Blog of the Week ~ Grace at Everyday Amazing

This week, my friends, we are pleased to feature the Canadian poet, Grace, who writes so beautifully at Everyday Amazing, where, Grace says, "I paint a canvas of my ever-changing world". As a long-time member of Poets United, we have featured Grace a few times over the years. Her Life of a Poet interview was in 2012, and we did a Blog of the Week in 2014, as well as some poems of the week, given how beautiful her writing is. (Her writing truly is Everyday Amazing! It was hard to limit myself to a few today.) Grace lives near Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. Pour yourself a cuppa, and let's enjoy a few of her gorgeous poems.

Sherry: Grace, so nice to be chatting with you again. 

Grace: Thanks for the feature.   As you know, writing poetry is a fun hobby for me.   I get my inspirations from my everyday life, like my weekday train rides, watching documentaries, (mostly nature), and reading the poetry of other poets.

Sherry: I still remember the woman in the yellow coat that brightened one of your winter morning train rides. Smiles. Grace, do you have any plans for your writing in the months ahead. Is there anything you'd like to tell us about?

Grace: I don't have plans of publishing my work, as it's only a hobby for me.    

I am busy with work at Downtown Toronto City, and keep myself professionally updated by studying and taking exams every year.

The big family event that happened was when my eldest son got married last year, May 31, 2015.  It was a memorable family reunion, as our families came  from different parts of the world. 

My daughter- in-law is wearing the red dress

Sherry: Oh congratulations! That must have been a wonderful event, a wedding and a family reunion.

Grace: As to writing, I wish I can write more, but I now refrain from linking up during weekends as I would like  to be more active and doing some other stuff (like hiking and visiting parks), specially during the warm seasons.  I am envious of poets who pour out their deep emotions and thoughts on the page and blogs about it.   I don't think I have reached that point yet as I keep myself in check.   You asked me before about my best work, and I believe, then and now, that my "best" is still coming.

Sherry: Wow, you already write brilliantly. I await future work with anticipation. Smiles.

Grace: What I enjoy most about writing poetry is the community of poets - they are warm and thoughtful writers.   And even though we have not met each other face to face, you get a glimpse of their hearts and lives though their words.

I now feel more comfortable sharing pictures of myself and my family.

During our autumn walk. I'm in the middle.

Sherry: Thanks so much, Grace. It is lovely to see you and your family! Yes, over the years, reading each other's deepest thoughts, we do get to know each other very well. 

Grace, recently, I was blown away by your poem "A Dance In the Sky". I loved it so much, I really wanted to hear about it in more depth. Let's dive in.

A dance in the sky

your umber words
undo
my laced-up ribbons

kindles fire
effervescent as wine
i snow melt

furrows to crown
& between fingertips
i grow fresh skin

throw wild air-kisses
to red-
crested cardinals

there's no time
swooning over you

because
you've already flown,
dancing with starlings

Dancing with starlings

Sherry: Your imagery in this piece is so gorgeous, Grace. Tell us the story of this poem, won't you?

Grace: I was watching the video of the murmuration of the starlings, and I was awed by their beauty and flight.   The winter season is long in my part of the world, so I was looking forward to the return of the birds and advent of spring.    I also wrote this as a word challenge - in 44 words only.

Sherry: You described  it to perfection in those few words, Grace. Another poem with birds in it really spoke to me: your "Lost Brotherhood". Let's take a look.

Migrating Siberian cranes over the Himalayas

Lost Brotherhood

white against white
    sky is an open road
       above ice-capped mountains

wild is the call of wind
    that rushes in our lungs
       as we cross continents & rivers

to where the sun greens
     every blade of grass, browns earth-
        worms, yellows fish in marshlands

we fear not the crossing
     the flock is brotherhood
        marking the journey old as sea

our wingspan fight
     against eagles and vultures
         yet we fear not
              as we smell rain clouds
       above the marsh & bogs
       
as we travel  
      on and on       
           don't lead us astray
                     with your hunting games
                 for our prized plumes
         for our tender meat

leave us 
      in our untamed earth
            dense, unsettled as clouds  
               with the wind as our choir      
                       we move as kindred souls 
                                   in silent geometry
                                     
                            Let this be not our  
                                                         last
                                                                 j o u r
                                                                             n
                                                                                 e
                                                                                      y


Sherry: I pray it isn't their last journey too. I love "leave us...unsettled as clouds / with the wind as our choir..." Beautifully done, Grace.

Grace: Sadly, these long-lived cranes are on the list of endangered species, as its population has greatly diminished in the last three decades.

"Lost Brotherhood" was a prompt for eco-poetry which I hosted for D'verse.   I wanted to write about the plight of Siberian cranes when they are migrating between seasons.  I used the words to create a wing-like formation when they are flying, and the eventual fall from the skies.   I think it's fun to play with the format of the words on the page. 

Sherry: You succeeded. very well, Grace. The way the closing word fades and drifts off the page really underscores the plight of the cranes.  

Your poem "Traveler's Heart" spoke directly to me, as I have written many poems about traveling. Your imagery is, as always, glorious in this poem. And I love the changing formats of your poems, which look so wonderful on the page.

      

Traveler's heart

Give me 

autumn's billowing wind

Ruffling falling leaves to wet canvas 

I am blue butterfly trifling the wheat fields

Up north, I travel to gaze snow-capped mountains

Down south, I gather shells & listen to sun-lit chimes

I flicker back and forth between cities and seasons

To the east, I drink green tea & feast on pink lotus

To the west, I sip ripe wine & study cathedrals

My luggage is not yet filled of souvenirs

 With colorful shirts and silver spoons 

Like clouds, I will not rest, not yet

For I have a traveler's 

   w

       a

           n

               d

                   e

                     r

                l

       u

s

                                                     t

Sherry: I have it too, though now I do my traveling through words and the imagination. Which is why your words lift me up and carry me off so wonderfully.

Grace: I am also inspired by the photography of other artists. I must admit I find it hard to write without pictures or having a mental picture in my head. Along with the title, I wanted to create a shaped or visual poem, to complement my words. To do this, I first write the words in a normal way, then I play with the format on the page. 

My most challenging shaped or visual poem was "When It's the Real Thing". After that exercise, I felt bolder to experiment with the words!

When it's the real thing

I'd like to buy 

the world a poem 

for all 365 days, I

will not keep it 

company but will 

let it tumble, rip, 
crash, hobble, run,

slam, burst as autumn 

red leaves drifting by 

the river canal, falling 

over bridges & archways

until the verses settle down:  

a torchlight, bell, majestic river.

I'd like to give the world a view:

happiness, not bought & sugared,

nor snowed white as turtle doves

but simple yellow morning bloom.

Then I'd teach the world to sing  

in perfect harmony with trees, 

with each fading leaf color and 

passing clouds. Because there's a

poem to be found even in empty

road, lonely mountain, rainy days,

rusted can, or walking hand in hand.

Life tastes good when you keep it real. 

Sherry: It looks beautiful on the page, and I love its message. So positive!

Thank you so much for starting our week off so beautifully, Grace. And for your loyalty to Poets United. We appreciate you, and look forward to enjoying much more of your work in the years to come. 

I hope you enjoyed these lovely poems as much as we did, my poet friends. Do come back and see who we talk to next. Who knows? It might be you!