From the book, SHE IS READING HER BLANKET WITH HER HANDS
by SHARRON PROULX-TURNER
one crow sorrow two crows joy
for joy hendrickson-turner
green in the hills
like lines in a long & sensuous poem
each one a careful reflection of the next
sisters walking & something about crows & sand & clams & black bear beach, about rapid rivers & rivers wide as lakes. these were the beauties for us, the peace. the sand from the beach, coarse & hot & cleans the feet in seconds. acorns from a grandmother oak, leaves bigger than men's hands. those great trees, the oaks & the maples & the white pines, growing in our backyard, our schoolyard & us playing marbles in the sand, making necklaces from pine needles, elegant & long. climbing trees. hiding in the bushes. kick the can all the way through to the big kids' school.
we've walked together in all weather
in blizzards, laughing in the cold
in hail, running for shelter
in the company of birds
crows & hawks & ravens
magpies & whiskeyjacks & geese
osprey in the hot, hot sun
& chickadees in the bitter cold
we've walked through the chill of our childhoods
& into a prairie meadow
filled with the healing power of sage
of sweetgrass all around
& there your beauty
is intensified by your smile
your most excellent sense of humour
I remember when you were born
your smell after coming home from hospital
the smell of new life
of what joy can mean
in an embodied way
if I were to express my love for you, I would walk with you on the side of a mountain, the snow deep & us pumping our way from camera to tree, camera to tree, trying to take a photo, our footprints deep & slow & our laughter all around. the air there, in those mountains, has a quality that's hard to describe - an intelligence & a voice, a story. & the two mountains with us in the photo, like sisters reflected in each other's home.
high on a mountain
laughing
where a single moment
is worth more
in that instant
than years of not knowing
she is reading her blanket with her hands
ISBN: 978-1-897181-18-8
Price: $15.95
http://frontenachouse.com
