Running Late

It seems, I must accept my fate,
And wait -
And wait -
for the girl who's always late.

The girl packed with
get-up-and-go
that gets-up-and-goes - slow
slow, slow, slow.

Sometimes, she simply doesn't show.

A working mom,
who runs behind
tasks and troubles - big and small -
juggling the daily grind.

It's a wonder she turns up at all.

Spread too thin -
we've all been there.
Some days, a woman cannot win.

Nevertheless -
I guess to me, she's worth the wait.

She's Grrrrreat ! ! !

But she'll be running . . . late.

photos:  The Steam Clock - in the historic Gastown district of Vancouver - W. Bourke.

Running Late - pictured in the background are The Five Sails of Canada Place at Vancouver's Waterfront - W. Bourke.

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

uphill and into the wind

the morning croaked slowly awake
to the thickness of living

as Michael and I walked
in plopping wet steps,
uphill and into the wind,
through rain soaked grass
and shallow puddles.

I stopped, then -
to catch my breath.

and he stood there waiting
in the bird chirps.

uphill and into the wind
gets harder with the years -
and I wished
we had stayed put, altogether.

he took my hand and whispered:
come on, we're almost at the top.

I replied with a sniggled:  h-m-m-m,
so you keep telling me.

he laughed - beautiful -
and gave my arm a gentle tug.

photo:  I took this photo on a path at Nitobe Memorial Garden, at the University of British Columbia.  Nitobe Garden is considered to be among the top five Japanese gardens outside of Japan.  Each tree, stone and shrub has been deliberately placed to reflect a symbolic representation and harmony in nature.  The garden is designed to suggest a span of time - a day, a week or a lifetime - with a beginning, choice of paths, and ending.

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

end of a hard day

I lapsed into
a billowing rest

unravelling comfortably
from the tightness of the day

away - from the spider web branches
where I, occasionally, tangle myself
in useless fits and starts.

I was acutely aware of my being
in the still of the room

and the soaring peace
of letting go.

There was a tenderness
to the golden cast of the hour
and, as I breathed a humongous sigh
of release,

I heard the faint sounds
of meal preparation.

Someone was making food to feed us.

Good . . . I slept then . . .
in my little nest.

photo:  A Nest in the Branches - W. Bourke

© 2013 Wendy Bourke

lemon yellow

when I was a little girl
I drew houses
with lemony yellow windows.

they looked happier that way, I thought
or, so I believed, at the time.

and though they cast a certain
other-worldly aspect
I have seen, over the years,
when the light is just so

it does - really does -
paint van gogh windows

in a dreamy world -
exquisitely elusive, but familiar
in the dearest way.

as precious as a lemon yellow crayon
on a golden sunshine day.

notes:  Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890), a Dutch post impressionist painter, is noted for his use of bold, exaggerated colors - particularly yellow.  Café Terrace at Night is one of my favorites for many reasons - not the least of which are the yellow windows and doors.  An interesting theory is that van Gogh's epilepsy was treated with digitalis and the drug can cause one to see in yellow which may explain its prominence in his work.

the lemony yellow crayon color was first introduced in 1949 and was retired in 1990.

photo:  The photo is of the Community Centre in Fort Langley (48.5 km from Vancouver).  The Community Centre, in the charming little village of Fort Langley, is the sight of many movie and TV films.  (Recently I saw it pop up on the TV show:  Once Upon a Time.)  Fort Langley was established a century and a half ago and is considered to be the birthplace of British Columbia.

This photo was great fun.  I took a picture of the Community Centre and with Picasa Software I turned it into a pencil sketch.  I ran it off in black and white, colored the windows yellow and took the shot again.

© 2013 Wendy Bourke