Mount Arrowsmith
as seen from the Quay
ourbc.com photo
Driving to the mall, I thrill at the way
the clouds shroud the mountaintops,
layer upon layer, as if someone
has draped them artfully
in angel hair,
the occasional cedar
pointing pokey spriggy fingers skyward
through the gaps.
I smile at smashed pumpkins alongside the road,
memories of Hallowe'en such a short time ago,
and now I'm Christmas shopping.
Raven flies low across my windshield.
Lead me, Raven.
Keep me Looking Up.
Christmas music and goodwill
in all the shops - it isn't Count-Down yet,
we are all still full of cheer.
A pensioner - ahem, another pensioner and I
(I keep forgetting)
exchange smiles in the line-up.
"Just shopping for the kids," she beams
as she stacks chocolate and small Yuletide treats
upon the counter and counts her bills and coins.
"Thank heavens for the Dollar Store!"
In one of the Only Two Possible stores
in which to find a real gift
in this gray little town,
I find The Perfect Thing for my daughter,
and all of my stern admonitions
(repeated yearly) about how this year
Christmas will be Very Small
go right out the window,
and I escape to my car
clutching the package, smiling.
I mail off a Welcome to the Family box
for our newest puppy,
a huggable furry teddy bear
just born to be loved,
rescued from a garbage dump
in northern Saskatchewan
in minus 40 degree weather,
now destined to be loved and spoiled
for the rest of his life,
and wish I could be there
to share the joy
when it is opened.
Christmas is not Christmas
without small kids
and puppies.
I narrowly avoid being T-boned as I pull out
from the Purolator lot, vision obscured
by the Purolator truck, muttering
"I can't see! can't see!" then "Oops!"
Close one. But not this time.
Heading home, by now the blue blue hills
are more exposed,
wearing their clouds like a fluffy shawl,
draped low on their shoulders.
Beauty. Always. Everywhere.
Four dogs and two horses to greet me,
barks and whuffs,
as I pull in, Christmas lights
winking from the windows.
And it may not be my dream,
it may not be the beach,
but it's what I've got,
right now
and, for today, it is
Enough.
flickr.com photo-Arrowsmith
posted for Laurie's prompt at Poetry Jam : to write a poem about things one is grateful for without using the words thankful or grateful.
and for Kim's prompt at Verse First : to take a walk, and Walk in Gratitude. I took a drive in between the walking :-)
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends south of the border. And Happy Being Alive to my friends everywhere else!
