Our Ailing Earth
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲,
𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝,
𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫,
𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝?
𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧.
𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞;
𝐈, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐝𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 —
𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝: 𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐤, 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝!
𝐀𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡,
𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡.
Created March 3,2025
WE HAVE GOT IT ALL
Maple groves along country roads
Ridges donned with majestic trees
Farmers Markets, CountryFest,
Concerts and many movies sets…
Sports fields, parks and waterways
Cycling, walking and lots of golf
Berries, dairies, bakeries and hops
Many wonderful unique shops…
We can walk and talk, meet and eat
Right here close to home
We can touch horses, hear them neigh
And see big fields of crops and hay…
We can boat and fish and hike and skate
We can swim, camp and cycle
We have our Arts Club and Planet Ice
And at our Casino we roll the dice…
Our community pride keeps us strong
With pioneer stories, poems and songs
Our museums and library protect the tales
Informing and enriching us without fail…
We have outdoor concerts and Repair Cafés
Santa Parades and multicultural pride
Bold but careful development plans
Balancing with Nature across our land…
In fact Nature is around us everywhere
The air is fresh and clean
We are very proud of what we do
To keep our home-base refreshed and new…
Our Maple Ridge has grown up a lot
We have experienced growing pains
From just industry to so much more
We have bloomed from roots to core…
Yes indeed we do have it all right here
From the north to south, east and west
Our vision evolves from the old to new
Maintaining our charm and treasures too.
Poem Title : We Have Got it All
Rhyme scheme: abcc
Storyline: an evolving story of Maple Ridge
- approx. 240 words
RISE UP! RISE UP!
Tulip woke up this Westcoast winter morning both figuratively and literally. As she slipped out of her Queen sized bed, coveted with flannel sheets, a homemade comforter, and five unique pillows, she sat for a moment, looking out the window at the frost covered coniferous trees and said:
“Today is a perfect day to make bread.”
In a lot of ways making bread is like preparing for friendship. You find a simple recipe using the finest of authentic ingredients, and test it out. Some recipes work well instantly, others need a bit of help. Then there are those that don’t pass the test. Their ingredients just are not the right mix or quality or quantity, kind of like switching from butter to margarine or from milk to water or from pure chocolate to chocolatey— best to put those straight to the organics bin or shredder for pick-up on Monday morning. Life is too short to settle for less than your worth. In other words, when it isn’t right, it isn’t right. Turn the page and move on.
Harsh? No not really. Why settle for less? We only have one life (bread pan); one oven (body) to produce pride with confidence; two arms with palms to make it happen (knead); lungs to breathe in the good and out the bad (air bubbles in dough); a spine (yeast) that is so strong it will raise you up to keep you standing tall and proud — and ready to move forward when the time is right. Patience is a virtue, even when making or breaking bread.
Then there is the dough (your soul or heart) that will always need to be gently kneaded, and needed, to keep the spirit rising in the morning and resting at night, much like the workings of yeast in Tulip’s favourite 24 hour bread recipe.
She knows this metaphorical analogy will sound strange to some people as recipes and metaphors are not for everyone. Some people are overly anxious. They are impatient. They don’t want to plan too much or think too much. If they don’t have the right ingredients, they will resort to substitutions. When it comes to making bread, substitutions don’t work. Artificial is a wasted effort.
Tulip has been there and done that! Been flattened. Been burned. Been disillusioned. Almost gave up until one day an inner voice tuned in and asked : “How many failures does it take to figure it out? The problem isn’t the recipe, it’s the baker!”
At this point Tulip looks under the damp tea towel covering her beautiful ball of risen cheese bread dough. She caresses it fondly, places it carefully into her Dutch oven pan and a preheated oven. She smiles while hearing Josh Groban sing in the background : “You raise me up to all that I can be.” Her confidence assures her of success.
