Pale skies are bluer now
Shades of spring setting in
But where is the green

You and me at Costco
Costo card saves money
We buy twice as much.

Winds of March blow cold
Weatherman’s predicting snow
Bring on April!

Cat looks out the window
Snowflakes coming down
Be fun to catch them!

Broaden our horizons
Book flights, a car, room, tours
Too tired to travel.

Beyond the crusted snow,
Dead grass and stained walls,
Two yellow dandelions.

Four yellow tulips
Dancing in a teapot
Remind me of Spring

Prayers uttered in
Any language, divine
Communication.

Angel food cake has
Hole in the middle and
White swirl frosting.

Insomniacs unite!
Best to not sleep than miss the
Morning sky at dawn.

A raven swoops down
Lands on sundrenched snowbank
Croaks, “Nevermore!”

African violet
Water its roots, sunshine,
Buds pop up, it blooms!

Waking up at three
No more slumbering for me.
Drinking tea in the dark.

Old friends meet on the street
The baby is thirteen now
Been a long time.

Poplars stretching tall
They’re getting the kinks out
Just like me.

I love a carwash
A mini vacation, with
Pretty colored waves.

Somewhere in the world
The air is warm, and grass is green
But it isn’t here.

Springtime on the lake
Water between the cracks
Birds perch on ice cubes

Today’s a good day
Today is the best day
Since yesterday

When the sun shines bright
All the world pays attention
New grass, weeds growing.

The clouds congregate
Shades of grey turbulence
It’s winter again.

We come, make changes, go
Each of us has a job despite
Built-in obsolescence.

Deer on the roadside
White patches on its fur
No need for winter clothes.

May dark clouds gather
And rain upon our parade
The dry earth needs water.

Waiting for the green
Wanting to plant flowers
But it’s snowing

Deer munch grass on lawn
They don’t mind that we live here
They live here too.

Sun peaks through in East
Bare boned poplars feel warmth
Leaves will soon waken

A-fib, C-pap, vitals,
Old age brings new language
To help us live longer.

Wings, dozens of wings
Tastes so good but what about
The rest of the chicken?

My roots are what I am
From Britain, China, Holland and
One percent Vietnam.

A deer in the night
Silhouetted in light
Others strolling the dark.

I love dandelions
She said in early spring
Then she mowed them down.

Poplar tree stretches high
New leaves flutter in the sky
Mother Tree’s happy.

A poem ups my mood
Raises my conscience to where
I laugh at frivolity.

Colours in night skies
What may they signify?
We are one on Earth.

Human brain pauses
Waits for an emergence
Of kindness and trust.

Old songs, old memories
“Autumn Leaves” “Sincerely”
Each song has a story.

Water from on high
Will quench the thirsty soil
Douse the forest fire.

Those living long ago
Helped shape the world we know
We will do the same.

Puffy little peach
Coloured clouds in a blue sky
‘Twill be a good day

Lush green leaves and grass.
Brown patches ready for planting
The warm earth beckons.

An ant cannot define
An elephant any more than
We can define God.

What’s going on
Underground, beneath the trees
Roots like telephone wire.

Smooth grey pavement
Kaleidoscope of colours
Good to be alive.

The trees are hesitant
As they poke into the grey sky
Will it rain or stay dry.

Sea gulls on the lawn
Pretty birds strutting about
In their formal dress

Radishes are up
First to permeate the soil
Now I see lettuce

Ready to travel
Pink bow on my suitcase
Pink sweater to match.

I’m still amazed
That planes can rise from the ground
Defying gravity

Old friends meet and greet
Long time since we’d parted
Seems like yesterday

My whale tour photos suck
Fins, a hump, tail – nothing much
‘Cept water in between

Sea lions snuggling
They must all be good friends
Or to share the warmth

Rough waves smash the shore
Hard rain seeks empty spaces
Now the sun’s shining!

