Category Archives: Poetry

Driftwood’s Wisdom

Posted on August 8, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy took this picture while we walked along Waterton Lake’s beach. She thought it would inspire me. I wondered what might emerge. Last night, I scribbled ideas into my journal about wisdom and its sources. I enjoy and enjoyed listening to stories told by my parents, Kathy’s parents, our grandparents about life in past generations, and many others I come in contact with each day.

Flotsam on the shore

Washed up and unusable

Life’s wisdom wasted.

Polished piece of wood

Fine tuned by life’s travails

Reveals the wisdom.

3 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Community, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Life within a Panorama

Posted on August 7, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

 

 

Kathy took these panoramic pictures the first day we drove to Waterton. I often wonder about making sense of life without a fuller view. It is the stepping back that might allow the ‘hole in the whole’ to fade and show a panoramic view of life. Even at that, the life’s complexity  creates mystery of and allows the ‘holes to make sense in the whole.’

Life

Still shot

One image at a time

Parsed and fits my definition.

Life

A broad view

Weaves a web without design

Fuller, richer, yet indefinable.

Reflection

Quilts life whole

Bound together moment by moment

Paradox of ragged and seamless.

Shared

Without losing self

Bound together by our commonness

Adhere disparate parts into one.

9 Comments

Posted in Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Pensive Pirate

Posted on August 5, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Several months ago, Francesca at Words/Love provided advice for aspiring writers. She advised other writers to keep pen and paper close at hand. More and more, I do this. This morning, about 6:00, I woke up with poetry on my mind. I scrambled, grabbed writing gear, and jotted ideas down. I hope I can flesh the ideas out over the next few days.

It is during unexpected times or quiet moments I find creativity. Kathy surreptitiously took this picture at Kootenai Lake in Glacier National Park. I was feverishly scribbling ideas that had popped up during the hike. It was easy in those surroundings. I hope to continue now that we are home.

Pensive pirate pauses

Revitalize one’s spirit

Serenity sought.

I will see you on Monday; oki until then.

3 Comments

Posted in Haiku, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Sabbath and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Waterfalls! Waterfalls!

Posted on August 3, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I disconnected yesterday as the Internet was unavailable. It was a dreary day, but we toured parts of the Crowsnest Pass. One stop was Lundbreck Falls. It is a stop you can easily miss, even though it is just off the main highway and visible from the secondary road. I liked it because I was able to get up, close and, personal. My fear of heights did not intervene too much.

This is a spectacular sight, but within 50 metres there is a pool at the base of the rock cliff where fly casting is possible.

Kathy took this shot from above the falls. I did not go on the overview platform.

Waterton has many waterfalls. Cameron Falls is on the outskirts of the town site and I was able to see it from below and climbed a bit to see it from above.

The red in the rock is from iron oxide deposits. The view below is from a stairway that goes up the hill along the falls.

Some waterfalls in Waterton are less accessible. Kathy took these pictures on the walk around Cameron Lake. The mountain, on the Montana side of the lake, is Mount Custer. It is named for a surveyor, Henry Custer, who worked in the area.

The source of the waterfalls is the snow pack on the mountain.

We hiked into Blakiston Falls which are bridal veil falls as they resemble a bride’s veil. I saw the falls from a distance and Kathy, the mountain goat she is, was able to get closer. This was my view and I was sitting on the ground.

Kathy took this picture from the platform almost directly above the falls.

Platform at bridal falls

The terror drains energy

View through others eyes.

Have a great August 3 wherever you are.

3 Comments

Posted in Haiku, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Another Day in Paradise

Posted on August 1, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

It was a less eventful day today with no bear sightings. We saw some deer late in the day, but they were in a hurry to get somewhere so did stop for pictures. What I have are some pictures of the natural beauty of Waterton Lakes National Park.

As we drove south from Pincher Creek, this is the view of the mountains before a person drives into them. The sign says, “Where prairie meets the mountains” and they do.


This was a similar view, without the bales, later the same day just before sunset.

And, if you give it a few minutes, this is what it looks like.

