A Shade of Ash # 42 – The Silence Was Strengthening

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A rocking chair and the gap between your stories. I hung in that quiet and on your every last word. Your voice for my heart, your silence for my soul. Then, it was time for tea…

Post of Christmas Past # 12 – The Elf All About Himself (For the kids)

Once upon a time,
there was an angry little elf.
Who thought of absolutely no one,

but of only himself.

He’s always so mad,
which made the other elves very sad,
with his complaints that work, work, work,

was all they ever had.

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Story Jots # 14 (a) – This Droid Heart

Whoosh…
A door slides open from left to right. A young woman scurries across a bedroom as quick as she can coming to a stop at the room window. As soon as she reached the view which was into outer space, a transport pod shot away from the lower deck of the same space station she stood on the third level of. Every few seconds she waved both her hands vigorously hoping someone she missed already would see her farewell before the pod shuttle burned itself into Earth’s atmosphere becoming no longer visible. As soon as it did, her smile was gone. She felt a rush of sadness fall over her. It lasted but a few seconds until she remembered the promise she had been left with which made her smile come back.

Continue reading “Story Jots # 14 (a) – This Droid Heart”

A Shade of Ash # 41 – On-Line Therapy

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have a saying, “Some day on clothes.” It’s a way to describe the weather. A fine day to pin some clothes on the line to dry. It can also be a way to describe how you’re feeling, as explained by the nice man in the video I’ve left for you below. By the way, that YouTube channel has a lot of our culture, history, and gorgeous scenery if you’re interested. Yes, the people of my beautiful island have always emoted using cultural phrases which are associated with everyday experience. When we have a feeling to share, there’s usually a Newfoundland and Labrador way of saying it.

Continue reading “A Shade of Ash # 41 – On-Line Therapy”

A Shade of Ash # 39 – A Dory of Our Life

Which dory are you taking?

That one over there. It brings me back to see my Pop. We beachcomb for hours and he teaches me how to tie knots. I watch him gut fish and blow snot from his nose in the cold months. I hear him saw wood for the stove that my nan helps me pick up, and stack high against the fence. I watch him as he goes crazy when wrestling comes on. I love every minute of every match.

Continue reading “A Shade of Ash # 39 – A Dory of Our Life”

My May-Day

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this is a dream 
I can’t be awake in this world 
because you are not in it 
I’ve searched everywhere but you’re gone 
today though, the dream changes
I get to release a jar of hope 
to make your voice the loudest 
make your face come back to me oh so vividly 
like the first day we met 
that happy May
lately, this dream gets so close to a nightmare 
because it has started to fade everything 
and my jar of hope is almost empty
not enough to awaken me
to see you in reality smothers me 
I gasp toward that life 
choking to reach the other side 
someone, please shake me 
tell me it’s over 
give me back my biggest loss 
hear my may-day

Here Lies

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I called for you last night

it wasn’t for any of those other reasons we have

this time it was to tell you I was hurting

hurting still… only differently

differently, that poetry won’t mend

differently, that thoughts of you won’t pacify

differently, that distraction from you won’t make me forget

no, this time so different that even a superhero’s cape couldn’t save me

as I sit on the other side of a mountain of hope

I always thought you would answer my cry when it felt real to you

to whatever real means to you

I have done nothing over these years but climb that hope

over and over

thinking one day I would resurrect that real and make it come alive again

to finally know that you feel something for me

maybe that’s all my own dreams

and we know dreams are not real

one day dust will sweep over my body where it lay

marked for the rest of the world

with a sentence that I still continue to call out your name

from beneath my mountain of hope

that fell and crumbled the same day as I did

…your father

Blueberry Hill

when the blueberries come back…so do you 
we’re together again
scraping and scrounging along the hillside 
every three paces we fill our cups 
 
the colour blue today is for happiness 
its sweet taste…a reminder of your touch 
as I hold a few on the day they first appear 

the air is the same chill
trees with the same tinge of change
cloud shadows still pass over me like they did
I see them at my feet

I am seven again
catching up with your pace
as my bucket spills over
on blueberry hill









A Shade of Ash # 21 – Heart to Heart

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I mentioned my daughter today as I always do in conversation. Oddly enough, to someone the same age as her. The response, “If she is anything like you, Ash, I’m sure she is just as awesome.” My heart sank. Why does the rest of the world see what she cannot? Why do I try to convince myself that what they say is not true because it is not told to me by her? Why do I feel broken and all she did was just sweep away the pieces? Questions I ask all the time because I hurt all the time. Something must be wrong with me. 
 
But then someone comes along and suddenly, my reflection in the mirror changes. The questions disappear as I find another piece of me that was thrown away. Returned by a friendly face reminding me how my big my heart actually is.

A Shade of Ash # 20 – Dear Mary

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Take my strength, share my soul, and have all of my heart. – Ash