Another year gone by,
One that won’t soon be forgotten.
Not because it was a year to remember,
At least not like the others.
More like the year to forget.
We’ll recall 2020 for what it did to us.
Not the year, but the virus.
We should endeavour to be better…
Better prepared.
Stronger.
Kinder.
What will tomorrow bring?
A new day.
We saw blue skies.
We saw gray clouds.
There were dark moments.
And happy moments.
We witnessed celestial spectacles
And down-to-earth tragedies.
Yet, maybe in all this chaos
We found ways to slow down
To look around and really see
All of the colours on display
Throughout the day…
The year 2020 was definitely a strange one…
It started pretty much like the previous year but things changed in a hurry at the end of March: hand-washing, mask-wearing, social-distancing, isolating… The words were everywhere: pandemic, COVID, coronavirus… Then more words: frontline workers, healthcare workers, essential workers, heroes…
Chaos.
Summer provided somewhat of a reprieve. Then came a COVID-19 autumn with its lockdowns and escalating numbers.
More chaos.
I noticed that even the animals looked at us kinda strange, almost asking “Eh! What’s going on?“
Yes, it has been a strange year.
What a year 2020 has been…
It will long be remembered as the year of ups and downs.
Mostly downs.
A COVID-19 year.
A stormy year.
A choppy year.
I couldn’t believe my eyes
This trail never disappoints
Look out! my hiking mate warns
Over there, a couple of bighorns
She raises a finger and points
Even looks like this one smiles
You emerge with brand new wings
But how will you learn to fly?
You’ll know how to use these things
And soon take to the sky
Fly you will for miles and miles, nature’s wonder
Stopping here and there on colourful flowers
To collect pollen, the sole mission of a forager
Your calling for maybe a thousand hours
Day after day, all of this flying
High and far, there is no denying
Your worn and tattered wings a sure sign
That soon you’ll reach the end of the line
With the ground still frozen, those juicy earthworms are a few weeks away yet. The robins had to dine on last fall’s choke cherries that never fell off the branch. Better than nothing I guess.
A week later, there were no choke cherries to be seen on any branch in the neighbourhood.
Thawed by the sun’s rays
The ice on the lake
Turned a dark green colour
Needed only a few days
Of winter taking a break
To reveal the grey water
Emerging from the haze
Shake, shiver and shake
Can’t help but wonder
Maybe we can find ways
For icy blue hearts to awake
And beat even stronger
Soon the wheels turn again
Splattering puddles and scattering stones
Not like those pebbles on Agawa Beach
That your feet pushed into the cool sand
Sounding like an army on the march
Their thousand heels clicking on pavement
Keeping time with the invisible drum
That beat which keeps you going
Onward, as always
Staring off in the distance and seeing nothing
My eyes playing tricks with my mind
Carried away by the soft waves lapping the shore
Only the shadows of nearby islands visible
Like ghosts rising out of the fog
A half-smile, a half-hearted laugh
It feels so good to lie down
Listening to nature out there
Your breath keeping time
Only for a few seconds
Without thinking of it
Sleep comes almost instantly
By Lens and By Pens 