wet secrets

a hidden stream is wrested

from the verdant vegetation

and tumbles noisily down

a set of cool stone steps,

giving voice to the secrets

of its endless, cyclic travels.

secrets of strange lands

and thunderstorms and seas.

secrets–now borne on

the whispering wind.

–photo by aaron

born-again bass

to people, the spring

is a rebirth of life,

but to bass in the lake,

it’s a rebirth of light.

for many long months,

they lie caught in the grip

of the cold and the dark,

and with no fellowship.

what a glorious day,

when the sunlight pours in,

and at last, all the bass

are absolved of their sin.

–photo by me

Midlife Crisis

My son Aaron and I took a walk through the lowlands at the foot of the Laurentian Divide yesterday. We chatted about his upcoming trip to Vietnam. At 45, he’s decided to take a month off from his job and visit a girlfriend who teaches English in Ho Chi Minh City, instead of buying a motorcycle like I did when I was going through my midlife crisis.

Some fathers might discourage such a thing, but I say go for it! Soon you’ll be too old to gallivant around the globe, and all you’ll have is memories, so make them worthwhile.

be like the mountain–

keep your feet on the ground

but reach for the sky

–Photo by me

sasha

taking in an old dog, whose owner had died,

i was told that he rarely took her outside,

so i tore off her collar and threw it away,

and we went on adventures day after day.

and though she was here for only two years,

i think of her now and it brings me to tears,

but deep in my heart, i am forever glad

that i gave her the best years she’d ever had.

–image by ai

sunday thoughts

it was on an old mine dump like this one

that a relative of mine lost his life

it was the first funeral i’d been to

and i sat with his kids and his wife

to a young child, it seemed so surreal

and i would take some time to mend

but now death comes calling so often

it feels like he’s an old friend

–photo by me