open space

Leaves hanging on, holding on,
day after or day before.   Closer.
We know this can’t be autumn
evermore. Impressions.   Cooler
mornings. Slight breeze. The end
of one season, the beginning of
another a long cold winter. Soon.
Perhaps.         How can we know?
    Apprehension.   Wicked winds
have not yet stripped trees bare.
We find comfort in colour and
perception.    Sometimes it’s not
the ability to face a storm,    but
the forethought to recognize
what is coming.               Hold on.

j.g.l.

Live.
Laugh.
Learn.
                Love.

Take it gently.
Take it seriously.

Each day we learn,
each day
               matters.
               We live
day by day.

               We love
our own way.

Laughter helps us see
the lessons learned, as

we find
the humour in life
               as it happens.

Live in the moment.
Learn as you go.

Take it seriously.
Be gentle.

11/06/2020                                           j.g.l.

Graffiti,
now, like poetry, it means
what you want it to mean.
You might not notice.

 

An extra hour
to sleep and dream, to
hover within our thoughts.
Think of
the possibilities. Today,
timeless for awhile. Time
without shape or substance
or shame. Think of
thoughts you would not
have been capable of
had you not
had this time.

11/01/2020                                       j.g.l.

The retail landscape has been continually changing for more than seven months.
If you are not noticing the shuttered or empty storefronts, it could be that you have become immune to it all. It could be that your shopping patterns have changed more online than on the street.
It’s when a store you have regularly shopped at closes up that you really begin to feel the pandemic changes and realize the devastating effects this deadly virus is having on our economy at the front-line retail level.
One of my regular Starbucks closed a few days ago, it was one of several company Toronto location closures I had read about.
You feel it a little more when you are personally affected by a closure. It was an everyday sort of place.
This was my “secondary” Starbucks. It was not the closest location to my condo (an important factor when choosing where you get your first cup of the day), but I went there often when you could actually remain inside a coffee shop while you finished your beverage.
The Jarvis & Adelaide Starbucks was bright inside, and had a great table for writing,
I went there often.
It was comfortable there; the staff and manager were friendly.
Now, however, it is not an option.
It has become another COVID-19 victim.
Sadly, there will be more.

10/30/2020                                             j.g.l.

Perhaps you try daily to ignore the obvious. Or the obvious becomes unpredictable and you choose to pay attention to the warmer days and let the chilly mornings pass unheeded.
Autumn colours make it easy, those resplendent yellows, and orange, and deep mahogany show up when we most need colour in our life.
Then come mornings when you notice the cold more than the dark, and you realize the up side of autumn has passed, and this is the fall.
It will only get worse before it gets better. Winter is always longer than it needs to be; there is far too much time until spring’s reprieve.
Another season of change. We either change with it, or we are changed by it.

10/25/2020                                        j.g.l.