As she takes the finished golden crusted loaf out of the oven and places it on the cooling rack, Tulip raises a glass. She thinks of all of her longtime authentic homemade friendships and delicious loaves of carefully made bread, now only made from the finest of ingredients, and says to herself: “cheers to authenticity and carefully kneading them, and new ones too, oh so very right!” 🥂 🥖
🌷 🏹🌷
🌷 TULIP THE ARCHER 🌷
Much like an Archer, Tulip set out early in life to assemble her prey, not to hurt them nor to harm them, but to hold them close to her heart and home, much like a beautiful bouquet, well watered, well nurtured, well loved.
She is a warrior, a Sagitarrian, a strong woman of wisdom and inner strength. Her senses are sharp, her focus unwavering, and her resolve is to create happiness, feel happiness and live happiness, alone and with others, until they must part.
The assembled eclectic bouquet is an ensemble of colours, shapes and sizes. Some are suited to be side by side, others not, yet they all respect, honour and appreciate each other.
The whole ensemble is greater than the sum of its parts because, like ingredients in a pot of Minestrone soup, each part adds something more to the batch. Each brings its own scents, needs, wants, strengths and weaknesses. Each has open days and closed days; bright times and sad times: hopes and hopelessness; doubts and promise.
Most importantly, they look after themselves and each other; they are strong standing alone and with each other; and, as such, they beautify Tulip’s garden of life for her, for themselves, and for each other.
🏹 “Hail to the Archer! Happy Day of The Archer!” 🏹
THE POWER OF ARUBA
Each time I return from Aruba, my Island paradise in the southern Caribbean Sea, I think about what draws me back year after year and sometimes a few times a year.
I asked Siri, one day, to tell me how far Aruba is from my home base in British Columbia Canada. She says she thinks it’s about 6300 kilometers. When she added the words “I think”, I smiled and asked how long it takes to fly there. I expected her to say “does it really matter?”
Turns out the distance and the time doesn’t really matter at all to anyone I know who has gone there more than once. There is a mystic about the place. It’s small, quaint, clean. It’s a tourist destination for fabulous beaches, purified, fresh drinking water, excellent weather, quality accommodations, attractions, activities of all sorts and local as well as international dining. The government knows that. The businesses know that. The citizens know that. Every effort is made to please and welcome people from around the world. Every effort is made to share the citizens’ pride of the Island and all it has to offer, and every citizen knows how important the tourists are to their economy and future wellbeing.
I started going there about thirty years ago after many efforts by my now deceased parents to get me to join them there for a vacation. I kept saying no, no and no. It seemed so ridiculously far to go and no matter how hard they tried, nobody in the family took them up on their offer.
But, alas, I finally gave in. I was hooked right away! And, I have been going back every single year, sometimes as many as four times a year. The place has become somewhat like a magnetic force, energizing, uplifting, relaxing. I now just have to go there and it has comfortably become my home away from home. Peaceful. Calming. Beautiful.
Over the years I have befriended some locals who proudly show me very interesting nooks and crannies, or introduce me to activities I’d likely never make time for at my main home base. Now my sister and brother in law have bought in, their adult children have experienced it, and we enjoy being there together at least one visit per year.
The Island is small — maybe 15 km x 8 km, and houses about 100,000 people. It is independent but part of the Dutch Antilles. The official government language is Dutch; but, the official local language is Papiamento and I’ve even taken lessons.
Be it near or far … for me — it’s never far and always near. Whether I am here or there, going there or coming back here, I close my eyes and see it; I reach out my arms and feel it; I breath in the air and smell it; I put my ear to a conch and hear those subtle waves. And, to use the fifth sense of taste metaphorically, as a delicacy, the Island radiates the delicious taste of mystic, magic and memories — pleasant, powerful, peaceful; truly unmatchable and truly my paradise on earth.
Breaking Bread
As this loaf of fresh baked bread
Gently sits,
And I patiently wait,
I think of gratitude.
Gratitude for all we have:
Family, friends, and food;
Health, homes and happy hearts;
And so much more to grow.
I raise a hand upon its dome,
I feel anxious for a slice
But I wait a while, and smile a lot,
The connection is oh so nice.
Warmth and magic resonant
Like the power of Qi
I raise my hand and feel the sign,
It’s now ready to be released!
Inside that risen dome of dough
I feel a subtle, seeping heat
Full of flavours & sustenance
Self made just can’t be beat!
