Skeleton treePicked clean as a boneBranches white against the darkening sky High aboveBirds are flying homeTo hideaways where leaves still cling Note: This was inspired by a tree I passed on a walk to Paddington Old Cemetery. Unfortunately none of my photos could do it justice. In writing this poem, I found myself wondering about …
Author Archives: A.C. Smith
Graveyard Walk
There is a signJust inside the gatesSpray-painted in bright yellow:A picture of two bodiesAnd an arrow between themLabelled ‘6 ft’. It looks like a traffic marking.Strange to see thisOn consecrated ground,Where stone angels hover,And carefully-chiselled datesBook-end the livesOf the sleepersUnder our feet. Someone passes,Chasing their dog.A woman in exercise gearDoes lunges In front of gravestones.A …
Survival vs happiness in times of crisis
I remember at one point during my cancer treatment, one of my sisters said to me something along the lines of ‘I thought there was going to be a lot more watching movies and cuddling’. But I found the logistics of dealing with cancer with a baby in the house absolutely overwhelming. It didn’t feel …
Cool things: magnetic page notebook
This popped up today in an email from uncommon goods – a magnetic notebook that lets you take pages out and move them around. I’ve always leaned towards notebooks with tear out pages so I can more things around and group them where they actually go (rather than the order that ideas come out in.) …
How change happens: election thoughts
I remember when Colorado was a red state. It wasn’t so long ago. When I was first able to vote, I cast my ballot knowing it likely wouldn’t make a bit of difference. It would just be lost in the bloodbath. But now, Colorado doesn’t even seem to be a battleground. It is a lovely, …
The joy of writing poetry on a screen
I have a longstanding fascination with the physical process of writing. I think the tools that we use shape the way our brains work, and the kind of work that we can produce. I’m not just sharing poetry on this blog – I am actively composing in the online space of WordPress. There is a …
Colour and pattern
The thing about knittingIs you have to choose:Colour or pattern? A beautiful textureWill only showWith a solid colour.Likewise,A vibrant, multicolour yarnWill get lostIn a busy pattern. I’ve learned thisFrom careful observationAnd the sharp edgeOf experience. No sweaterCan holdEvery colourI think is beautiful;Or every patternI want to seePlay out.Trying to cramEverything inOnly endsIn a tangled mess. …
Another finish line
Cancer feels like it has so many finish lines and milestones – and each one opens up a whole range of feelings. Tomorrow will be my last day as someone with a port. I though this procedure would feel like an afterthought – but it’s actually hitting a nerve. I was speaking about this today …
Writing hack: setting an intention
This isn’t a hack I’ve experimented yet – rather something that might be a really good idea, and I wanted to capture it while it’s fresh. Today, I did an online yoga video where the instructor encouraged us at the beginning of the practice to set an intention. She explained that this served as a …
Odds and ends 7
To Find A Better Solution, Ask A Better Question by Hal Gregersen (From Medium) “Today, as I sit in the midst of MIT’s buzzing hive of innovators, I see plenty of people arriving at and articulating questions with the same power to excite the imagination and engage other clever people’s efforts. For the moment, I’ll …