i wore my partner’s garden faux-Crocs to work today. only partly because it is joyously hot and i’m growing weary of socks; mostly because i was half asleep when I walked out the door. still kinda sticky and buzzing from the opening night of folkfest. conscious enough, however, to remember to grab the headphones & […]
Author: Laurie MacFayden
he stopped painting after we were born
To the faithful who keep relentlessly reminding me (bless your hearts) that I haven’t been posting very much lately: I know, I know. I haven’t had a lot of time to write or paint lately. Truth is, I’ve taken a temporary full-time job to help pay some unexpected vet and plumbing bills (the cat is […]
Robert (by Milton Acorn)
I fell in love with this poem when I was 15. More than 30 years later, it’s still one of my all-time favourites. More people should know it; that’s why I’m posting it here. (Thanks, Milton) Robert (for R. Rousil) Milton Acorn We haven’t written letters not needing to remind ourselves that he’s himself there […]
cat’s diary
Humans are a foreign species. A distinctly separate, fascinating breed. They do things so differently. It’s my job to help my human get more in touch with her inner animal — but she is reluctant to learn the ways of the wild. She owns a copy of Women Who Run With the Wolves, but she’s […]
the joy of not working
i’m quickly coming up on the one-year anniversary of quitting my job in order to write and paint full-time. as expected, the bank account is not being fed nearly as frequently, but the soul is thriving. a few years ago, inspired by ernie zelinski, the edmonton-based author of the joy of not working, i composed […]
when 2 poets collide
for M & K, whose collision is still sparking up the cosmos sept. 8, 2007 when two poets collide turbulent skies rejoice stars sweeten up the cracked hallelujahs cackling black crows kick up their heels. when two poets collide there is chiming up the violets there is singing down the rain there is trilling, drumming, […]
(w)rite by the river
wimmin’s words from the SAGA sessions at wynne’s august 2006, with gratitude from this week i take rivers, mountains, loaded guns, lampshades and one dim bulb frou-frou little foreigners and wide-eyed jewish sisters seeking shelter hope and little green apples joy harjo and joan baez three matches a wedding dress from a junk store a […]
Meditations on clearing one’s mind of clutter
It’s a Zen thing. Is there anything harder than trying to think about absolutely nothing? My dog sits better than me. Some of the things I think about while waiting for a bolt of enlightenment to strike my monkey mind: Polar bears. Did I leave the stove on? My nose itches. Om. Om. OOOOmmmmmmm The […]
memory bank
overdrawn i cannot remember any of my mother’s native tongue my father’s favourite tie or my sister’s reasons for hoarding i cannot remember what i had for breakfast or anything you may have said the morning after we got married i cannot remember when i stopped playing the piano or when i started letting myself […]