open space

One hundred years ago this month, the Group of Seven first exhibited together at the Toronto Art Gallery. The bold landscapes celebrated the beauty of this country in a style that has become recognizably, and uniquely, Canadian.
   While COVID-19 has prevented me from seeing any of the group’s works through one of my regular visits to the Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada Post brings home the wonder of Canadian art with a stunning collection honoring the group’s significance.
   The postage stamps – one image each by Carmichael, Harris, Jackson, Johnston, Lismer, MacDonald and Varley – are some of the nicest stamps Canada Post has produced in a while; certainly my favorites since last year’s Leonard Cohen issue.
   Yes, I am a stamp nerd. Of course I stocked up.

05/29/2020                                                   j.g.l.

It is within you.
Surpassing will, well
beyond ego, is a
power that cannot
be explained or
exemplified, though
it is always there.
Deep inside, beneath
the skin, bone, and
muscle, is a greater
force than you may
ever know; yet you
will have difficulty
determining where
it comes from.
It is there.
We can aspire to
create our dreams,
but to do so we
need to access a
deeper strength.
Set your intention.
See where you go.

 j.g.l.

I write.
 I write every damn day, always for my website, to keep myself current.
 Maybe I’ll write a poem, or a page or three in one of two manuscripts open on my laptop, and usually a few lines in my journal.
 I try to journal daily, and usually I do. I always write the date, for no other reason than acknowledging I was alive on that day; I feel it’s important to know.
It might be all I write, that day, in my journal.
 Many days, I write like a dragon breathing fire. Other days, it’s more like a dog barking at traffic.
 Still I write, every damn day.
 I’ve got something to say.

05/21/2020                                                     j.g.l.

What we hold onto
and what we always carry
will differ greatly.

05/19/2020                                               j.g.l.

Some of us
have been broken.

Most of us
are just people.

All of us
need to think about that.

j.g.l.