Tag: NaPoWriMo

NaPoWriMo Day 3

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Reaping What We've Sown, Self Awareness, The Bill Always Comes Due, The Choices We MakeLeave a comment

Recently, I have been experiencing some health challenges which have had a major impact on my life. So, the best way to process it seemed to write it out. Tomorrow, I should be back to my more usual fare. In the meantime…  Enjoy.

I Am The Author Of My Fate

We all make plans from where we are,

To where we want to be.

But life it seems has it’s own schemes,

That we but seldom see.

For years I lived just as I pleased,

Immortal in my youth,

I smoked and drank and ate my fill,

Ignored my health in truth.

Then after twenty years or more,

There was some troubling stuff,

My breath was short, stairs more a chore,

I said that was enough.

I haven’t smoked in many years,

Nor drunk in quite a while.

I’m eating less, more exercise,

You’d think it cause to smile.

Yet still despite these changes I,

Had tightness in my chest,

Which soon enough became such pain,

I knew this was no jest.

I did the work and took the tests,

Confirmed is heart disease.

The doctor said I am quite young,

I said just fix it please.

The stents went in, the pain was gone,

My life was once more mine.

But then the strangest feeling came,

No longer was I fine.

Not pain but pressure in my chest,

No energy at all,

A racing heart for hours then,

Was like I’d hit a wall.

And then more tests to understand,

My new situation,

My heart’s defective wiring caused,

Atrial fibrillation.

So back into the shop I go,

To get the wiring fixed,

And from the start they are up front,

Long term results are mixed.

For three years all was good as gold,

My heart worked like it should,

But now it has come back again,

As they had warned it could.

Twice I have gone to get it shocked,

Restore a normal pace,

My doctor said that is not good,

These pills should slow that race.

And so they do most of the time,

Still some blips here and there,

But they will keep the worst in check,

‘Til they once more repair.

The issue is the side effects,

Of this new med I take,

For tremors, nausea, vomiting,

Are things this drug can make.

For two months now, I haven’t worked,

Just once have left my home,

I hate to throw up publicly,

Which limits where I roam.

Soon now I’ll see the doctor who,

Will sort this out again,

And finally leave these drugs behind,

I’ll get my life back then.

Cheers,

NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 2

On By WinstonIn My Art, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

People often ask me why I put so much effort into this challenge each year. It is as simple and as complex as this. I want to create something which may outlast my time in this world. None of these are great and immortal verse, yet if there is something in one of them which is recalled after the initial reading, or a drawing which crosses the viewer’s mind down the road, then I have taken a step on the road to a more lasting legacy. Today’s poem speaks to that quest for immortality through one’s body of work. Enjoy!

Why Do I Try?

I am an artist this I know,

With scars upon my soul.

Of every work that I create,

For each must take it’s toll.

Whether fine verse, image or prose,

I seek with every page,

A record of some part of me,

To last beyond my age.

I highly doubt that I shall find,

Posterity I’d claim,

For though some few enjoy my craft,

I’m far from any fame.

I can’t resist the visions, they,

Come crashing through my mind,

So once more I set pen to page,

Perhaps this time to find.

Some secret I have missed ‘til now,

With which to make my mark,

Lest I remain forever lost,

In long forgotten dark.

Cheers,

NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 1

On By WinstonIn Embrace the Wild, Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Poetry, springLeave a comment

It’s April 1st which means the kick-off of this year’s challenge. Let’s start this off right with my annual tribute to Spring. Officially one of my favourite seasons. Not least because it’s not Winter anymore. Enjoy!

SPRING

The rain that falls,

The wind that blows,

The Spring sun dawns,

An end to snows.

Now new buds swell,

And leaves unfurl,

Safe in their dens,

Spring babies curl.

Thawing gardens,

Now wake and bloom,

And flowers bright,

Break winter’s gloom.

Come celebrate,

The season’s light,

And revel in,

Spring’s warm sunlight.

