REST IN PEACE, Uncle David.

So soon to see you go… You probably wanted to join our dearest Auntie Virgie in Heaven. I thank you for taking me along as a child, test flying your hand-made model planes on a distant land. Whether they proudly soared like eagles or jerkily spiralled and plunged like dolphins, what I remember most was the crowd that followed us everywhere -- barefoot children, snotty ones in threadbare shirts yelling, “Hey, Joe!” to which you’d patiently say, “I’m not Joe. I’m David.” (Did Billy Roberts ever think his lyrics would come out of these children’s mouth whenever they saw a white man?) As you once wrote me, “Only the angels know,” I trust that your angels have finally given you your heart’s desire. Until we meet again. –MLJ-   

Only the angels know…

You loved my aunt, I swear
And you loved me just as well
Teaching me English and taking me along
To test your remote-controlled miniature planes
Built and designed by your brilliant mind and hands
Flying them on that empty lot
Where barefooted snotty children
Wearing hole-riddled threadbare shirts
That used to be white, I swear,
Watched in awe as your creation
Either circled and glided like an eagle
Or turned and twirled and crashed on piles of garbage
For that was what the neighbourhood was about
With its shanties, hungry mouths and filth
That you didn’t mind really
Just as much as when every child said,
“Hey, Joe!” And you’d respond with
“My name’s David, not Joe.”

Back in the US you discovered later
That your happiness is in cross dressing
And you sent me your photos of a painted face
Where you wrote, “Only the angels know.”
Well, blow me down, Uncle or Aunt!
It’s been a long and bumpy ride, I know,
So rest well with your angels
And thank you for loving me just as well
Even showering me with presents two years ago
Perhaps remembering that little brown child
That stood by your side
Whether your planes soared or plunged.
23 Sept. 2021 on the passing of Uncle/Aunt David

How much blood?

Our second summer staycation with the fourth wave of COVID-19, and forest fires raging on all sides. Itchy eyes, nose and throat, and heat waves should be nothing though. Condos crumbling in Florida, swallowed by voracious earth that disdained concrete. Global warming punishing human beings with drought and flooding while Siberians battle fires in vain. Mask mandate and vaccine debates going on amidst the opening of classes, trapping children in the middle. Death sentences handed down for heroic teachers and frontliners. Early school shootings in England and the US. Earthquake and hurricane in Haiti, and bullets flying in Afghanistan. The desperate clinging on jets taking off abandoned Kabul. Women and girls left behind to bear the young terrorists of the morrow. And the bloody cycle goes on and on… Until the next summer staycation? MLJ/16/2021/USWithrawsFromAfghanistan

2021 Summer Space Race

As Delta like wildfire spread,
As gas prices skyrocketed,
As forest fires engulfed the west,
And elsewhere flash flooding enraged,
Billionaires raced to space!

Mr. B's Virgin Galactic
And another Mr. B’s Blue Origin,
Promising more global warming,
Punishing masses that kept on buying
Virgin and Amazon products so addicting!

Soon they’ll build colonies
On the moon or Mars or farther,
Enslaving their puppets,
Scientists and tech geeks,

Leaving rotten planet Earth
To those who can’t afford tickets,
And queue like robots at stations
To blast off to a heavenly body bound for
Another callous obliteration.
MLJ/22/07/2021

In Seventeen Months…

Such a short time to say goodbye
To seven lovely souls who have left,
One with depression, six with cancer
While unwanted COVID and its brothers
Have felt comfy and overstayed.
Jamison/20/07/2021/17MonthsOfCOVID19

My Diana

Like Sleeping Beauty you rest
Loveliness at its best
Painless peace at last
Pure comfort with our God.

Aren’t I grateful indeed
For having you as a friend,
A sister, a confidante in a land
So cold but warmed
By your helping hand?
MLJ/18/01/2021

In Seventeen Months…

When three of your kin have gone ahead
Taking with them depression or cancer
You begin to ponder
Who’d be next?
Would I be next?
Should I be next?
Then you say a prayer:
“Lord, let it be that I’d go painless,
Or better yet, let me go in my sleep.”
When you’d never really prayed before
As a non-believer!
Jamison/18/07/2021/17MonthsOfCOVID19

On Being Forgetful

A hot shower,
A walk in the park, watching the Bow River,
A visit to the library then the grocery,
Picking up fruit in season and bird seeds.

Then seeing my doctor,
Saying all’s well despite forgetfulness,
Sore limbs, nocturia, buckling knees,
A topsy-turvy gut, and God knows what else.

But because I’m now forgetful,
I’ve forgotten to tell her all my troubles!
Jamison/14/07/2021/staycation

On 95.9 CHFM Radio: What odd questions have you been asked on the job?

Caller 1: I’m a high school teacher and one day, a student asked, “Are we going to do anything important today?” How about you come back tomorrow? Maybe we’re doing something MORE important than today?

Caller 2: I’m a flight attendant, and a passenger asked, “What kind of coffee do you have?” Duh! You get whatever we serve!

Caller 3: I’m also a flight attendant, and a pilot asked, “Could you please get my wife a birthday present?” Whaat???

Question for me: “Miss J., how old are you?” Hmm… I can’t seem to recall. I’m afraid I’m too old to remember… Jamison/17/07/2021/staycation