24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
My name is Bobbie Saga, and I’m a retired journalist, researcher and writer from Lethbridge, AB. I’ve been honing my skills since my teen years because that’s when I fell in love with words. As a communications professional, my work includes news stories, essays and technical documents. I retired in 2005, and have since volunteered for various worthwhile projects. I was recently recruited, for example, to assist with a history project about women from a small coalmining town that no longer exists. This multi-year project has the working title, “Reclamation.” My role is researching background material, plus writing biographies and other content suitable for a website. My current goal, however, is to establish myself as a poet. I’ve never professionally published verse so at this time I’m seeking feedback and direction on poems I've written that I hope will be part of a collection of my work. All were inspired from my personal journals that depict different dynamics and stages of my life. Theses entries are now a treasure trove of prompts and inspiration for poetic expression.
Take my hand
Little one
Let’s walk along the shore
Let’s play with the seashells
Let’s play in the sand
Make a castle; make believe
Whatever you please
Take my hand
Little one
Let’s create just a few moments
Let’s not let go of being free
Let’s remember how to have fun
Just spending time in the sun
With someone you love.
Four birds of a feather
Delicately dance together
Now my morning routine
To recall all those moves
And still keep up the groove
Gets harder with each passing year
But try I must and not hesitate
In order to keep myself in shape.
There are so many miles between us
Yet I can look at the night sky
And know you can see it too
The same stars as I do
Despite the distance
It brings us close
I feel your
Presence
Near.
I see a cloud of white
Against a periwinkle sky
With the sun shining through
In streaks that beat against
The skyscraper and spread out
Before the glass storefront
Dear Sister do you remember at Christmas
when we were young and had so much fun
I recall us climbing down the stairs,
Silently so that know one could hear
It was before the day’s first light
Just to discover and to our delight
The presents brought joy and happy tears
That was our routine for so many years.
Everything about the those holidays
Were so very special in every way.
I woke in the night
at 2 a.m. and it’s hot
from a wave of heat
that makes it hard to sleep
so I sip on a glass of wine
while listening to my heart
beating to the rhythm of music
thinking of Blue and Both Sides Now
And I ask myself why
I still feel a loss of balance
I must be mad; I must be blind
questioning these feelings
of irreconcilable desire
that still hold fast
that still pull at my heart
back to the water’s edge
and those distant voices
still alive within every fibre
of my body and soul.
I take refuge
In words
on leaves
on pages
in books
in cafes
any time
any hour
any day
they lead
In and out
of certainty
those words
any will do
they can be caustic
or for comfort or joy
some take flight
others fail
they can make
a difference
they can shine
like the sun
or stars
in the night
simultaneously
for solace and sorrow
they can take
you on adventures
take me away
to and from
reality
when I wake
they are better
than coffee
and sometimes
company
late at night
words are there
for me
when I hesitate
to dream
It’s wasted energy to define
Oneself or one’s world
When we can create and shine
On own own terms
It starts with what is taught
By the time we hit grade school
Do this; don’t do that; don’t get caught
Being yourself — whatever that means
Truth be told I don’t conform
Because a person can’t be amazing
If you don’t push against norms
To discover life without boundaries.
You were a gift unlike any other
So special a treasure to discover
Now wrapped in gossamer of gold
Tied with a ribbon of mauve
Today is one step
away
from you
Tomorrow, it will be two