Sun embraces mountains

The sky in peaceful fury

Signals the day’s end.

This is the view from the beach at the town site of Mount Vimy. Can you imagine waking up to this every day? It would be pretty intense, but 88 people do everyday. According to Stats Can that is the official year round population of Waterton.

This is a view from the boat of the approach to the American side of Waterton Lake.

This is at Kootenai Lake which was at the end of our hike into Glacier National. The ramparts are spectacular.

Rise above it all

Magnificent natural ramparts

We feel safe below.

This is across Kootenai Lake. We waited but the moose did not show himself. He was there five minutes before we arrived.

At the end of the day, just before we left the town site, the moon appeared above Vimy.

Fair maiden appears

Light for evening’s journey

Keep us safe til morn.

Have a great August 1.

9 Comments

Posted in Haiku, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Appreciate Neighbours

Posted on August 1, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

The Internet is slow particularly when uploading images. I may need to wait until tomorrow morning and post early before we head off for the day. In the meantime, I jotted this as we walked to Kootenai Lake.

Neighbours near,

Some visible

Ducks laugh and swim

Distract us, grouse–

Protect family and spouse

Woodpecker’s fly by lunch

Delectable larvae, I’m sure.

Others less evident

A fish plays–

Teases with hide and seek

Loon momentarily there

Beaver away from lake house

A moose–

Tracks and droppings

Insects whir in the stillness

Butterflies flit and feed

And move seed

A phantom breeze brushes floor

A solitary leaf responds,

And waves

Up high

Trees sigh.

What watches me?

I am not sure

Neighbours present,

A community–

Puzzles pieced together

Each a part

Seamless, yet not form fitting.

We are part of communities and this past few months I feel more of that; at Gonzaga, with my blog, and on nature walks with Kathy. I appreciate being one small part of communities made up of many parts.

4 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Waterton Lakes National Park Day 2

Posted on July 31, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

We are back from day 2 of our Waterton Lakes National Park adventures. Yesterday, I commented on International Peace Park that within reason animals are right there and pose for you.  We were unable to post our one bear sighting. Despite poor vision, bears hear very well our sighting was from the boat. As we moved closer, the bear heard us and headed for cover. We only took pictures of his rear end from a distance. Today we had two bear sightings.

This was our first sighting. This bear was about 100 metres away on a hillside as we left town. It is a fair-sized and is brown, but is likely a black bear and not a grizzly. What we could see of the snout and head does not look quite right and it is missing the hump on the back. Here is another view.

Grizzly bear are generally solitary and do not like humans around them where black bear are more likely to approach areas with humans around.

This sign is at the Cameron Lake trail and refers to the area beyond as a ‘grizzly’s garden’ and care is needed beyond this point.

Here is a haiku for grizzly bear we did not see, but we know is out there.

Grizzly’s home and garden

Tread gently and carefully

Grizzly habitat.

Our good fortune was not done. We spotted another black bear on another hillside on our way back from Red Rock Canyon. This one is younger and smaller and is definitely a black bear. I would guess it was born a year ago this past spring.

You can see the snout and the ‘piggy eyes’ of the bear. They are members of the same family as the pig. The ears stick up more and the grizzly would have ears that are ‘teddy bear like’ and stick out from the side of a very large head.

Not all animals we met were as intimidating.

This sheep was about 2 metres from the car and just looked up to have its picture taken.

11 Comments

Posted in Haiku, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

International Peace Park

Posted on July 30, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy and I wanted to travel down to Glacier National Park, Montana, but the logistics were challenging. We put this on the back burner this year and traveled to Waterton Lakes National Park in the southwest corner of Alberta. The two parks combine and form the first International Peace Park and are often called the Crown of the Continent, but there is no easy way to see both without a lot of traveling or so we thought. Luck intervened and we found our way down to Glacier National Park.

In national parks you can get up close and personal with the wildlife. They are still wild and skittish, but as long as you are careful they stay and. I took this picture just outside the ticket offices for the boat tours. She grazed, let several of us take pictures, and we were within a couple of metres (five or six feet) of her.

Oh my dear, it’s a deer.

