I am a Dragon

I am a dragon who loves rainbows
My flame is a burnt orange sunset
My wings help me soar above the shadows
Through the water-coloured day - not done yet

I am an archer shooting arrows
They're not poisoned but they are sharp
My aim is to poke holes in the shadows
My hope is to reach someone's heart

I am a clown who juggles memories
I'm not good at catching them all
My foolish head suffers brain-freeze
If there's a point, I can't recall

I am a poet who is lost for words
An actor who has lost the play
A singer who is lost in music
And a woman who has lost her way.

Gone the words
Gone the memories
Gone the arrows
Gone the flame.

- Donna Holmes, April 29, 2012.

Big Fat Moments

Big fat droplets of rain drench the street outside the cafe
And my umbrella's at the office.
Pre-teens waiting in the movie line yell "hooray!"
And I sit waiting for something to happen.

Why just wait you ask?
Sometimes, I don't.
Often I make my world move and shake
But sometimes you can only wait.

Big fat moments of potential continue passing by
I'm staying dry sipping tea at my table
The crowd has left the lobby making room for the music
And I sit waiting for something to happen

I'm waiting to happen
Sometimes, I don't
But the world will continue to move and shake
And sometimes you can only wait

Big fat lies in the newspaper make me angry
I'm staying sane by reading the comics
After the cryptoquote spree, I need more tea
While I keep waiting for something to happen.

Why do I wait?
Maybe I won't
Maybe I'll make my world start its move and its shake
Or maybe just sit here and continue to wait.

The Routine Kindness of Strangers

This is something of mine the Grapevine (a little Wolfville publication) printed a couple of Chrismtases ago (out of season I know... oh well.)  I just ran across it again today and thought I'd share it here.  I'd also like to reiterate here that the world is NOT falling apart.  The media only shows us the crappy stuff going on...but good people do great things every day.   WE make this world what it is - are you so bad?  I don't think so.  And I'd just like to say thanks for being pretty great and thanks to all those strangers who have helped me over the years including the following examples...

My (very old and used) car has broken down three Christmases in a row now.  Three years ago the exhaust rusted off.  A nearby garage opened up on Boxing Day - just for me - to wire it up temporarily and then wouldn’t take any money for their work.  Two years ago, on Christmas morning, I was almost run off the highway by a passing car heading in my direction! I avoided the oncoming car, but popped the clutch in the process.  I stood there by my car, about to cry, when a sweet British couple stopped to help.  They’d just moved to Nova Scotia.  One of them let me use the cell phone (that she’d just received that morning) and they drove an hour out of their way to take me to my sister’s house.   Last year,  it was pouring rain on Christmas morning – remember that?    Well, it turns out that old cars like mine, with questionable spark plugs, don’t like the rain.  The car stalled in Kentville just as I turned up Chester Ave - on my annual trek to the South Shore.  I DID cry this time.  Another very nice man actually stopped and tapped on my window to see if I was ok.  He helped me move the car off the road and drove me to a friend’s place where I could use the phone.   Then the friend actually lent me her car for that entire holiday so I could get to my family for Christmas.  In my experience, people are....well they’re just fabulous.  I have been helped by so many strangers over the years – including the time I ran out of gas in Coldbrook and that man drove me to & from the gas station, and the time I locked my keys in the car and that delivery guy used a curtain rod to open my door, and the time that sweet little couple helped me out when I ran out of gas on Belcher street, and the time that nice old man changed my tire in Bridgetown, and...  well, you get the picture.   I am so thankful I live in such an incredible area – a place where many of us have come to rely on the, almost routine, kindness of strangers.    :o)