haibun elegy for a jazz musician

from an email to a friend:

 I visited Callaghan’s Rapids for the first time in over a month this chilly morning. No signs of ATVers getting in anywhere (yet). First I went to the falls and found a small bit of trash in the fire pit, but forgot to take a pickup bag. Then I walked the new trail beside the river back to the centre trail. There was some deadfall, but the trail was mostly clear and had obviously been used over the summer.  

Then I took the shortcut trail from the first beach to the bridges. I checked out the small side trail I made in late winter which cuts off that trail, and it had been used as well. 

By the bridges I met Dale, who knows you and was very grateful for all the work you’ve done to protect Callaghan’s from the ATV vandals. He was going back to his spot in the area near the caves to spend a quiet day. 

I don’t know if you met Alan Kingstone, the retired jazz musician who bought the tiny old schoolhouse on Tiffin Road? Yesterday a checkout woman told me he died recently. I believe he was only in his early sixties. I had stopped to visit him several times on my way home from Callaghan’s. He was a very private person, and neighbours finally checked on him when they hadn’t seen I’m in a few days and found him dead. Possibly a heart attack. We never got to play our game of scrabble. 

I stopped by his place on my way home today, and it was sad to see his old blue Subaru, same model as mine, still sitting in his driveway.  

chickadees

crowd the bird feeders

of a dead friend

The Fracking Truth Campaign

 

Hi Christopher, Thank you for taking action to hold gas companies to account! Despite the gas industry marketing its product as “natural” and “green,” we know that fracked gas pollutes communities when it’s extracted, when it’s transported, and when we burn it to heat our homes. And we also know it’s a major driver of climate change! Please take another moment to help get the truth out so as many people as possible know about the Monster Misconceptions of fracked gas. Share this fun video to help expose industry lies! SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON LINKEDIN SHARE ON INSTAGRAM SHARE VIA EMAIL The greenwashing of fracked gas is getting in the way of winning important climate policies that would help us transition to a green economy. But we can make a big difference by exposing corporate lies. If we can dispel the myth that gas is safe and clean, then we can get it out of our homes. Help get the word out and catalyze a move towards clean heating by sharing the myth-busting video with your networks! Or, you can make your own video! Go to our Soapboxx page to debunk gas industry misinformation yourself! The first step towards action is accurate information. That’s why we at Stand.earth and Dogwood have come together to tackle gas industry misinformation across Canada. Stand.earth hosts SAFE Cities, a growing movement of local communities phasing out fossil fuels and fast-tracking clean energy solutions. Dogwood is home to the Safer Homes BC campaign to get toxic fracked gas out of our homes. Together we can push back against gas industry greenwashing and pave the way to a clean and healthy future! Sincerely, Lana Goldberg (she/her) SAFE Cities Climate Campaigner, Stand.earth & Ashley Zarbatany (she/her) Fossil gas campaigner, Dogwood The Fracking Truth campaign is organized by Stand.earth and Dogwood BC. Learn more about what you can do to counter Monster Misconceptions about un-natural gas at https://thefrackingtruth.ca. Unsubscribe or change your subscription preferences

Through the Nights: Allan Briesmaster

I am blest being beside you through the nights.

Housed, fed. No pressing threat. No frivolous wishes.

And without any need to dream of you -

although you grace my dreams from time to time.

We might go on a travelling adventure,

to rediscover some far-different land

that welcomes us again at port and shore.

We celebrated in a sweet embrace there.

But being asleep together is itself

embrace - with its accompanying steady,

near- indiscernible hum of breaths (except

for patchy snoring both can tolerate) -

dissolved from daylight boundaries in this

warm, unimpeded, open-ended flow

while we enwrap within our mutual gift

that self-maintains its effortless repair. 

from Later Findings

Ekstasis Editions Canada, 2024

Later Findings is Allan’s tenth full-length poetry collection.

He lives inThornhill, Ontario with his wife Holly, a visual artist.  

War Is Insane: David Suzuki

 