An island cottage
Overlooking the sea
Nice place to vegetate

‘Twas invigorating
Joyful sensations renewed
Time to go home

Home to the dry north
From the dripping wet south
Put away the umbrella

Love is everywhere
Just need to distribute it
Like seeds in a garden

Aging memory’s
Murky, improves when
Confronting reality

Where are the flowers?
Springtime is long passing
No paintbrushes or columbines

My phone has a virus
Vaccine cannot make it well
Needs SIM card transplant

Some days are bad days
She said, and some days are good
Somehow it helped

Wild roses are not
Big and blousey as tame ones
But their scent is heavenly

Amongst the wild greenery
Columbines with reclusive blooms
Like refugees

Strolling the lakeshore
On Saturday afternoons
Rebirthing my spirits

“We are all connected”
Was the message I heard,
Like the ants and the bees

A road less travelled
Rolling hills, lush valleys
Its beauty seldom seen

Memories of love
Nourish the soul and sweeten
The disposition

Robots, Ai, drones
Invented by lazy humans
Whose jobs are no more

Washing cans, plastics
Recycling’s best I can do
To undo old habits

I go to the bush
To sweeten my soul, he said
And to shoot a moose

I don’t need flowers
To make me feel special,
I said. But they did.

Sometimes strong people
Need to reveal their true strength
To regain respect

Outside there’s a stillness
Wet green leaves and grasses
Silvery glow in the sky

Shared recollections of
Bygone events, places, people
Warm up old memories

Angry wind struggles
Grove of aspens in the way
They just swing and sway

My potatoes are big
Not the babies in the soil
Just the tops

Alberta farmland
Acres of yellow canola
That once were green

Cowboy country
Horses graze in green pastures
Cows moo their way home

He stands tall in his apron
Serves spiced meat from the grill
She brings salad and cake

A breeze wafted through
My bedroom window last night
It was euphoric

Today it is very hot
So hot I almost forgot
‘Bout wind, rain and snow

Dog likes catching sticks
He snuggles, pleads – stick in mouth
Begging you to throw it

‘The wind in the trees
Is trying to call me home’
A prairie boy’s song

Tall grass rims the pond
Dad hayed dry ponds for horse feed
Sweet smell of slough grass

Wide sky like a map
Dark continents of rain clouds
Puffy sunlit islands

Footprints in the coal beds [Tumbler Ridge]
Reptiles as big as whales
In prehistoric time

Life is like the weather
Sometimes hot, sometimes cold
Sometimes just right

A poem can change the world
Add music and it’s a song
With a gentle beat

Real love is constant
A soft beat in the background
When music’s raucous

White sheets on clothesline
Billowing in the sunshine
Like sailboats on the sea

Fireworks in the sky
Electricity gone wild
Nature’s clean-up crew

The fish in the river
Are part of a food chain
For the bears and me

Games are the spice of life
When there are no prizes to be had
It’s much more fun

Aspen and Silver Birch
Still waving their limbs around
An all-night party

My brother used string
To move small objects and scare Mom
He would have loved a drone

The way the wind blows
Directs the course of the flames
Wind can be volatile

I offer gratitude
To the moose for his
Gifts of sustenance

All the wildflowers
Have dried and blown away
Summer’s set on “Air Fry”

Water flowing from a tap
Wasteful that; I packed from a well
Melted snow in winter

A doe and two fawns
At dusk, on the hillside
Her family is safe here

Watching British crime shows
Stabbings, beatings, strangling
But no gunshots

Fireweed and mountain aster
Pink and purple ‘mongst the green
It’s August already!

Music affects the soul
The beat and harmony
Uniquely complete

Each one of us is
One of a kind. One of
Eight billion souls

Love is comfort
Love is a warm embrace
With morning coffee

None of us are perfect
We all have too much or too
Little of something

Fire and floods erase
Homes, fond memories
Of what once was

I have the Google 8
I-Phone fits his hearing aids
We’re cellphone snobs!

Grandchildren bring us joy
And even more gratifying-
Great-Grandchildren!

Smoke stained the hillside
A dull hazy blue
Red sun in grey sky

I’d like to sleep outside
On moonlit nights listening
To the call of loons

The berries are ripe
They dangle in clumps
Saskatoon pie…

Do you have a dream,
He asked. No, I replied.
Each new day’s a dream

An enraged hornet
Homeless after hailstorm
Stung me on the throat

A doe with twin fawns
Last night only one baby?
A different family!