We were able to travel to Glacier via an alternate mode of transportation: a boat. This is the US International, an 85-year-old boat, that makes four round trips on Waterton Lake to the south end. Part way through the trip, we crossed into the US and Kathy and I chose to stay for a couple of hours to do some hiking.

An icon of Waterton is the Prince of Wales Hotel. It was built in 1927 and overlooks the lake. It is open from mid-June until mid-September. We have missed it on other trips due to traveling in the off-season, but this year we are stopping for ‘high tea.’ This is a view from the boat.

When Kathy and I got to the US port of entry at Goat’s Haunt, we stayed and hiked into a small alpine lake called Kootenai. It is about an 8 km walk (5 miles) and took about 2.5 hours. This is the ranger station and border crossing. We showed passports and answered routine questions.

This is a view from the path along the way.

Nature’s cathedral

Light dances with shadows below

A benediction.

This was a small stream we passed over twice. The flow of water has worn the rock flat. Nature is rich with paradox.

Life’ rapid current

Smoothing and shining rough edges

Until next rough spot.

We are off for another day of adventure.

8 Comments

Posted in Haiku, Mindful Life, Nature in All Its Glory, Photography, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Heading Home – Haiku Haven

Posted on July 28, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

Kathy and I head home after a great month in Spokane and at Gonzaga. I enjoy my time here and find the “pause that refreshes.” Part of this is paying forward which happens and the flow of time within this relational space. I see paying forward as a circle. Yesterday, we said good-bye to a colleague on his way home. He reminded me I lent him one of my papers his first summer here and how much that meant to him at a time he was ready to pack it in. I told him my first experience here was similar and someone reached out to me. I find the same thing in virtual community. It is harder to carry on conversations and build relationships, but I find a qualities that are unmistakeably human: care, reciprocity, and trust. I am grateful for the daily support I receive in each form of relationship.

Hearts open in time

The reward is worth the wait

We listen deeply.

A place of comfort

The circle invites us in

Its safe reach shelters.

Community calls

Alchemy not formula

Companionship grows.

I found this quote at Circle Toward Wholeness  and it speaks to the circular nature of life and how gifts are constantly received and returned. The quote can also be found at Unitarian Universalist and Circle Fellowship in a more linear form.

3 Comments

Posted in Community, Mindful Life, Poetry, Reflective Moments and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Captains of Society

Posted on July 28, 2012 by ivonprefontaine

I mentioned when I posted Angry Young Poet there was a second poem I shared from my youth with my students. I softened this one a bit, as it had an angry voice. I know this version sounds pretty harsh, but it is gentler. A recent conversation reminded me how I marginalize voices of those already marginalized. A professor commented he was told by an affluent person that another less fortunate person was a non-entity and the worth of human was measured in material worth. I know this might be isolated, but it troubling and I was reminded of this poem.

Captains of Society

Shallow, superficial, arrogant

Single ambition

Greatness in the eyes of others

Only those with resources can apply

The rest

Forgotten

Pay a high price, but…

It’s their fault

They own their misery.

A cheque to charity

Assuages my conscience

What about the despair?

Don’t care

I claim I do

Donations in good faith, but

It’s a tax receipt

I can really claim, but…

Done on the backs of others

Get the staff to donate time

Not mine.

Increase taxes

Not mine!

No way!

It’s wrong!

Tax others!

What is work?

I create jobs

It’s a spectator sport

This work, which

I manage from afar.

Drive luxury wheels

Shout

Curse

What’s the hold up?

Who’s blocking my way?

The ‘75 Ford station wagon

Engine shot

Dead broke!

Is it their home?

 Throw a party

Drink

Eat

Be merry

No concern for homeless

A romantic notion this ‘hobo jungle’

Not my world

What’s wrong?

It’s not my fault

I gave at the office.

After all.

Throw money at problems

It might help

Don’t

Stop, see, care

If it really helps

Denying, refusing, unfeeling

I pay for a clear conscience

After all.

 The misery

In surround sound…

Is out of sight;

Out of mind

4 Comments

Posted in Lesson Plans, Poetry, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →