Rainy Night

Rain has washed the city
Leaving streets slick
City lights
Look brighter
As the rainy haze lifts

The ground drinks
Feeding the grass
Once winter white
Then sepia spring
Now green growth appears

April showers
To end the month
I am looking to May
With hopes of flowers
And sun to warm them

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And here ends my month of poems - it has been quite a challenge. There are some I feel good about - others missed the mark. But each has been a way to push me to write, to imagine and to share.

Now I am hoping for that May weather so I can get out more with my camera and concentrate on the photographs.

Rain Drops at Night

Rain Drops at Night, originally uploaded by susanvg.

A blustery night, with rain, and sometimes sleet, falling steadily. Just a few sparkling raindrops hanging from these cedar branches - a glimpse of beauty on a dreary night.

Fairy Lights

Fairy Lights, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Not my best shot - I should have used a tripod, but I was passing these in my car. - yes I parked before taking this photo.
We are heading into the darkest part of the year, with the shortest day being less than a month away. Lights are appearing all over the city. They used to be "Christmas lights" which would appear in December and be gone some time in January. Now they seem to appear earlier and last most of the winter. I like the British term - fairy lights. It makes them appropriate for any season. In many countries, December is a time for festivals and holidays for which light - whether candles, oil lamps, stars... is a symbol of the holiday. It certainly brightens the season, making long dark nights sparkle.

May 17/10: Light in the Darkness

May 17/10: Light in the Darkness, originally uploaded by susanvg.

As the sky darkened I tried to catch the lights dancing on the blackness. The city is riveted to the hockey playoffs as our beloved Habs, after clawing their way into the playoffs, have made it to the conference finals. As I was growing up, Les Canadiens were frequent winners of the Stanley Cup. Recent years have been a period of darkness, with the team not performing strongly enough to light up the eyes of their fans. Now the city is alive with hockey fever.

Just no more drunken riots, please....

Daily Shoot: Black can be dramatic. Go for as much black in a photo as you can with lots of oomph, character, and depth.

Day 271: Rainy Night

Day 271: Rainy Night, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Rain fell steadily. Lights spilled onto the mirrored streets creating painted puddles. Newly fallen leaves made the surface slick - autumn's ice rink.

Day 229: The Oratory

Day 229: The Oratory, originally uploaded by susanvg.

St. Joseph's Oratory dominates the skyline in the western part of Montreal. Montreal is a city of churches and this is its largest. The building went up because of Brother André. According to the website of the oratory, about two million people visit yearly. This helps defray the huge cost of maintaining a structure of this size.

The number of people in Montreal going to churches on a regular basis has diminished. A number of churches have found new uses - turned into condominiums, a dance performance space, a library. Others share their space as concert venues, community centres etc. Still others have been sold to other religious groups and are serving a different population. I am all for a more secular society, inclusive of all people. However, these buildings played a part in the architectural history and social history of our city. I wonder if we can preserve this heritage through finding even more uses that are inclusive, reflecting the more multi-cultural face of Montreal.

Day 85: A Rainy Drive

Day 85: A Rainy Drive, originally uploaded by susanvg.

It has been a dry March with sunny days that have melted most of the snow leaving an accumulation of dirt behind. We have needed this rain to wash the city clean. On my way to dinner with a friend the raindrops started to fall. For the first time since autumn you could smell the earthy aroma of the soil.

As I drove home, the car lights shone trails of colour across the pavement. The street lamps glowed halos while the drops of water on my windshield reflected back the myriad of shades. Rain - soon the plants will come back to life.

Day 79: Shadows

Day 79: Shadows, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I find shadows fascinating - replicas of reality but also distortions. The street lamp drew these branches on the garage door - an ephemeral piece of art to be viewed in the moment. Shadows can be pale replicas or larger than life.

As life casts shadows on us, we react in different ways, sometimes growing from it and sometimes letting the shadow grow larger than it merits, immobilizing us through our worry. Carl Sandburg said, “Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.” So I shall try to make a poem of my life and dance with the shadows.

Day 68: Lights in the Sky

Day 68: Lights in the Sky, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I walked out this evening to see a beautiful moon, crisp and bright in the evening sky. This photograph does not do it justice. Just to the side, the lights of an antenna flashed and two thoughts went through my head. ET where are you? the antenna seemed to be calling out to the moon. My second thought was of the many people who were hunkered down in their dwellings receiving the signal from the television antenna, oblivious to the magnificent moon.
We live in a world where the virtual becomes more real to many people's lives than the physical world. People talk of their television "friends" as if these were actual friends and discuss episodes of shows. I suppose we have always escaped into forms of fantasy, whether through books or storytelling. But television shows come along with a whole ideology, presented through the advertising, product placements and the story lines.
The moon is often a symbol of romance - a television antenna is just that and nothing more.

Day 42: The Streets are Shining

Lights painting pictures on the shiny rain-slicked pavement. It's a winter thaw. The snow and ice shrink their footprints everywhere, dripping, slipping towards the drains. Even puddles shrink as ice dams melt, releasing the water to travel with the newly melted snow. Feels like spring, but the icy fingers of winter will soon have us in their grasp again.