Photo: Curioso Photography via Unsplash War and climate change fuel a survival-threatening cycle War is insane. Humans spend enormous amounts of money, consume massive resources, develop jaw-dropping technologies, destroy infrastructure and natural areas and kill millions of people, including many non-combatants, often just to stroke the egos of petty power-seeking men. Our killing technologies may have advanced tremendously, but our mindsets haven’t evolved much from 3,000 years ago when Homer wrote his epic story The Iliad, about a bloody battle over perceived loss of “honour” when Paris, prince of Troy, absconded with Spartan king Menelaus’s wife Helen. Wars have since become far costlier, in lives, resources and money, but their justifications seem no less absurd. We often hear how expensive it is to address the climate change and biodiversity loss crises, but it’s a pittance compared to spending on weapons and destruction — and addressing environmental crises is necessary and offers numerous benefits. Wars rarely do any good other than to enrich weapons manufacturers and, now, the fossil fuel industry. Wars rarely do any good other than to enrich weapons manufacturers and, now, the fossil fuel industry. That’s not to say that military and defence spending isn’t sometimes needed. In a world rife with conflicting ideologies and power-hungry leaders, people sometimes have to fight back against those who threaten freedom, democracy and human rights, or who engage in genocidal actions. And militaries often help out in times of disaster, such as hurricanes and other extreme weather–related events. But the overall concept of war is suicidal. It’s a testament to how little our thinking has evolved that we still don’t have better ways to settle differences. Not only do wars prevent us from resolving serious, survival-threatening emergencies such as climate change and biodiversity loss — by sucking up money and resources and prioritizing destruction over problem-solving — they also contribute greatly to those problems. A recent study by researchers in the U.S. and U.K. found greenhouse gas emissions generated during the first two months of the war in Gaza — more than 99 per cent from Israel’s devastating retaliation for Hamas’s brutal October 7 attacks — were greater than the annual emissions of more than 20 of the nations most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Those figures are a significant underestimate, as they’re based on just a few carbon-intensive activities. They include emissions from warplanes, tanks and other vehicles, building and using bombs, artillery and rockets and flying weapons and equipment from the United States to Israel. Other studies show the numbers could be as much as eight times higher if emissions from the entire supply chain were included. Not only do wars prevent us from resolving serious, survival-threatening emergencies such as climate change and biodiversity loss — by sucking up money and resources and prioritizing destruction over problem-solving — they also contribute greatly to those problems. Considering these conservative estimates are from just the first two months of a conflict that has escalated over more than a year, one can only imagine the current toll with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the many other conflicts worldwideadded. Although military emissions contribute significantly to global heating, reporting on them is voluntary. They’re mostly kept secret and aren’t included in United Nations climate negotiations. According to the Guardian, “Even without comprehensive data, one recent study found that militaries account for almost 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually — more than the aviation and shipping industries combined.” The U.S. is one of the largest contributors to overall military emissions, about 20 per cent from protecting oil and gas interests in the Persian Gulf region — which is warming twice as fast as the rest of the inhabited world. Beyond their emissions, military actions and war create a lot of other toxic pollutants. And, the UN reports, “while conflict exacerbates the effects of climate change, climate change, at least indirectly, drives conflict.” Imagine what we could accomplish if all the resources used to kill and destroy went into solving the existential threats we’ve created. David Boyd, UN special rapporteur for human rights and the environment (who has done work for the David Suzuki Foundation), told the Guardian, “This research helps us understand the immense magnitude of military emissions — from preparing for war, carrying out war and rebuilding after war. Armed conflict pushes humanity even closer to the precipice of climate catastrophe, and is an idiotic way to spend our shrinking carbon budget.” Millions of people in the Middle East, Ukraine and around the world are being killed, maimed, orphaned, displaced and starved as a result of war and climate change. Imagine what we could accomplish if all the resources used to kill and destroy went into solving the existential threats we’ve created. We’d better come to our senses before it’s too late. By David Suzuki, with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington Read Online Forward this email to a friend Share this story! Support the David Suzuki Foundation Your gift will help push for bold climate action, protect nature so it can sustain all life and create resilient communities that benefit everyone. Donate Today The David Suzuki Foundation is a registered charity in both Canada (BN 127756716RR0001) and the United States (94-3204049). We are located at 340-1122 Mainland Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 5L1, and we also have offices in Montreal and Toronto. Please visit our website for more information on how to contact us.

 

Full Moon in Late Winter/First Time: Katherine L. Gordon

 

Full Moon in Late Winter

Like a communion wafer

perfectly round and subtly silver.

I swallow it for transubstantiation.

It is inside my spirit

I am inside its ancient magic

for a transient moment

a piece of immortality,

the sun embraces me

through this deceptive reflection,

transmitted light

I am too frail to seize,

but I carry this moon sphere

into an undiscovered mystery,

a stream of shimmering dreams.

First Time

The first time I heard rattling

on the tin roof of a farm attic

I understood rain:

that tidal tattoo scattering

the clouds of my mind

into a million pilgrim orbs.

Water to awaken, nourish,

explore, imprint.

I became a wildflower.

Katherine L. Gordon

from Awareness Poems

SureWay Press, 2024

Mary's Farm (a poet visits)

Greensides Farm, Marmora

the entrance unpaved

you are greeted by plywood outhouses

the tiny store selling booklets and baubles

beside the buggy swamp

is long closed 

park where you like

the lot is empty

a small farmhouse, weathered picnic tables

rough shed for votive candles  

fields below the wooded hills

are well kept

close mowing reveals tiny strawberries

for feasting birds 

unimpressive, humble

the hordes of worshippers

evaporated with time

and intentional disarray

like a casually unkempt

English garden 

cracked dioramas at the Stations of the Cross 

patiently wait on pilgrim trails in the woods

Mary visits here!

why does She not float daily

above the Vatican?

or even the nearby Catholic church

which doesn’t sanction Her?

Mary must prefer the pure of heart

the simple, the unadorned

unmarred by millennia of human

abuse and misunderstanding 

of Her message and gifts

When young I felt like Basho

returned to meet the light

Now I feel like William Blake

Returned to urge this world to wake

pic from Trip Advisor

Autumn Ducks, Late October: James Deahl

For Raymond Souster

January 15, 1921 - October 19, 2012


Another autumn, and mallards
blanket these secluded waters
of Chipican, sheltered from
the sharp gusts off Lake Huron.

They arrived from up north on their
journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
In afternoon’s sun they bob
on water surrounded by the gold

and burnt red of maples,
the yellows of locusts touched by frost.
All our flowers are finished,
even the brave asters have folded.

You have been gone six years, Ray,
and every year at migration time
your spirit comes on autumn’s wind
with the mallards on their way south.

Ducks tarry on Chipicon, safe
before whisking away as winter
advances with its teeth of ice;
they sanctify each year since you were here.

from Awareness Poems

Katherine L. Gordon and James Deahl

SureWay Press, 2024