Cheers,

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 30

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, The Power of WordsLeave a comment

Part of my job is peer mentoring and a big part of that is helping to resolve interpersonal issues amongst my co-workers. I often use some of the principles of mindfulness to provide tools to aid this process. One of the main ones, is to not live in past issues or project future ones, but to deal with the moment we are in.

This is the focus of the penultimate verse for this year. Enjoy!

Don’t Fear What’s Not There

The past is gone do not live there,

The future not yet here.

Remove what was and what may be.

And so reduce your fear.

What we most fear is in our heads,

Not in front of us now.

Our future guess based on our past,

Is what we dread somehow.

We cannot hear a calming voice,

So sure it’s just a ploy.

Imagination robs us of,

Our very real joys.

Yet still our brains won’t let us be,

See dangers everywhere.

The “What ifs” start they never stop,

Are more than we can bear.

But if we stop and realize,

What we fear may not be.

From our eyes we can lift the haze,

The truth more clearly see.

The past is gone, why let it run,

The future you create.

By making choices for you now,

Stop ere it is too late.

The future is not carved in stone.

Why fear what is not there?

This does not mean you should not plan,

That you should not take care.

But do not base that plan on fear,

But common sense instead.

By starting in the here and now,

You see farther ahead.

So be here now and find your peace,

Within the now we share.

And from this moment you can find,

Such joy if you just dare.

The future is not carved in stone,

The past no longer here.

And we can find our peace right now,

Choose to live without fear.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 29

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, homelessness, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Society, Values, VolunteeringLeave a comment

I have a friend named Gene who has been working for years to make the world a better place. Slowly, steadily and most importantly, deliberately. He has worked for youth employment programs, outreach programs, community health networks, school breakfast programs, non-profit housing… the list goes on. All of it with the intent to make life better for other people. He is one of my heroes, and this poem is for him.

A Better World

How many lives do we each touch,

As through this life we pass?

Perhaps a bit more focus there,

Than on things we amass.

It’s what we’ve done as we pass through,

That says just who we are.

The choice we make to harm or help,

Dark cloud or shining star.

All ethics and morality,

Are just a guide it’s true.

What matters is what’s in your heart,

Intent must come from you.

Now do you seek to lift someone,

Or only cause them pain?

If you would seek the former great,

If not please think again.

For in the end the life you’ve lived,

Is judged by those you touch.

So hold your anger, spread your love,

Your kindness does so much.

Not one of us can change the world,

There’s none of us that strong.

But every kindness great or small,

Still counteracts some wrong.

If each of us but try to make,

Things better for someone.

The world will change for that is how,

The greatest works are done.

Not one of us but all of us,

Have strength to shift the stars

If we all try a kinder path,

Might shift this world of ours.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 28

On By WinstonIn Humor, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, writer`s blockLeave a comment

Three days to go and the creative juices are drying up. Still, I’ve managed to bang out another one. Only two more to go!

A Missing Muse

The voice inside my head cries out,

“Oh no! This cannot be!”

“The words, the lines, those precious rhymes,

Have all forsaken me.”

Yet here I sit and still I type,

Pull words it seems from air.

For in my head is naught but void,

No muse yet lingers there.

From overwork my muse has fled,

To seek less stressful lands.

For someone whom, though they create,

Still time off understands.

For even on the days I miss,

My muse I still pursue.

For then there is the catching up,

And then next verse is due.

Now though that muse has sought surcease,

From labour in my cause.

The fact is I’ve three more to write,

Too late a day to pause.

So here I sit and still I type,

These words upon the screen,

And wonder if that muse who fled,

Will ever more be seen.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 26

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, spring2 Comments

Okay, okay…. I know it’s “another” Spring poem. The season inspires me like no other. It truly is my favourite. So yes… I do tend to write about it a bit too often. Then again, these are my poems, so I guess that’s okay. Enjoy!

Spring 3.0

Now spring is here, the crocus blooms,

Promise a brighter day.

And herald all the flowers that,

Will fill the month of May.

The green buds swell upon the trees,

While grass begins to grow.

