afraid of spiders

Now I take comfort in their existence

And admire their persistence

In creating a circle of opportunities

Wherever they may be

If I close my eyes I am holding a toy camera

Everything is blue and yellow

And the spider is not hairy or brown

I am on a mountain deep within the woods

And the spider web is glistening

And the colours surrounding me are dark shades of moss green

But the spider is bright and beautiful

 

Winter

Winter

Winter

You came to me in the freezing cold

Thin and hungry, abandoned or lost

And so I named you Winter

You consoled me in my darkest

Days, through the loss of all that was

Comfortable and familiar, the kindness

In your eyes, the protectiveness of

Your bite, a friend you will always be

Thank you dear Winter, how I miss you so