Friday, November 06, 2026

Gratitude Prayer – No Filter

Gr 2 Student leading:
“Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful day, for our friends and teachers…
We pray for our sick friends that they get well soon.
Thank you, too, for the child support…”

Class:
What’s child support?

T:
Oops! Friends, it’s their family’s business. Not ours...

Sunday, October 25, 2026

When You’ve Written

The End
You’ve written.
The end to your adventures
You’ve written.

In five to ten years,
You’ve concluded.
The final curtain closing,
The house lights coming.

Oh, how joyous! How fitting!
That there’d be no tears.
Just singing praises
For how you’ve penned
Your very own kind of
Masterpiece.
MLJ24102026

Adopt a Pain

Adopt a child.
A dog, a cat,
Whether offered,
Or at your doorstep left.
Or a four-legged entered
And helped themselves.

Why not
Adopt these pains
When they keep coming
Like thieves in the night
Or pickpockets by day?
Leaving you cussing,
Otherwise wishing
Easy, instant replacement
For what you’d possessed.

Like the Chinook
Or the Nor’easter
That’ll constantly keep coming
For they’re what seasons bring.

But if they stay for good
Then like a pharaoh,
Take them with you,
As afterlife companions.

But as God promised
No pain, no sorrow,
Then there’ll be relief
After all.
MLJ24102026

Across the Crimson Sky

Across the crimson sky,
Squawking seagulls fly.
Mornings like this
I’ll surely miss,
When in bed underneath,
No regrets. Just memories
Of sounds and colors.
Earth's splendor!
MLJ24102026

Saturday, October 24, 2026

Monday, October 12, 2026

A No-Turducken Thanksgiving

Breakfast was mango-raisin pancakes.
Lunch was stir-fried bitter gourd egg
Topped with leftover fried tilapia fillet,
Only because the gourd was on sale.
Then banana-peanut-zucchini milkshake.
Dinner was the same, with chicken liver,
Only because liver was on sale.
No-turducken dinner. No leftovers.
MLJ12102026ThanksgivingHoliday


Thanksgiving Snowfall

 The first blessing this autumn

To chase the wildfires away.

Wishing wildflowers could stay. 






Friday, October 09, 2026

Plank

 I tried one day and hurt my back. Couldn't get up the next morning and went on an emergency leave -- the first time after teaching for 20 years in North America. OMG!



Navi Pillay

 



Saturday, October 03, 2026

The Obedient Child and Raisin Bread Pudding

Half asleep, I walked to the baker’s next block.
Not the one you know now for it was not
Bright or colorful, of glass and steel
With modern ovens, display, cash register…
It was of brick or stone masonry you could
Reach blindfolded like a police dog would
For the scent of pan de sal or salt bread
Wafted in the early misty morning air.

Inside the dim cavernous building,
Gently lit by the sleepy sun rising,
Turtle rays crawling through the opposite door,
The sweaty baker by the oven made of stone,
In cotton undershirt, a towel on shoulder,
Between his lips a trembling cigarette
His wooden peel he slid to and fro, in and out.
He knew when the dough had had enough.

I paid his aide, or wife. Pieces of steamy bread
Were counted as they were dropped into a paper bag.
I hugged my prized possession, warming my chest,
Wallowing in its cozy aroma, bringing a vision bright
Of Papa’s breakfast. Buttered bread and coffee.
Reading the morning papers. Smoking his Chesterfield.

And when all was done, a piece of bread or two
Went into a bag. When filled with everything stale,
Mama would ask me to cut into cubes,
Any growth on the outside? Scrape!
Soak in milk. Mash with sugar and eggs.
Add raisins and steam. Voila! A rare treat
For my siblings and me. And we’re all living still!
MLJ03102026TheUnquestioningChild

Didn’t Disappoint

Saved from dreadful death
Among the skeletal remains
Of fellow Mandevillas
One late summer day,
With six weeping buds,
A new pot and trellis and
Hours of southeast sunlight,
The dying brought delight.
Didn’t disappoint. Adorned
My drab and barren abode.
MLJ03102026FirstMandevillas

Sunday, September 20, 2026

Get What’s on Sale

As one financial guru said,
“Get what’s on sale,”
So today here’s what I gathered:
A pack of red apples from BC,
Frozen mussels from Chile,
And frozen okra from India.
Apple shake it is for dessert,
And sauteed mussels with okra
A cure for my war-torn heart.
MLJ20092026StopTheWar

Increase in Gambling Disorders: Who started it?

 Who's protecting the youth?



All I Ever Needed

A portable typewriter.
A canopy of trees. Benches
To sit on and type. Type. Type.
A safe campus. A quiet library
With staff that hushed the loud.

No electronics. No internet.
No scrolling. No swiping.
There was no need for speed
Just pondering. Contemplating.
Endless debating. Questioning...
MLJ20092026LetHumansThink




Who's in charge?