a daily breath

12/07/2025

challenged by memory

What do you remember
about how it used to be?

Aren’t we often
challenged by memory?

Yesterday is not
what it once was?

© 2021 j.g. lewis

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12/06/2025

I say their names
because I have a daughter.
I say their names
because I am human.
I say their names
because I remember.

Anne-Marie Edward
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Lemay
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz
Annie St-Arneault
Geneviève Bergeron
Maryse Leclair
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Sonia Pelletier
Annie Turcotte
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Michèle Richard

December 6, 1989.
École Polytechnique.
The Montreal Massacre.

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12/04/2025

haiku 4 you

say it

soon

say what you mean
mean what you say

© 2020 j.g. lewis

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12/01/2025

as it does

its historic promise
and the hope it will
as it will not
as it does
                always
it cannot be december
without snow
without even
the promise of snow
anticipation
of precipitation
december begins
             as it ends
                always
promising more

© 2020 j.g. lewis

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11/27/2025

four questions

What isn’t necessary?
What do you really need?
What can you do without?
What else could you
do with all that time?

© 2020 j.g. lewis

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original content and images ©j.g. lewis

all right here…

Day by date, month into year, each letter adds up. Photography, poetry, fortune cookie philosophies, concepts, observations, unsolicited advice, messages of peace and simplicity; all right here. Daily, weekly, randomly demonstrating where I have been as much as where I will go and beyond.

07/13/2026

Mondays are just young Fridays

Nostalgia has a way of getting to me. It’s the recent heat that got me thinking of summer days long past.

As a kid, before the responsibility of summer jobs, I was one of a passel of free-range boys who roamed the city on our bicycles. Every day was an adventure. Often, we were off to the ball diamond for practice or a pick-up game with whomever was available. The term ‘boys of summer’ wasn’t familiar to me then, but that’s what we were.

Leaving home in the morning with instructions from our moms to be safe and be home for dinner, the days were ours to explore. Carrying nothing but our ball gloves, or skateboards, we set off on familiar streets and paths.

These were the days long before kids carried water bottles, and long before we knew anything about “hydration”. We would ride and play until we were thirsty and then search for a source of refreshment.

A few parks or playgrounds may have had water fountains, but more often than not, we were never close. Our parched souls were tamed by a common garden hose. Every home had one.

It wasn’t uncommon for us to ask a lady tending to her garden if we could have a drink from her hose. Sometimes, we wouldn’t even ask.

Those were the days before plastic water bottles could be purchased at any corner store or gas station. And who had the pocket change to purchase anything? Had we any cash, a nickel or two could buy a popsicle. Popsicles, in those days, were designed to be split in two. Is there anything that demonstrated friendship like splitting a popsicle with a friend?

But really, who would spend money on water?

Fresh water, straight from the hose, brings back soothing memories as a true taste of summer.

© 2026 j.g. lewis

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07/12/2026

belligerent heat

The city grows quiet in this oppressive heat.

People may well be off to cottage country where a nearby lake provides enough respite for sunburnt skin; more likely they stay inside.

With the increasing temperatures of the last couple of days – and the forecast of more heat (and no rain) for the week ahead – air-conditioning is a welcome break for those who have it. Those without it simply suffer and hide away from this blazing sun.

Heat warnings fill the airwaves, reminders to stay hydrated and to check in with neighbours. Outdoor events have been cancelled or postponed. It is safer to stay inside. Thoughts of climate change and where this planet is headed are frequent. We continue hearing news of belligerent heatwaves overseas but, locally, it hits home.

Generally, I rave and rant about summer days. Yet, when it gets this hot, there is nothing more to say.

© 2026 j.g. lewis

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07/10/2026

overwhelming

How can we understand the 
human experience if we don’t 
allow ourselves the time?

We are all human; full of flaws 
but always hopeful.

The high-speed of this life 
becomes overwhelming. We 
miss out on what we don’t 
feel and rarely see what is 
meant to be.

In time we may understand.

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07/14/2026

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07/11/2026

gr@ffiti

sometimes

patience pays
more than it costs

time required
is not time lost

take the time before
it is taken away

do not rush

you have got all day

© 2021 j.g. lewis

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07/07/2026

cloud songs

Do any of us stop long enough

    to see where we are, or

        appreciate things that

     simply happen to us.

Too often we are looking ahead

    without truly acknowledging

  what we have experienced.

     Maybe we do not know?

© 2026 j.g. lewis

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