*** it’s here again
A cold is in my nose
It’s dripping and I’m snorting
For pictures I won’t pose
It’s red at tip and sore to touch
It’s dripping in my food
The sneezing and the coughing
Put me in a very foul mood
I hope this cold will end soon
And cause me no more pain
My tissue box is empty
Here comes a sneeze again
I hope the sun comes out soon
So I can go outside
Perhaps the warmth will warm me up
Better to have lived than died
This is the season for the germs
I did not take a shot
Even thought my doctor and his nurse
Really thought that sure I ought
The cold will end then back to work
I will have to go
My xmas vacation is over now
Achoo, achoo….I know…

I live in a land where French is King
And English is not stable
We’re supposed to know our oui from  non
Our table from our table
We can’t say hi, bonjour together
Or wear a pretty hijab
English schools are closing up their doors
High taxes are on our tab
I don’t find speaking French a problem
Even though I wasn’t taught
I picked  up words on streets, when young
Marde, colisse,   and tabarnak
My children are bilingual, my grandchildren are so too
I try to speak and others laugh
My French is like a stew
I’m glad I’m getting older
And getting shorter on my days
For watching hatred and prejudice
Is just never going to be my way

I came to read your poetry
And look what I have found
A broken heart
A floating leaf
And snow upon the ground
You write as if your life is over
Or maybe just begun
You write as if you fall in love
And have no room to run
I read your words
And feel your pain
And comment on them some
I send out hearts
And small congrats
And love that you have come
To join me on this quest of life
For writing is our game
We look inside
Our deepest heart
And try to feel the pain
It’s hard to come upon a group
Where pain of love is welcome
And here I sit with pen in hand
And read all you have gained
I have to write, not just to read
I’m coming to an end
With pen in hand and paper still
Some poetry to gain

Death
Divorce
They’re all part of life
Sadness and joy
Happiness and pain
All a part
Of the human condition
How does one cope?
How does one sustain themselves
Through all that life throws our way
With
Courage

I used to think
That life was all
Fun and games
And then
I began to live
Really live
And feel and know and care
And become
And then I learnt
That life contains
Both joy
And pain
And I have to find a way
To encompass
Both

Chairs in the room
Vacant
Because
Alone
Requires
Emptiness

On the table
Papers
Requiring attention
Strewn to the side
And left
Alone

Fire in the hearth
No one
To watch it

Empty room
Amply furnished
Ticking clocks
No one
To listen

Snow
Sparkling white
In a world
Too busy to notice

Out my window
A wonderland
Of clean
Whiteness
Not yet marred
By the
Business
Of life

I sit inside
Looking out at a world
That is
Always changing
Once green
It is now
Covered in a blanket
Of sparkling white
Goodness
Clarity
Cleanliness
Purity
Innocence

You know
It’s not so bad
To always have to find
Something to do
I wish
Sometimes I really wish
That I had someone
To share my life with
And then
I remember
How hard it is to be in a relationship
And I think again