A Shade of Ash # 47 – As I Drift Ashore

Photo by Ash

Realizing age adds character has proven to be quite a grounding experience. – Ash






Calm – Haiku

Photo by Ash

the shore is sleeping 
as the blanket dark tucks in  
night sound til morning 
 

A Shade of Ash # 46 – The Longest Yarn

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I only have a portion of your whole life. But because I gorged, it is enough to sustain me for the remainder of my own. Your stories like ripened fruit that were picked just for me. In the garden, we grew together. They remain sweet to this very day. You taught me there’s no spoil in a deep-rooted yarn. A good yield will last forever when you remember where they’re planted. – Ash






Doorway to a Rainy Day

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a chair with no back 
black and white paint flicks all over it 
it’s pulled to the threshold of a spring rain 
where I was perched
at that tiny door under the house 
I am mesmerized  
I am tranquil 
I am frozen 
in awe 
in comfort 
in curiosity  
as the small rain rivers push down our little lane
carving its fight 
water from the sky stretching and stretching for something bigger 
to the ocean that’s only a small way from our hamlet home perhaps
there’s a seagull struggling in the wind, I hope he makes it 
I think about birds for a moment and gales
until buoys pull me away out there drowning over and over in the storm swells
boats rocked in all the wrong directions
kelp flaps clinging to moorings who never wanted them in the first place 
then I catch a race 
a bottle cap leads a fallen leaf 
both carried along the curbside down the road  
passing gravel traps and grass hazards 
the cheers in my head grow loud as rain poured like applause 
thunder even showed and lighting had to come too 
to see this race and how small it was 
a spectacle on a grand scale to me
the only fan of something worth an encore  
it was then the rain stopped as the bottle cap did  
by the fallen leaf 
both stalled by the grate covered in debris 
drifting and dancing together like memories do
 
 
 
 

A Shade of Ash # 45 – Jogging My Memories

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Running helps me store memories from what I can recall. – Ash






Second Thoughts # 15 – ISBN Thinking About This Memory

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Caught the bus for my afternoon classes only to have them cancelled. What now? Oh, I know. Off to the university library I go. Where I spent almost all of my free time while on campus. It was a five-minute walk from my political science class and I used every second of it to get there. Soaking up the semester sun and atmosphere of an ordinary Wednesday late 1990’s.

Continue reading “Second Thoughts # 15 – ISBN Thinking About This Memory”

Die Trying – Haiku

the day I accept
that your heart forgot my love
is the day mine stops

A Shade of Ash # 44 – One of the Best Chapters Bar None

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Play before reading but on low to not distract you. 🙂

A chronic smoker, that white-haired man who never stopped talking, and the backwash guy. Three reg barflies and a keep. Lies told, secrets shared, and all I heard was “Ah, one more for the road”. Swiftly, I would grab a frosty beer glass from a humming cooler, then reach for the silver tap. Froth to pour, the perfect head, and ding went the register. Sale…total….enter…$2.25.

Continue reading “A Shade of Ash # 44 – One of the Best Chapters Bar None”

Second Thoughts # 14 – My Memory is a Playground

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Hanging out on a merry-go-round in the heart of a summer was very teenage…

A Shade of Ash # 43 – Talk To You Tomorrow

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I remember those Saturday nights we’d walk home together. In the lull of a quiet harbour. Watch a boat go out or watch the one cab we had drive down the south side. Laughing, carrying on with each other, and three sheets to the wind. Sometimes we would talk the ears off each other, other times you were too contrary. But, I would always make you laugh until you were over it.

Our strolls home from a party, a wedding dance, or the club were where our friendship grew the most. How comforting it was to have you as my best friend. You’ll always be my best friend, but I miss you and being alone under a streetlight at night still makes me mad…

…talk to you tomorrow.