Fire and floods erase
Homes, fond memories
Of what once was

None of us are perfect
We all have too much or too
Little of something

Frilly red hat,
purple blouse, pants and bling
Red Hat Ladies rule!

What’s a memory?
If you can’t recall it, did
It really happen

“Do this” said my child
Just as I had advised her
So many years past

I feel entombed
In my girdle and
compression socks

Half the cookie is
Half the calories – unless
You eat the other half too

Language of aging
Learned in small steps as a child
This time it’s backwards

I watched the green grass
Grow before it was mowed
Down to the marrow

When doctors and nurses
Let us into their sanctuary
We are humbled

When your car breaks down
Do you despise its incompetence
Or mourn its vulnerability

I love a good speech
His son had tears in his eyes
Best speech of the year

As of this moment
I will accept past mistakes
And forgive myself

There’s a bear in the bush
Should I run or play dead?
It’s just a “stump” bear

Miss the smell of the
Salt spray, love the subtle scents
Along the lakeshore

Some ducks on the lake
Are having a conference
A lot of quacking up

The wind gusted against
Our holiday trailer – thought
We might end up in Oz

Watching home movies
Children now in their sixties
Long ago, far away

Love waxes and wanes
Like the moon. It does
Not go away

Listened to Moondog
Rock the stage at Salmon Fest
Nearly fell out of my chair!

Sunlight creeps in from
Afar, ripples on the water
Begin to sparkle

Camping on the lake
With T.V, fridge and Wifi
Should I feel guilty?

I dreamt of skimming
Across the luminous lake
In a rubber boat

Red sun like a cherry
In a mouldering grey sky
Smoke from faraway fire

Three years married
A “covid romance” they said
Love in our eighties

To forgive is as if
It never happened,
Memory’s still there

When fires die from where
Smoke spews, we’ll go outside
And enjoy the view

I’ve reached the age of wisdom
And the age of forgetting
At the same time

So many great chats.
No worries. I just revel
In his recovery

Rose hips and snowberries
It’s autumn, even the fireweed
Has dulled down to embers

I drink hot chocolate
When it’s dark – getting
Earlier every night

A dragonfly zoomed
Like a Cessna A-37
From the tall marsh grass

How high is the water?
Two feet lower than last year
The wells are shrinking

Laughter releases
Opiates in the brain
A legal drug habit

Watched Trump and Harris
But don’t know our own candidates
In BC Election

The rains came as they should
Tinkling on the rooftops and
Sprinkling in the wood

Sunlight in the treetops
Golden blaze ‘cross darkened sky
Glimpse of what’s to come

Touches of gold in the
Foliage, golden glow in the trees
Gold is everywhere

To those whom I love
And there’s more than a few
I don’t care how you vote

Watching the ducks convene
So many ducks on the water
A political rally?

Geese flying in a perfect “V”
One’s flapping in the middle
A nonconformist

Is it possible that
The little lost girl’s been found
Makes one believe in prayers!

I watched the sun rise
Then I watched the sun set
‘Blessed is the spot’

Birch trees flap their limbs
In the wind, crinkly leaves fall
It’s the senior season

Born in nineteen thirties
Survived war, poverty, affliction
Old enough to have opinions!

Frost on the pumpkin
First hard frost since May
Four frost-free months

He brings her flowers
But what can she give him
A banana cream pie!

Wind blew cold today
Gathered up summer’s fun
And stored it away

A salmon swimming
Upstream – down came an eagle
And ‘zap’ went his dreams

Swirly, puffy clouds
White, grey, silver, in blue sky
Like abstract art

Little girl wore new shirt
First day of Residential School
It was taken away

October two-thousand- six
Three feet of wet snow that
Stuck to the shovel

Sun peeps through clouds
Illuminating nearer ones
Something like love

Chilly in the morning
Dark too soon at night, time
To wear long underwear

White moose in front
Of my car. Oh my, ugliest
Horse I ever saw!

