Father and Son

Art Morgan

Here lies ashes of Art Morgan buried at the foot of Sakura Tree at Forest Law Cemetery close to Mother’s gravesite.

 
Father and Son
wearing the same outfit
black turtle neck, black jacket, black coat. 
Can I tell the difference?
young and older,
spitting image. 
It was Remembrance Day. 
Father was in town for the legion
to commemorate Remembrance Day. 
Where have you been hiding this young lady?
asked Father to Son. 
Where have you been hiding your father?
a thought I kept to myself for the Son. 
He was an army pilot during World War II. 
Father survived the war,
got married, raised a
family of four. 
I was happy to meet Father but
death came to soon. 
He died
in his own
hands. 
Why? 
Have you seen a
grown man cry?
Son was inconsolable. 
In Father’s bedroom
there I sat on his bed and lit
a candle to say a little prayer
and left the candle burning
by the bedside table. 
WHO LIT A CANDLE! 
Scream came out of Son’s mouth
hush, it was me, hush
Inconsolable.
wishing I could take away his
pain. 
Thanksgiving Day
time to scatter the ashes on top
of the mountain
overlooking the lake. 
One by one
the family took handful of ashes
blown to smithereens
carried by the wind. 
Mine placed in a small container
for Father’s ashes to bury him
at the cemetery. 
At the foot of the Sakura tree
is where I buried his ashes
near Mother’s resting place. 
Father’s bible was given to me
in memory of Son’s Father. 
There is no answer to Why. 
Remembrance Day
will always remind
me of Father and Son. 
 

Sakura for Jae

Here’s something to look forward to when you visit Canada in spring.  I kid you not, Sakura is all over the place in Canada.

This is just one tree.  Imagine walking underneath the boulevard all lined up with Sakura, it’s snowing pink petals.
sakura jae

“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.” 
― Kobayashi IssaPoems

This is nothing in comparison to my fascination with this yellow flower when I first arrived here in Canada. I just love these Lions of the Spring. One cannot appreciate the beauty of Cherry blossoms without having to fall for these beast.
Lions of the Spring

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring.

Comings and Goings of March 29, 2013

It started with an early phone call from Room 203; she wanted to visit and it’s only 9 a.m.  Still in her pajamas with coffee, cheese and crackers, as well as her cat Riley, I let her in. 
This is the first time Riley is visiting my place and he is very scarred.  Have you ever heard scared cat cry?  It’s  blood curling cry.  Maurice and Lucy were scared and went into hiding.  So did Riley.  By the time they left is was close to noon. 
Next, I went next door, Room 307 to ask her to make me real coffee.  I supplied her with a Starbucks coffee grind.  Life is good with real coffee.  I took some pictures of her potted plants. 
It is now 1 pm and time to visit Mother.  She’s resting just down the road.  I picked some narcissus, fern, sage, rosemary and yellow flowering branches from my garden to bring to Mother. 

The road where Mother is resting is downhill.  Going downhill sure beats uphill.  I’ll worry about that later. 
It’s a busy day mostly for Chinese family.  They sure know how to party with their dearly departed.  I laid a few flowers for this young man, this is the first time I’ve heard of bullying, year 2000,  the same year Mother died.  Mother’s site sure looks pretty with the bouquet I placed on her gravesite. 
Then I visited the pond with a lonesome drake, a couple of turtles and plenty of fishes. 
See that building on top, I live across that.  See that 45 degree road, that’s the hill to get back home which is not a problem if only I am 13 years younger. 
I came across with a worm.  Then, I took refuge underneath a tree and scared the living daylight out of me, an evil thing lurking above.  Sakura is in full bloom and then life is a bowl of ???.   But look, I found a $10 gift certificate, my lucky day.
Finally, I’m home.  That’s the yellow flowering bush.  The baby artichokes are waiting for me to cook.  By the look of the size of the artichoke, even though I bought two dozens, I will still be hungry.  Thank goodness, Room 307 came over for tea with Polish salad. 

The salad was my dinner.  As for the artichokes, it ended up in the garbage.  
Life is grand.