they burnt our old house
just burnt it, Beth told me
as we drove down dirt roads
to the homestead
that’s the barn that Dad bought
from a neighbour
it rides the waves of this prairie
its peaked roof a prow above the door
two cupola jutted into late-day blue sky
my camera clicked
just as sunlight faded
just as a shaggy pup
moved towards me
from his […]
blue skies poetry, in association with the Writers Guild of Alberta, is looking for poems by Alberta writers that explore the magnificent and diverse landscape of our province and how we interact with it. From the tar sands in the north, to the towering Rockies, to the bald prairie of the south – not […]
“Mother grizzly and cub
seen in the area.
Cinnamon mother, black cub.
Repeated sightings
at Wonder Pass
and Assiniboine Lodge.
Never approach wild animals.
Extreme caution is advised
when using trails.”
Warning!
“Stay together.”
I tell my kids,
my voice urgent.
“Bears are dangerous,
especially a mama.
No running ahead.
If we meet the bears,
get right behind me
and stay calm.”
Excited, they hope
to see the bears,
blithely trusting
my judgment.
I act calm.
Secretly,
I am terrified.
With […]
i would tug on my work boots every evening
and go out, and when i’d find it
i would reach into the soil,
bite my grip around it tight,
and pull it out, roots bursting like firecrackers.
i would carry it in the bowl of my hands
to the farmhouse and rinse it in the kitchen sink.
i would press my fingers […]
when your sister was born
you began collecting stones,
leaves, acorns and buds,
piles of sand and grit.
they are always in your pockets and socks,
the relics of nature.
you busy yourself
like a squirrel who gathers and saves.
nothing is as it was.
the limits of time and space close in on you
large-eyed and taller
it is necessary to forage for stones.
~ Monika […]