More gold than green now
Wet with a three-day rain
Next year’s fire protection

Brown bear feasting on
Ants doesn’t care that he’s
Categorized as “black”

A teeter-bum bird
Stood on a rock singing songs
Oops…he’s teetering

In the Autumn of my life
I absorb the glorious colours
Not the muddy underbrush

Love you darling
Don’t want to unlove you
Love is too precious

Crocodile smiles.
Anticipating dinner? Or just
Mentally healthy.

All the flowers died in
Their earthy pots under
The Northern Lights sky

Invasion by fairies
Hovering in leaf vehicle
No place to land

My African violet
Unwatered, neglected
Gave birth to two babies

I went down to the lake
To view trees in the distance
And waves by the shore

Pieces of gold on the lawn
Does the mama tree miss
Her leaves when they fall?

My car is back
With an engine transplant
From Saskatchewan

Thoughts passed through my
Brain like a video, now its
A slow slideshow

Dark days of November
Dark days invite art, music
And spiritual awakening

Quack grass in the garden
Its impenetrable roots
Could take over the world

It’s a two-blanket night
Third blanket makes me
Menopausal

I love the Silver Birch
Its leaves cling to the mother
Until December

Silver Birch tree’s aghast
She’s not suitably undressed
For the weather

Democracy works
Did you vote? You might be
The kingmaker

Music feeds my soul
It seeps in through the ear canal
Fills the empty spaces

Old woman decompresses
Takes off tensor wraps, girdle
Bra, compression socks

There’s a war going on
Invaders are tiny but ruthless
Immune system’s on alert

Binging on British TV
Just one more episode –
It’s midnight already

Crinkly brown leaves
What’s left of autumn’s beauty
Await the snowfall

Wind blows from the East
A sharp edge that cuts the cloth
Feels like ‘snow cold’

Beyond our birthing
And the in-between, we
Have made a difference

Our loved ones pass on
We cannot talk or embrace
But the love is still there

Locked myself in the loo.
Again. Last time overseas
This time had my phone

Peanut butter and jam
On toast, each day for breakfast
Washed down with coffee

Life in the real world
No more drugs, booze or smokes
Just pie and ice-cream

Morning snow on the road
Should be gone by noon. Oh no,
It’s snowing again

Personality
Versus character, nice
When they have both

Looking for the light
But if I open my heart
The light will find me

My car is haunted
Blows its horn – windows roll down
With no help from me

Oval shaped turkey
No bones, wings, or drumsticks
And it’s stuffed

Chickadee sings his song
Snowberries, like tiny white
Lights in the shrubbery

God’s all embracing
Love like whipped cream
On strawberries

A rose by any other name
Is still a rose
Something like religion

Eyes feast upon beauty
Ears absorb music
Mans’ Art gifted by God

 

Is it the coffee I love
With its addictive qualities
Or the cream and sugar?

Each morn I open my
Blinds a crack, no snow means
One less day ’til Spring!

Snow swirling sideways
Icy wind screams: We’re here
Get used to it!

Yellow banana
Aging before my eyes
Brown spots, turning black

Silver Birch tree wears
Lacy lingerie. Winter’s
Frosted tapestry

Directions on the toilet
Just like in a car wash
Seat was heated too

Laughter is free
Didn’t make any money but
They laughed at my poems!

Trees draped in white fluffy
Down – snow-laden landscape
Bright blue winter sky

Atmospheric rivers
Bomb cyclones, new weather patterns
All we have is snow

Perched on snowy limbs,
Grey bird with yellow-tipped tufts,
Pecking at red berries.

Super Senior can
Leap over tall anthills and
Stop speeding turtles

Can one pray without
Words – feel joy for “Thank You”
And despair for “Please”

Slip-sliding on highway
Swirling snow spoils the view
Staying home ’til spring!

Snow insulates the senses
All is quiet and still
Except the snow blower

Memories like gift cards
Can be opened anytime
To view distant past

Driving snowy streets
Best to stay in low gear
Second is too fast

Silver birch leaves, brown
Crinkly, acknowledging
Upcoming season

Making carrot pudding
My Christmas specialty
Good with lots of sauce

Chocolate rolls off
The tongue pleasurably
My drug of choice

The sun comes up
And the sun goes down. Not
Much time in between.,

“Coast weather” they call it
Rain in December. Coast,
Take back your weather!

