Had  the opportunity to write about work  I am privileged to do with youth and their families. If we want people to be and do their best we need to support them as they learn and grow.
https://www.a4yc.ca/blog/the-restore-circle

Peace

Laura

October is almost upon us. The leaves are donning shades of russet, gold, and warm spice. They crunch beneath my feet and dance in autumn breezes.

The arrival of fall brings opportunities for me to visit schools and take part in Read In Week. Honestly I am happy to visit schools anytime I am invited so feel free to ask. Read In Week is a celebration of books, stories, and poems,. Students are encouraged to discover new books, to read for pleasure and some might even want to share their own stories.

Over the weekend I was at a book fair in Sherwood Park. Throughout the afternoon various authors spoke about writing and some even read excerpts from their books. I was transported into their stories, the demands of the world and social media forgotten. I was simply present, a listener to histories, mysteries, adventures, challenges and dreams. It was a precious gift and reminded me how important it can be to turn off all the distractions and choose to be present to a moment, a person or an experience.

Go find your favourite kid and read with them or make a pot of tea and curl up with the book you just haven’t gotten around to starting. Be transported and read.

Peace

laura

A walk inspired few lines….

Grandmothers whispered our stories
before we remembered to dream

Las abuelas susurraron nuestras historias antes de recordar soñar

Feet trod for miles

on dusty roads strewn with

ancestors,

memories, dreams.

In the distance misty light

shrouds cactus covered mesas,

silhouettes, stories

enchant yet haunt.

For it is in the telling

We remember the lies

And know that we are the earth we trod.

——————————————————————

Pies pisados por millas

en caminos polvorientos sembrados de

ancestros,

recuerdos, sueños.

En la distancia, brumosa luz

cubre cactus cubiertos mesas

siluetas, historias

encantar aún atormentar.

Porque está en el relato.

recordamos las mentiras

Y saber que somos la tierra que pisamos.

a piece in progress……

SANK

She sank into until

Sea stained, claw foot spilled

Mermaid dreamer, charm wooed

Salty wind, flesh cooled

Five thousand nights stolen

With her consent; broken

Shame’s remnants, her penance

Uncertainly she danced

With wily knaves, fish tails

Balanced justice’s scale

Divers to forever

Tattooed heart remembered

Flawed pearl, sands of time

From reverie she climbed

Mythic hopes, deceits drained

Ebb and flow rearranged.

ls/2019

unassuming, yet in a certain light she was everything ……..

Out for a walk last week I discovered a place that brought a smile as I remembered….

Whimsy

Wandered upon whimsy

Moss, stones, tumbled chimney

Forgotten garden child

Flower strewn, laughter wild

Unabashed joy rises

Muddy footed, blue eyed

Wind beckoned, dreams chased

Memory’s breath, heart traced.

ls/ July 21 2019

A new poem and photo –  results of puddle not navel gazing.

PUDDLE(D)

Unnoticed in the ordinary

Perspective is peculiarly

Nurtured amidst intentioned pauses

Asymmetry ‘s reimagined laws.