Poetry Friday August 16, 2019

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Christie Wyman at Wondering and Wandering. She is sharing her love of trees in photography and verse. When you are done admiring her poetry, make sure to check out the links to other participants sharing poetry today. 

I spent the last couple of weeks gadding and galavanting about. Trees, for all kinds of reasons, played an important part of my vacation. 

We began by camping for a few days beside the Chehalis river. Surrounding us, tall cedar pillars held up the sky. The first night, rain battered the top of our tent trailer. We woke to roaring thunder and lightning streaking across the sky. Come morning, the sun was shining and we were blessed with glorious weather for the rest of our stay. We soaked in the sacredness of the forest. 

While the younger crowd went off exploring on their bikes, I sat in a forest clearing and finished reading Haunted Hills and Hanging Valleys: Selected Poems 1969-2004 by Peter Trower, a BC logger and poet. That link will take you to my Goodreads review of the book, but I leave you with this bit here,

..logging's a lot like writing poetry.
Mind-cables wrench loose
the stubborn ideas,
sometimes to wedge them
in hopeless canyons
and knowing just when
to blow the whistle and cut them off
is a knack
or no small importance.

I urge you to go the Poetry foundation and read The Last Stand of Magic by Peter Trower.

Then we left the rain forest and headed off to our home in the semi desert region of Oliver BC. We sat in my brother's back yard and watched this conflagration on the mountain. 

Meanwhile, I've been working on finishing up final drafts of my memoir project from 1958. I think I have two or three more poems to go. Hurrah!

I was five when my family joined other relatives on an adventure into the Pine River region of Northern British Columbia. This means my memories are somewhat sketchy and usually loaded with emotion. I've been able to fill in many blanks based on conversations with those who are still with us.
I'm committed to sharing a bit every week so that I don't give up. I appreciate feedback on the construction of the poetry and ideas and questions about what information might be missing.

time for fun

sure it was
a hard life

but
laughter and teasing
were ubiquitous

love was the language

day time
women visited and
helped one another out

my cousin Ducky,
only 8 1/2
visited often
tended us children
while Mommy got her chores done

her kindness
and joy
etched itself
onto our hearts

evenings,
folks got together
drank tea and coffee
whiskey 
if it was at hand

told stories
played cards
canasta and
penny ante poker
were popular

tucked the little ones
together into bunks
head to toe

late in the evening
Mommy and Daddy
carried their
bundled up dreamers
through the
moon lit forest
home and
into our own beds 


Here are links to previous Pine Valley poems.
Leaving
Characters
Journey
Arrival
Preparedness
Ready and Willing
Larder
Laundry
Diaper Duty
Skunk Trouble
Working
Pawns
Crossing
Bath Time
invincible 
explorer