The complex dance of life speeds up,

Where winter forced it slow.

The air is filled with joyful songs,

Of birds but fresh returned.

While all the creatures now embrace,

The sun for which they’ve yearned.

It’s true the sky is overcast,

And there’s a chance of rain.

But maybe what’s no joy to us,

Renews the land again.

They say that April rains will bring,

May flowers that we love.

So try to see each shower as,

A gift from up above.

Now as you watch all nature wake,

Let that renew you too.

And bring that joyous energy,

To everything you do.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 27

On By WinstonIn Environment, Global Issues, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Poetry, Society, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Today is the 27th of May here in Ottawa and it is snowing steadily and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. This is more than a little unusual. A few flakes, a mini flurry sure. Not uncommon you say. But this isn’t that. This is uncommon for this time of year. It gave rise to today’s poem.

Look What We’ve Done

Though it is spring and crocus bloom,

The snow comes falling down.

To blanket once more all in white,

And in it’s stillness drown.

I will not rant, the weather curse,

For nature’s not to blame.

This one’s on us, the life we choose,

Yes humans are to blame.

We have been told, for years and years,

What we are headed for.

We’ve seen the signs, they’re everywhere,

But chosen to ignore.

But now the snow, and not a bit,

Enough to make a point.

That we have buggered up the world,

Put nature out of joint.

But we don’t want to see that truth,

So some excuse will make.

The climate is a complex thing,

And “facts” easy to fake.

And all the while, the snow comes down,

Soon summer fires burn.

While we go on the way we have,

And greenhouse gases churn.

So weep not for the crocus now,

Blooms lost beneath the snow.

Weep for the children yet to come,

And all they will not know.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 25

On By WinstonIn A Father's Wish, family, Love, my blessed life, my daughter, NaPoWriMo, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

I’ve written poems about my wife, and about my dogs, but I don’t think I’ve ever written one about my daughter. This one is for her.

A Father’s Wish

I wish you joy to temper pain,

Some sun your clouds to chase.

I wish you love to lift you up,

To gently touch your face.

I wish you peace when weariness,

Tells you you can’t go on.

I wish you friends to carry you,

When all your strength is gone.

I wish you luck for everyone,

I know needs luck at times.

I wish you hope to not give up,

In spite of all life’s crimes.

But most of all I wish you sight,

To see the one I see.

And courage that you may become,

Who’ere you’re meant to be.

I pray that every wish you wish,

Is someday coming true.

Because your joy is my one wish,

My daughter I love you.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 24

On By WinstonIn go down to the sea, homesickness, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Poetry, the OceanLeave a comment

I absolutely love being near the ocean. I live in Canada and have travelled coast to coast. I’ve visited both the Pacific and Atlantic and I miss them dearly. This poem is partly about that partly about being uprooted from everything you know to follow a job far from your home.

Enjoy.

Far From Home

Down to the sea when I’m empty,

And feel it fill my soul.

Go to the sea when I’m broken,

Let salt air make me whole.

Hear the lullaby of the waves,

As they crash on the shore.

I long to go down to the sea,

To hear it’s song once more.

But I’m so far from the sea now,

Been so, so many years.

Could’ve made a brand new sea now,

Just from my homesick tears.

One day I’ll go down to the sea,

Back to where I belong.

Where the wind and waves still sing,

I’ll sleep wrapped in her song.

One day I’ll go down to the sea,

The gulls will scream their joy.

The whales will leap from the water,

To welcome their lost boy.

Ah to go back down to the sea,

Is the only dream I know.

But my job is in this city,

Still years ‘ere I can go.

One day I’ll go back to the ocean,

Go back down to the sea.

I’ll go back to the sea I love,

To where I’m meant to be.

The sea will roar on the shingle,

The fish will jump for joy.

The wind will whip o’er the wavetops,

To welcome their lost boy.

They’ll lay me near that sea I love,

The surf my lullaby.

And we will spend eternity,

The sea I love and I.

Cheers, Winston.