Vernon, BC Early 1960’s
Grandpa lounges in his chair under mid-summer’s glare.
Watches grandson picking cherries. Juice on his lips and finger tips.
Grandpa’s vacant stare. Bullets whiz by him. Bombs burst in the air.
Nigeria Early 1970’s
Flying British Air high above the Sahare
Little bro. squeals: ‘I see the borders of Chad’
Mother looked. I laughed.
Merritt, BC Early 1960’s
After school I saw two native boys making fire.
Not to cook. Or to warm. To awaken their desires.
Firetrucks came late. Empty lot. Lost to the flames.
Remote BC Late 1950’s
Dad and Mom were teens. Shacked in a camper.
Off a logging road. With a young toddler.
Dad worked at the mill. Mom enjoyed few frills.
Tampa Bay FL Early 1970’s
Christmas with distant relatives. No snow. Leafy fruit trees.
A special gift for me. What a surprise.
I had never before seen. Love. In a man’s eyes.
Trans-Canada Highway Early 1970’s
Dingy motel. Cop sirens. Officers barking instructions.
Fugitive shouts back. ‘Gun!’ Well. This might not be fun.
Crawled into the bath tub. Soon it was over and done.
Athens ON Early 1970’s
Farmer Cowan was mad. His prize cow. Bloated from new grass.
Just arrived. No mud on my boots. I prescribed: ‘Mix a potion’
‘Water and baking soda’. He did. Cow belched. And survived.
Kingston ON Late 1970’s
She said ‘I’m pregnant. I don’t want to keep it.’
My reply: ‘I’ll quit school for a year and support you.’
Her eyes became slits of hate. She had cast the child’s fate.