Birthday cake for seniors
They’re younger than last year
(Healthier anyway)

Coffee, toast and
Peanut butter, enough
Sustenance ’til noon

Dark grey branches fringed
With thick white hoar frost
A blend of dark and light

Out of bed at four
Coffee, breakfast, bed.
A second run at sleep

Frilly red hat
Purple blouse, pants and bling
Red Hat Ladies rule!

Quantum physics
Suggests what’s happening
Has already happened

Christmas nuts and candy
Set out on the counter
Save room for supper

Light fades in pale sky
Darkness descends at four p.m
Man invents light bulb

Something refreshing
’bout new snow, like clean sheets
On the clothesline

To see ourselves
As others see us
We would be surprised

A coffee with you
No matter what time, I’d like
A coffee with you

There’s a time for hope
And a time for change, with a
Big stretch in between

Forgot to watch the news
Latest on war, crime, politics
Went to bed uninformed

Can’t remember this
Or that, need another senior
To fill in the blanks

I love Christmas carols
Familiar tunes from long ago
And I know the words

Not enough ice on the lake
Too much ice on the road
It’s not REAL winter yet

Who knew a turkey
That walks breast side down
Should be cooked that way

I once saw Evan Kemp
Slumped on a black horse at
The Clinton Rodeo

I dreamed of skating
On a shining mass of lake ice
For miles and miles

Too much love can be
Fatal. I overwatered
Our Christmas plant

Do you drink water?
Sure – juice, pop, coffee, tea
It’s all water to me

Hope to leave my spot
On Earth in better shape
Than when I arrived

Sunlight gleams on sharp
Edge of snowbank, cold cuts
Through jeans and long johns

S’long as you’re happy
Love’s unconditional
Wherever you may be

Sometimes the best day
Is the one that follows
A really bad day

Deer tracks in the snow
On the pathway where I walk
Try not to step on them

When fog shrouds your way
And you can’t see through the gloom
There’s sunshine by noon

Feminine cleavage
At Hollywood awards
Bodices defy gravity

Prayers voiced with others
Are potent. Can we pray for
World Peace on Zoom?

Embers in the wind
Igniting all that burns
Reducing homes to ash

To see ourselves as
Doctors see us could
Be enlightening

I have no opinion
About politics, just grateful
I’m not a politician

Magical Moon
Shining on the snow
Illuminating the night

She flitted through life
Left beautiful footprints
Flying close to the ground

Sweatpants, sweatshirts
Sweat socks, not much sweating
When it’s this cold

Brown ice everywhere
Sand reduces slippage
Walk with ski poles

Foot trails through forest
Duck ponds, gnarly fir and birch
My childhood playground

“Nine months less a day”
He was sentenced to Oakalla
At age sixteen

What makes my heart soar?
Fills my chest with exhilaration
Don’t know ’til it happens

Wanna play cribbage
Takes a bit of courage
‘Cause I might skunk you

I ate a basket
Of grapes. Suffering from
The wrath of grapes

Who is that masked man?
C-pap Man’s able to leap from
His bed in the morning

I sometimes wonder
If I wrote my own life script
Comic strip maybe?

Fridge soup coming up
Putting in all the leftovers
Have a taste, yuck!

Nice to get together
At games and meetings
Love my fellow humans

Gossip’s a virus
Infects the community
Permeates the soul

Don’t expect too much
Of others. Just celebrate
The unexpected

Responsible drinking is
Presumptuous like
Controlled burning

The silver birch rests
Last years dead leaves
Polka-dot the snow

Can’t sleep. Slump in big
Chair that vibrates. No way.
Bring on the coffee!

Soak up the moment
Life is anticipation
And recollection

My hair is falling out
Every day I curry-comb
My clothing

Let us not let anger
Rule when dark thoughts
Obscure our way

Alone in the silence
Three o’clock in the morn
Felt the presence of God

Darkness is dispersed
As the sun rises high
Above the mountain

Pink sky at dawn
Brings on bad weather
Enjoy the dawn

Sign says “Deer Crossing”
But jaywalking is what
Animals do best

The palette is grey
Blue grey and silver
With a touch of gold

In the dark of night
A tiny creature leaves scratch
Marks in the snow

Listening to the sound
Of silence, enjoying
Its modulating tones

The silver birch droops
Her lacy white foliage
Is melting away

Snow rises like the tide
Waves of white swirling
Imprisoning me

Cats are quirky
Frustrating but
Forgivable

Baking a cake
Okay, so Betty helped
I added eggs and oil

My memoir’s all about me
A seedling, a sapling
An old-growth tree

Warmer this morning
There’s a bite in the air
But the wind is still

Love is forgiveness
Love reaches out, no holding back
Love is me loving you

Sunshine on snowbank
Wispy cloud in pale blue sky
Mother Nature rests

Something comforting
About fresh snow on trees
Dressing up bare branches

Flowers withering
He drove so far to get them
Hate to throw them out

Short meetings are best
Agenda, minutes, money
Then coffee and cake

“Spread top all the way”
Milk carton splats to the floor
Clean up time in the kitchen

Opening the curtain
Bare naked poplars shiver
In knee-high snow

Sunshine on tree tops
Sparse snow on the hillsides
Worrying ‘bout spring fires

Wax the shuffleboard
‘Til it’s a slippery shell
Pucks slide off both ends

What’s a memory
If you can’t recall it, did
It really happen?

Make sourdough bread
Mix-rest-warm-rise-fold-tuck
Rise again-bake. Total 3 days.

Do this, said my child
Like I had advised her to
In years long past

A cup with my name
Makes my morning coffee
Taste even better

Memories of summer
Cruising up the Coast
And to Haida Gwaii

Exercise, though joints
Resist activity with
Equivalent pain

In the dark of night
Deer punch holes
In the snow

The sun, oh the sun
A pink glow on the hillside
Gonna be a lovely day

Ethereal tree shapes
Fog obscuring landscape
Perhaps I’m still asleep

Listen to the wind
Mother Nature’s violin
Thank you, Ian Tyson

February sunshine
Warms the thirty below
To fifteen by noon

Twenty below, I cried,
Positively balmy! So are you,
Said my husband

Just because I am right
Does not mean that
You are wrong

Everyone’s important,
If only as an example
Of what not to be

Is life measured by
Accomplishments or by
Kindness and enthusiasm?

Meat animals sleep
Ice too thick to fish
It’s the hungry moon

Watched a young George
Clooney movie. Some actors
Appeal best when aged

Tall spindly poplars
Point twig fingers at the sun
Dark spruce is not impressed

Early morning tunes
Nat King Cole for more sleep
Elvis for wakening

Dawn of a new day
Grey sky, pink on horizon
Love in the air

There is a pause
In mid-February, but
The moon’s still hungry

Stark images of
Bare naked poplars amongst
Well dressed spruce

Fellow elderlies
Unite: we care, but at times
It’s best to do nothing

So few foxes, saw one
And wondered, was he new
Or a survivor

Scientists say fruit
flies may survive nuclear warfare
That’s so comforting!

Snow sifting down
Like icing sugar on
Stale lumpy cake

Tiny birds no bigger
Than leaves flitting about
In silver birch tree

Strands of darkness
Entwined with the light of love
In every one of us

A working-class town
No grey hair to be found, now
A haven for seniors

The winds came blowing
Silver birch seeds on the snow
Table is set for the birds

The sun shone today
And there’s brown spots where
There’d been snow and ice

Fluffy white clouds, sun
Shining through, no wonder they
Thought Heaven’s up there

She drives lonely miles to
Tour destinations, singing and
Playing with our hearts

Bring on Daylight
Saving Time, we need all the
Daylight we can get!

Driving west through the
Nechako Valley. Big sky
Like the Prairies

They met online, “I’m
Tall,” he said. “I’m short” said she
But they were just right.

Snowflakes flutter down
Won’t last ’cause it’s Spring
Big flakes, small flakes…rain

Sing-along in the lounge
Traded his medic kit for a guitar
Medicine for the spirit!

Scrabble in the morning
‘Sposed to help the brain, but where’s
The Xs, Qs and Zeds?